Who We Are

Leo Vermedahl

Feedlot operator in the Texas Panhandle

I arrive at the feedlot while it is still dark each morning. At sunrise we ship the finished cattle that have been sold, to a packer for harvest. I weigh the cattle and personally inspect each animal as they come off the scale. I get excited because this is the culmination of my job of providing the most nutritious, best tasting and safe food item for the consumer.

The rest of my day is spent supervising the 27 employees that steam flake the corn, mix the ration ingredients, feed the cattle, process new cattle, observe each animal in every pen, doctor the cattle that are sick and maintain the feed yard. I am also responsible for buying all the feedstuffs, selling the cattle and conducting customer relations with the owners of the cattle. In addition, I supervise the office staff and their accounting of the cattle and feed. I also deal with the banks to secure credit for the feedlot.

We bring in yearling cattle off of grass or wheat pasture and finish them on a highly nutritious corn-based diet. When we have fed the cattle to a proper weight and finish, they are shipped to harvest. I take great pride in doing my part to furnish the most healthful, nutritious and safe “center of the plate” food for consumers, not only in the United States but all around the world.

I began my career in the commercial feedlot industry in July of 1972. My first job was processing incoming cattle. I then moved on to doctoring sick cattle, riding pens, working in the feed mill, feeding cattle and eventually was hired as an assistant manager. I have been the manager of a feedlot for the past 21 years and am currently the managing partner of Carrizo Feeders, a 34,000 head feedlot at Texline, Texas.

I grew up on a grain and livestock farm in Minnesota. My dad was the fourth generation on that farm, which is now a recognized “century farm.” We fed cattle, milked cows, raised pigs and chickens. I went off to college and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science, a Master’s degree in feedlot management and a Ph.D. in nutrition at the University of Minnesota and at Texas A & M University. Then I moved on to make my career in the newly emerging commercial feedlot industry in the Texas Panhandle. I love my career running a feedlot and finishing cattle. The industry has been rewarding to my family and to me.

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