Brown Priest is Empress of Cattle Empire LLC

from December 2021 - Red Angus Magazine

RAFI Auction Provides Trip of a Lifetime for Illinois Couple

by Teres Lambert for the Red Angus Magazine

In his “On the Edge of Common Sense” column, titled, “The Feedlot Woman” penned a year ago, Baxter Black, D.V.M., wrote, “The women working there earn their place.”

He pointed out that, “One of the biggest deterrents for women has always been that ground work in the feedlot is a dirty job, fraught with smashed fi ngers, stepped-on toes and pucky in your hair. But plenty of women can handle it.”

Trista Brown Priest, CEO of Cattle Empire LLC, Satanta, Kansas, agrees with Black’s words, adding that, as CEO of a feedyard, she is happy to no longer have “pucky” in her hair.

Family-owned and family-managed, Cattle Empire has a one-time capacity of 51,000 and is located in what people refer to as “the heart of the beef feeding empire.” The feedyard’s home county, Haskell County, ranks second for most cattle of any county in the country, and there’s a key reason for this ranking: Feedyards in Haskell County are within easy shipping distance to the four major packers.

The third generation of the Brown family to work at Cattle Empire, Trista started working in the family feedyard at age 14. After graduating from Kansas State University with an M.B.A. in agriculture economics and finance in 2012, Trista returned to the feedyard where she worked her way to being named CEO in 2018.

The feedyard has undergone a lot of changes since Trista’s return in 2012.

Founded in 1978 by Trista’s grandparents Paul and Evelyn Brown, the business grew to three yard locations in two states – Kansas and Texas – and had a one-time capacity of 250,000. Her dad, Roy, began managing the

business in 1996. After her grandparents’ death in 2017, her parents bought out her dad’s siblings, went from three yards to one and transitioned to largely custom feeding.

Today, the feedyard is owned by Trista, her parents, Roy and Laura Brown, and her sister, Rebecca Brown Wright. Trista and her dad oversee the management side and are on site every day.

A glimpse at who owns what pens of cattle and whether pens are sold live or on the grid shows a variety of clients and preferences.

“Several customers have been here for 40 years,” Trista said. “Being family-owned, we’re family-focused and big on building long-term relationships.

“Some people sell live or in the beef while others want to go with the grid route – whether it’s our grid or another grid. We sell pens however the people want.”

Not everyone who has cattle on feed at Cattle Empire has direct access to cattle. Cattle Empire has a few customers who ask the company to source cattle for them. In these cases, the Cattle Empire crew relies on relationships with cow-calf producers and backgrounders to identify available cattle that should be profi table for their new owners.

In addition to custom feeding cattle for others, Trista and her husband, John, have cattle on feed at Cattle Empire. “They are one of my favorite pens — a real fancy pen of Red Angus,” Trista stated. “They look nice and are uniform.

After college, Trista Brown Priest returned to the family feedlot business and has worked her way into being named CEO in 2018.

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“We fed this same guy’s cattle for two previous years, so we know how his calves should perform and hang on the rail. I checked, and they carry the FCCP yellow ear tag.”

“People want to take advantage of their program’s genetics.”

Some of the cattle on feed are owned by cow-calf producers.

“Today, we’re seeing more retained ownership.” People want to take advantage of their program’s genetics.” she said.

“There is so much you don’t know about animals with their hide on, and many cow-calf producers want to know more. With retained ownership, Priest’s ideal animal would enter the feedlot weighing about 700 lb., having been weaned for 90 days and having received two rounds of vaccinations.

they can get health and carcass data and check if their cattle are performing like they think they should.”

She said, “Many cow-calf producers retaining ownership simply want to realize the full value of their program.”

Other trends at Cattle Empire include an uptick in non-hormone treated cat-

tle (NHTC) and verifi ed natural cattle. About 20% of cattle on feed at one time are part of these two programs.

“We’ve only been involved in these two programs for the past three years. That said, we are noticing a slight increase in both programs every year,” Trista stated. “Current customers using these two programs have a branded beef program.”

While Trista stresses that Cattle Empire accepts whatever people want to feed, she noted that her ideal animal enters the feedyard weighing about 700 lb., would have been weaned for 90 days and received two rounds of vaccinations. When cattle meet these standards, she said they can “put them on feed and they should do great.”

Whether she is feeding out her own cattle or those belonging to customers, Trista said one of the biggest challenges associated with owning and managing a feedyard is input prices. When corn prices go up, the negative impact on cost of gain is felt.

“I am always trying to fi gure out how we can provide the best cost of gain for our customers,” she elaborated.

As the CEO of a feedyard, Trista said she has learned valuable business lessons: 1) It is a blessing and a curse to be in a leadership position; 2)You owe it to your customers to do your absolute best; and 3) All segments that comprise the beef industry need each other.

“Every employee represents you and your

Cattle Empire LLC is truly a family affair that has grown since Paul and Evelyn Brown founded the business in 1978. Today, the family feedlot is operated by (from left) John and Trista Brown Priest, Marshall (Trista’s son), Laura and Roy Brown (Trista’s parents), Charlotte (Trista’s daughter), and Trista’s sister and husband, Becca Brown Wright and Rob Wright.

brand so you have to be careful who you hire,” she stated.

“You have to communicate expectations and manage her/him with respect while maximizing each employee’s potential,” she said.

“This applies to all segments of the beef industry – seedstock producer, cow-calf producer, feedyard, packer. In fact, it applies to every business.”

As for her second lesson – “You owe it to your customers to do your absolute best,” Trista noted that, as a custom feeder, Cattle Empire must stay focused on what is the best thing for its customers and not take unreasonable risk. She added that a risk that might have been taken when feeding company cattle may not be on the radar screen when it comes to custom cattle.

This CEO stressed that she does not like division and fi nger pointing within the beef industry. She’s all for a united front for the good of the beef industry.

“We are a beef ecosystem, and we cannot survive without each other,” she summarized.

Trista said we might all appreciate the other segments of the beef industry if we all listened better and looked for commonalities instead of division. Her eyes got opened regarding the cow-calf segment when she and her husband purchased nine bred heifers.

“I can tell you that I gained a whole new respect for cow-calf producers this past year,” she stated.

“Those heifers are hard work. I did not know fi rsthand what cow-calf producers went through before owning these heifers, but I certainly have a small taste of it. Now I am a bit more knowledgeable. Let’s just say that I now truly appreciate what cow-calf producers do.” n Haskell County, Kansas, ranks second in the country as the county with the most head of cattle. With close proximity to all four major packers, the location in the heart of the country is ideal for feeding cattle.