Cattle Town Feeders is a 48,000-head custom feedyard between Hereford and Friona, Texas.
Friona, Texas
Commitment to agriculture, community, and Texas.
A greater passion for agriculture.
Since 1999, Cattle Town Feeders has been committed to customer success by offering individual marketing options and competitive input costs for grain across the industry.
Our Mission
Our success is measured by our customers’ profitability. We strive to maximize their bottom line by providing competitive cost of gains, catering the marketing of their cattle to the marketing option that best fits their cattle, and providing expertise in cattle procurement and risk management. Cattle Town Feeders is committed to making decisions and executing plans to reach not only this goal but also to do our part in maintaining the sustainability of the beef industry.
Our Philosophy
We are devoted to the sustainability of our customers’ business, and the beef industry. We know maintaining quality animal care is not only the right thing to do, but it also results in profitability, and thus, a more sustainable beef industry. Our sister feed yard, Spearman Cattle Feeders, also offers the same service at a 54,000-head capacity.
Management
Our staff of skilled employees offers assistance and expertise in cattle procurement and risk management. Seeing our customers receive top dollar for their cattle is our goal, and we are committed to working together with customers to maximize their profitability year in and year out by catering to their specific needs.
Joe M. “Jody” Bellah
Owner
Joe M. “Jody” Bellah, Throckmorton, Texas, owns and operates registered and commercial cow-calf, stocker, and wheat operations in Throckmorton, Haskell, and Baylor counties, and Otero and Elbert counties in Colorado. He partners in an order-buying company in Abilene and two feed yards in the Texas Panhandle. He was elected to the TSCRA Board of Directors in 2011 and served as Marketing and Transportation Committee chairman from 2020-2021.
He earned a bachelor of science in agricultural economics from Texas Tech University in 1981. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Texas Tech in 2016. Bellah is also a member of the Texas Tech Equestrian Programs advisory board.
Offices held include: Texas Wheat Producers Board 2005-present, chairman 2013-2015; TWP Research Committee chairman 2010-present, Texas Wheat Producers Association president 2017-present; Texas Cattle Feeders Association director 2014-2017; Throckmorton Soil and Water Conservation District board chairman 2010-present; Throckmorton ISD board of trustees 1990-2011; and Throckmorton First United Methodist Church Finance Committee chairman, 2010-present.
He and his wife, Betsy, have three children: Matt Bellah, Brad Bellah, and Laurie Strebeck.
Ross McKnight
Owner
Ross McKnight is a rancher, oilman, banker, and philanthropist who lives in Throckmorton, Texas, where he was born and raised.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University in 1971. In 1996, McKnight received the OSU Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award, in 1998 was selected the Graduate of Distinction by the OSU Department of Animal Science and subsequently the College of Agriculture. He was inducted into the OSU Alumni Hall of Fame in 2006.
McKnight has grown his ranching and agriculture enterprise from an inherited 500 acres to its current 57,000 acres plus ownership of two cattle feedyards in the Texas Panhandle. McKnight is CEO of RoMac Gas Company, a natural gas gathering system, and RoMac Oil Company, an oil and gas exploration and production company.
McKnight has chaired or co-chaired two of the three major philanthropic campaigns at OSU. Additionally, he and his wife established and endowed the $10 million dollar McKnight Scholarship program for rural youth attending OSU.
In 2016, Ross and Billie received the Henry G. Bennett Distinguished Service Award from Oklahoma State University. This is the highest award given by OSU and the first given in 14 years.
McKnight is Chairman of the Board and majority shareholder of a closely held bank holding company, Olney BancShares of Texas, which owns InterBank. McKnight served on the Scott & White Health Care Board of Trustees from 2002-2013 when it was merged with Baylor Health Care.
He serves as a director on the board of the New York Philharmonic as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The McKnight Center for The Performing Arts at Oklahoma State University and on its Investment Committee.
He and his wife, Billie, have two children: Trent and Meggan McKnight.
Mike Heard
General Manager, Owner
Mike Heard graduated from the Texas Christian University Ranch Management Program along with a business administration degree in accounting from West Texas State University in 1983. Heard got his start in the cattle-feeding industry as a pen rider more than 40 years ago. He spent the first 10 years of his professional career with Cargill in their cattle feeding operation. While there, he held various manager positions as well as trading and risk management positions within the company. Heard has previously served on the Texas Cattle Feeders Association Board of Directors, Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation Board of Directors, and the Faith City Mission of Amarillo Board of Directors. He has also served on multiple local boards involving youth sports over the years. He has been the General Manager for Cattle Town Feeders and Spearman Feeders for the last 28 years. He has been married for more than 40 years to his wife, Linda, and they have one son, Garrett.
Get in touch.
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