Feeder educates commercial producers, consumers alike

Gregory feedlots wins CAB Progressive Partner award

by Miranda Reiman

It’s luck of the draw. Your calves get sick in the feedyard. That sets them back, costs you all kinds of money and ruins your hopes for what could’ve been.

The guy next to you catches a break. His cattle gained and graded like crazy.

The kicker is, it’s not all luck.

David Trowbridge, manager of Gregory Feedlots at Tabor, Iowa, uses a hypothetical scenario like that to educate feedyard visitors on how everything from genetics and ranch care to implants and markets can impact beef quality later on.

Everyone gets a workbook and a virtual calf when they begin, and the story is revealed as they make stops at the processing barn, the feed mill and the pens.

At the end, some make a profit. Some lose money. But all leave with a greater understanding of the many variables involved with feeding cattle and producing beef.

“Cattle producers care about what they’re doing; they care for the animals humanely and they provide nutrition and great health care,” Trowbridge says. “If we can convince the whole world that that’s what we’re doing, we’ll sell a lot more beef.”

This philosophy, along with a commitment to driving interaction at every point in the production chain, earned Gregory Feedlots the Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) Progressive Partner of the Year Award. Trowbridge accepted at the CAB annual conference in Sunriver, Ore., Sept. 20-22.

He and feedyard owner Jim Gregory “understand the importance of educating end users on their segment of the beef industry,” says Nikkie Allen, corporate meeting planner for CAB. “They take time and put thought into what things they want attendees to walk away with when they leave their property.”

CAB’s National Roundup seminar, which brings folks from across the globe to U.S. cattle country, has visited the feedyard twice. They also host diverse groups, from the American Angus Association’s Beef Leader’s Institute to local cattlemen’s events.

 Of course, tours or not, cattle must be looked after and Trowbridge gives a lot of credit to his small crew.

“All I do is talk on the phone and get customers here,” he says with a quick smile. “They do the work.”

The hint of truth is probably rooted in the sheer amount of effort it takes to build and maintain relationships. Trowbridge estimates 85% of the cattle in the 7,000-head feedyard are retained ownership.

Everything they learn about cattle coming in—from recent history, like vaccines and implants, to cowherd history—helps them do their jobs better, he says.

“Working with the producers we do, we are able to save money, time and stress on the cattle by customizing what’s done,” Trowbridge says. “Those calves should never have had a bad day. When you wean them, you want them gaining just as good as they do in the feedlot.”

They aggressively sort because most of the cattle are grid marketed even when the Choice/Select spread is low.

“I’ve been able to show customers that even if we get $1 over the base meat price, and if your cattle will grade 85% Choice or better and yield decent, we can beat that price,” he says. “Even if we’re looking at a $2 Choice-Select spread, we’re still selling a majority of our cattle on a grid, and making money doing it.”

But the ultimate payout is seeing repeat customers make progress.

“It makes you feel good when they come back and the cattle are better than they were,” Trowbridge says.

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