Earl Brookover
Brookover Feed Yards

Earl Brookover, a Scott County, Kansas native, grew up on a dryland farm. After working on various land development and irrigation projects in Texas, California and South America, and graduating with a degree in civil engineering from Kansas State University, Earl returned to southwest Kansas with a pioneering spirit.

In 1947, Earl and his wife Denelda moved to Garden City, Kansas. He sought more sophisticated irrigation methods that resulted in the vast production of feed grains. The grain surplus, combined with the moderate climate, inspired Earl to build the state’s first commercial feedyard in October 1951.

For more than 65 years, Brookover Feed Yards has been feeding cattle. After Earl’s death in 1985, the management of the feedyard was passed to his son, E.C., and grandson, Ty. To this day, it remains a family-owned operation that is dedicated to excellence, the community, and the people that represent them.

Jeff Biegert
Midwest PMS

From the small town of Shickley, Nebraska, Jeff Biegert was born into agriculture where he grew up under the Midwest motto of “hard work never killed anybody.” He attended Texas Christian University, majoring in business, and post-college worked in Houston helping to build a large chain of daycare centers.

In 1976, Jeff moved back to Nebraska where he started a liquid feed manufacturing and cattle-feeding company called Biegert Feeds. Now known as Midwest PMS, the business has grown into 10 manufacturing sites and employs over 150 people across Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Texas, Iowa and South Dakota. Jeff has owned extensive ranching properties throughout the Midwest and is a founding partner of Power Genetics, a seed stock company.  He maintains ownership in Fort Kearney Feeders, a 58,000-head operation and North Platte Feeders, an 82,000-head operation.

Paul J. Brown
Cattle Empire

Paul Brown was drawn to western Kansas by the allure of good soil and the potential for irrigation. He started running cattle in 1961 to counteract the cyclical nature of farming. It was the start of a career that would allow Paul to make a name for himself as an honest, hardworking cattleman in southwest Kansas. In 1978, Paul transitioned the farming operation to his eldest son so he could focus on his newly purchased 4,000-head custom feedyard, Cattle Empire. Today, Cattle Empire has a one-time capacity of 245,500 head in five facilities, is the fifth largest feeding operation in the country, and is still family owned and operated. Paul and his wife, Evelyn have four children, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Robert G. “Bob” Gottsch
Gottsch Cattle Company 

Bob Gottsch grew up on farms in eastern Nebraska during the Great Depression. After high school, he served in the U.S. military police in Germany. When he returned from World War II, Bob tried college, but didn’t like it – he wanted to be working. Bob and his brother hauled corn and cattle and delivered fuel around Elkhorn for a few years, then started feeding cattle on a leased lot. Bob fed other people’s cattle until he could afford his own. Bob expanded his Elkhorn feedlot through the years and added a location in Red Cloud, Nebraska, where he eventually had 42,000 head. He partnered with Ken Morrison in the 40,000-head Juniata (Nebraska) Feedyard and added a Kansas feedyard that exceeded 50,000 head. Bob Gottsch died in 2002. His sons have continued to build the business.

Loren Doll
Irsik and Doll

Loren Doll has been in the cattle-feeding business since 1961, when he and his father, Fred Doll, partnered with three Irsik brothers to construct and operate Ingalls Feed Yard. This feedyard grew from a one-time feeding capacity of 2,500 head to 40,000 head. Becoming the managing partner and chief executive officer of Irsik and Doll in 1968, Loren was instrumental in leading the company's growth. Today, the company operates seven commercial cattle feedyards in western Kansas with a one-time total feeding capacity of 215,000 head.  

Robert Josserand
AzTx Cattle Co.

Robert D. Josserand, a native of Pratt, Kansas, is the owner of AzTx Cattle Co., which includes two feedyards in Texas and Kansas.Bob served on the boards of directors of the National Livestock and Meat Board in Chicago, Beef Industry Council, Texas Cattle Feeders Association and National Cattlemen's Association. He is a past president of Texas Cattle Feeders Association and National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

J. R. “Jack” Simplot
J.R. Simplot Company

Jack Simplot revolutionized the food industry with the first commercially viable frozen french fries, carved a cattle empire out of sage brush and desert, and built a $6 billion agribusiness that employs more than 10,000 people worldwide. Today, his company’s land and livestock holdings include extensive farm and ranch properties in the western United States with two large feedyards, nearly 40 farms and more than a dozen ranches.

Roy Dinsdale
Dinsdale Brothers Inc.

In 1948, Roy Dinsdale received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska and returned to the family’s cattle operation in Palmer, Nebraska. In the six decades since, Roy has nurtured Dinsdale Brothers into a large, diverse company involved in cattle feeding, ranching, farming, banking and other ag-related businesses. Third- and fourth-generation Dinsdales now oversee the 75,000 head of cattle located in Colorado and Nebraska, while Roy still keeps a watchful eye on the Palmer feedyard.

After marrying Irene Meister, Leo Timmerman started farming with three milk cows and two dozen chickens. Leo and Irene lived off the money from the eggs and cream, but Leo found this farming practice lonely and slow-paced. During this time he bought two or three head of cattle, which began a successful career in the cattle-feeding business. A banker loaned him money to purchase six head of cattle then Leo made enough to buy another 25. In 1945, he quit raising milk cows and chickens and purchased a feedyard in Omaha that served as the foundation for his business.

Louis Dinklage’s vision for the cattle-feeding industry helped him become one of the most well-respected cattle feeders in America. Born in 1902, Louis never could have imagined that by the late 1960’s he would be considered the country’s largest cattle feeder. He influenced both the cattle-feeding industry and the community, as he mentored many young cattle feeders, setting them on the road to success.

As founder, owner and chairman, Bob displayed exceptional vision and leadership. He created a company that includes livestock breeding and ranching, commercial feeding, nutritional solutions, and beef processing. Under his command, Agri Beef Co. gave considerable focus to promoting sustainability throughout all organizational entities.

Willard's passion for livestock and grain laid the foundation for his life within American agriculture. He was regarded as a leading agricultural economist, a cultivating businessman and a humble philanthropist.

As Chairman of the Board for the Beef Marketing Group and President of Innovative Livestock Services, Lee Borck has been instrumental in developing a unique approach to meeting retail customer needs through innovative alignment between the producer and the meat case.

Dave Wood is one of the most recognized cattlemen in the cattle-feeding business, and during his 40 years at Harris Farms, Inc., he helped make the Harris name a household word.

Ladd Hitch was an innovator in the cattle-feeding industry and one of the first feedyard owners to install large concrete silo pits and introduce one of the first irrigation systems in Oklahoma.

Kenneth Monfort revolutionized the cattle-feeding industry by building a packing plant in cattle-feeding country and inventing boxed beef to sell to foodservice and retail professionals.

In a cattle-feeding industry filled with hard workers and entrepreneurs, Paul Engler stands out for accomplishments both large and lasting.

Many in the cattle-feeding industry see William D. ("W.D.") Farr as the founding father of our modern industry.