R.N. "Nate" Patton of Canon City was a cattle rancher and steadfast spokesperson for agriculture. Patton served in many different positions with the Colorado Cattlemen's Association and the National Cattlemen's Association (now the National Cattlemen's Beef Association). He was instrumental in developing an equitable tax assessment formula for farm and ranch lands through his service on the Property Tax Administrator Board of Assessment Appeals from 1971 through 1979 and again in 1984-85. Patton's influence reached far beyond Colorado with his service on the NCBA Tax and Finance Committee. He was instrumental in developing the AUM formula for Bureau of Land Management (BLM) grazing.