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Cattle Barons and Land Owners

Don Oppliger: From Rented Corn Ground to a 230,000-Head Feeding Network

Don Oppliger grew corn for Frito-Lay, bought a Texas feedlot, and built a farming and feeding operation across three states.

Who was Don Oppliger?

Donald Lee Oppliger was born in Columbus, Nebraska, and attended the University of Nebraska. His Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame biography credits him with building Oppliger Companies, a business that grew from a few rented acres in the Texas Panhandle into a farming and cattle feeding operation spread over three states.

He was inducted into the hall in 2020. Drovers describes him as a posthumous inductee, and the hall's biography says he died while flying.

How did Don Oppliger get started in the Texas Panhandle?

The hall's biography says he began in 1980 by renting farmland in Hereford, Texas, and growing corn for Frito-Lay. Drovers likewise says he started farming corn on rented land near Hereford in 1980.

The biography also says he began feeding cattle in the early 1980s in Texico, New Mexico. Because it gives both a 1980 farming start and an early 1980s feeding start in different places, treat the exact sequence as approximate.

Building the feedlots

His first feedlot purchase was a 15,000-head yard in Farwell, Texas. The hall biography says he used his knowledge of both cattle feeding and farming to vertically integrate the operation, so that feed grown on his own ground went to his own cattle.

In 1991 he acquired a 35,000-head feedlot at Clovis, New Mexico, along with more irrigated farmland to supply it. In 1998 he bought a large farm in Lincoln County, Nebraska, and built a 55,000-head feedlot there, later expanded to 70,000 head.

How big did Oppliger Companies get?

Drovers, in a profile of the company, reported five feedlots across Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas, a combined capacity of 230,000 head and more than 55,000 acres of cropland. It also reported the National Cattlemen's Beef Association ranked the company the 13th largest cattle feeding operation in the country. These are reported figures from that article, which does not carry a date we could confirm.

The hall biography adds that the company in its later years bought multiple ranches in western Nebraska, more farmland in Nebraska and Texas, and two feedlots near its larger farming operations. The ranches supply cattle pasture and fall hunting grounds. Crops listed include corn, soybeans, popcorn, grain sorghum and potatoes for commercial sellers.

The Key to Oppliger's Success

The documented pattern is integration. Instead of buying feed at market prices, Oppliger put feedlots next to his own irrigated crops, and instead of staying in one region he spread across three states.

The sources describe an unusually hands-on owner. Both the hall and Drovers say he flew himself to the company's feedlots, farms and ranches.

  • He started small, on rented farmland, and grew in steps rather than one leap.
  • He built feedlots near his own farming so grain added value before it left the farm.
  • He kept buying irrigated cropland to supply each new yard.
  • He used grazing acreage in the Midwest and southern Plains to respond to market signals, per Drovers.
  • He checked on operations in person, flying to remote sites, and was known for remembering figures without notes.

Risks and limits of the record

Feedlot scale carries obvious exposure to feed costs and cattle prices, but neither source describes debts, losses or disputes, and we do not speculate. The public record is promotional in tone, since one source is the hall of fame itself.

Dates also differ slightly between sources, and the hall's own page is where the 2020 induction is listed (see the hall's inductee page). Treat headcount capacities as reported figures that changed as yards were expanded.

Hall of Fame honor and legacy

The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame listed Oppliger in its 2020 class, with the company shown as Oppliger Companies. His wife Joi survived him, according to the hall biography, and one of his sons, Ben, is also a pilot who flew with him, per Drovers.

Over on farm.FM, the ranching section covers cattle feeding and ranch operations like these. For a related read, try a farm.FM story about cattle feeding.

Timeline

  1. 1980Rents farmland near Hereford, Texas, and grows corn for Frito-Lay
  2. Early 1980sBegins feeding cattle (the hall cites Texico, New Mexico)
  3. Early expansionBuys a 15,000-head feedlot at Farwell, Texas (year not given)
  4. 1991Acquires a 35,000-head feedlot at Clovis, New Mexico
  5. 1998Builds a 55,000-head feedlot in Lincoln County, Nebraska
  6. 2017Dies in a flying accident, per Drovers
  7. 2020Inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame

Frequently asked questions

Who was Don Oppliger?

Don Oppliger was a Nebraska-born cattle feeder and farmer who built Oppliger Companies, with feedlots in Texas, New Mexico and Nebraska. He was inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame in 2020.

How big was Oppliger Companies?

Drovers reported five feedlots with a combined capacity of 230,000 head, more than 55,000 acres of cropland and a ranking as the 13th largest U.S. cattle feeder by NCBA. These are reported figures.

How did Don Oppliger start?

In 1980 he rented farmland in Hereford, Texas, and grew corn for Frito-Lay, then bought a 15,000-head feedlot in Farwell, Texas, and integrated feeding with farming.

When was Don Oppliger inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame?

The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame lists Don Oppliger as a 2020 inductee.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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