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Feeders, Packers and Industry Leaders

Earl Brookover and the First Commercial Feedyard in Kansas

A civil engineer turned irrigation farmer who built a feedyard where the grain was, and warned early about the water.

Who Was Earl Brookover?

Earl Brookover was born October 8, 1906, in Scott County, Kansas, and grew up on a dryland farm there. He became the founder of Brookover Feed Yards, which the Kansas Historical Society's Kansapedia entry calls the first commercial feed yard in the Midwest. The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame calls it Kansas's first commercial feedyard, so sources differ on the geographic phrase.

The Hall inducted him in 2017, more than three decades after his death on November 12, 1985.

Engineer First: Education and Early Work

Brookover earned a civil engineering degree from Kansas State College of Agriculture in Manhattan, graduating in 1934, the same year he married E. Denelda Shafer. They had four children. The Hall bio says he worked on land development and irrigation projects in Texas, California and South America.

He returned to Scott County to start irrigated farms and later moved to Grant County to try the oil and gas business. That path, from dryland farm to engineer to irrigator, explains why his feedyard grew out of water and grain rather than ranch cattle.

Irrigation, Grain and the Idea of a Feedyard

Brookover and Denelda moved to Garden City in 1947. He pursued more advanced irrigation methods, which led to large-scale feed grain production. The resulting grain surplus and the region's moderate climate inspired him to build a commercial feedyard.

Kansapedia adds that from 1946 to 1951 he inspected Kansas feedlots. The Hall bio dates the construction of the first commercial yard to October 1951. Kansapedia gives the founding year as 1951 and places the yard just north of Garden City.

Brookover Feed Yards in Operation

Kansapedia says he pioneered the feed grain approach to cattle feeding. According to the Hall, the yard in Scott County has fed cattle for more than 65 years and remains family owned.

After Earl's death, management passed to his son, E.C., and then his grandson, Ty. The sources do not give the yard's original capacity or later head counts, so those numbers are omitted.

Warning About the Ogallala Aquifer

Kansapedia says Brookover was among the first Kansas farmers to alert government officials and policymakers to the effects of irrigation. He warned about declining water levels in the Ogallala aquifer, the underground water source that fuels irrigated farming and feeding across the High Plains.

He advocated better understanding of water use, better timing of irrigation, and more efficient water extraction methods. The record shows he understood early that the engine behind his business could also be its limit.

The Key to Brookover's Success

Brookover's success rested on tying cattle to the local resource that made them profitable: irrigated feed grain. The record also shows civic and industry leadership that helped the model spread across southwest Kansas.

The sources do not describe financial struggles, but they do record his early caution about water, a limit that remains central to High Plains agriculture.

  • Applied engineering training to irrigation, then used the grain surplus as the basis for feeding.
  • Spent 1946 to 1951 inspecting Kansas feedlots before building his own.
  • Built the yard on the surplus grain and moderate climate of southwest Kansas, founding it in 1951.
  • Warned policymakers about declining Ogallala water levels and urged better irrigation timing and efficiency.
  • Led the Kansas Livestock Association and the Livestock and Meat Industry Council, spreading practices beyond his own yard.

Honors, Service and Legacy

Brookover received the National Beef Feeder Award for Commercial Feedlots in 1963 and Kansas State University's Distinguished Service Award in the Field of Agriculture in 1976. He served as a director of the Kansas State Chamber of Commerce and as president of several organizations, including the Livestock and Meat Industry Council and the Kansas Livestock Association. He also served on the Kansas State University Board of Trustees and the Agriculture Advisory Council.

The yard he founded remains a landmark of southwest Kansas feeding, and his name sits in the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame roster. For more stories about cattle and the people who feed them, see farm.FM's ranching section or a farm.FM story about a Kansas feedyard.

Timeline

  1. 1906Born October 8 in Scott County, Kansas.
  2. 1934Graduates from Kansas State College with a civil engineering degree and marries E. Denelda Shafer.
  3. 1946Begins inspecting Kansas feedlots, work that continues until 1951.
  4. 1947Moves to Garden City, Kansas.
  5. 1951Founds Brookover Feed Yards, a first commercial feedyard in Kansas.
  6. 1963Receives the National Beef Feeder Award for Commercial Feedlots.
  7. 1976Receives Kansas State University's Distinguished Service Award in the Field of Agriculture.
  8. 1985Dies November 12; management passes to his son E.C. and grandson Ty.
  9. 2017Inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Earl Brookover?

Earl Brookover was a Kansas irrigation engineer and farmer who founded Brookover Feed Yards near Garden City in 1951. It is described as the first commercial feedyard in Kansas, or the Midwest, depending on the source.

When did Brookover Feed Yards start?

Brookover Feed Yards was founded in 1951 north of Garden City, Kansas. The Hall of Fame bio dates construction to October 1951, and the yard is still family owned.

What did Earl Brookover warn about?

He was among the first Kansas farmers to warn officials about irrigation's effect on water, especially declining levels in the Ogallala aquifer. He urged better irrigation timing and more efficient extraction.

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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