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Feeders, Packers and Industry Leaders

Joe Morgan and Poky Feeders: Growing a Kansas Yard by Keeping Customers Profitable

An Iowa State graduate who moved to Garden City in 1985 and built a customer-cattle feedyard on one rule: keep the customer making money.

Who Is Joe Morgan?

Joe Morgan is the CEO of Poky Feeders in Scott City, Kansas. The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame biography lists him as a 2025 inductee and credits him with growing the yard from 17,000 head to 103,000. His son, Grant, manages the company.

A Drovers profile puts today's capacity at 105,000 head, so sources differ slightly. Both agree on about 95% customer cattle.

From Iowa to Omaha to Garden City

Morgan grew up in agriculture and became interested in cattle feeding while visiting an uncle who fed cattle in Texas. He started feeding some cattle while still in high school, Drovers reports. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1973 with an animal science degree and then farmed.

In 1983 he took a job managing a feedyard east of Omaha. In 1985 he moved to Garden City, Kansas, to manage Poky Feeders. The Hall and Drovers both date his arrival to 1985, when capacity was 17,000 head.

Growing Poky Feeders

Poky has added facilities several times, Drovers reports, including a recently built mill with advanced technology and computer systems. It partners on leased feedyards in Kansas and Nebraska and holds extensive ranch land. About 95% of its cattle belong to customers and about 5% to the company.

Customers include third-generation family clients, which Drovers presents as the payoff of decades of service. A customer-cattle yard lives or dies on repeat business, because the cattle in the pens belong to other people who can take them elsewhere at any time. Morgan's stated approach is to keep customers profitable and in business, and he credits that for Poky's growth. Morgan names labor as one of the biggest challenges, one that he says the whole industry faces. Drovers presents labor as a pressure shared across the industry rather than a problem unique to Poky.

Diversifying: Pork and Long-Term Care

In the late 1990s Poky expanded into pork, with an on-site sow unit and production fed in Iowa and Minnesota. The company has also moved into long-term health care and memory care facilities across the Midwest, along with other business interests, the Hall says.

Spreading across species and sectors gave the company income streams that do not move in step with the cattle cycle. Morgan also encourages young producers to find mentors and peers they respect, and he says involvement in cattle organizations gives the industry a stronger collective voice in Congress and on regulations.

The Key to Morgan's Success

The record points to a simple customer-first philosophy. Drovers quotes Morgan saying that if you help your customer make money, he will be your customer for a long time.

He also names concentration among packers and feedyards as the biggest industry change he has seen, a challenge for customer-owned cattle.

  • Focused on customer profitability and discusses how to help customers make money at every management meeting.
  • Built long relationships, including third-generation family customers.
  • Pursued lower-cost, more profitable feeding methods for customers and for Poky.
  • Invested in a new mill with advanced technology and added facilities over time.
  • Diversified into pork and long-term care, and encouraged young producers to find mentors and peers they respect.

Organizations and the Hall of Fame

Morgan is a longtime member of the Kansas Livestock Association and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and has served on several committees. He is a founding member of U.S. Premium Beef, was instrumental in starting it, has served on its board since 2007 and is currently vice chairman. He says active participation in cattle organizations gives the industry a stronger voice in Congress and on regulations.

He was inducted at the Cattle Convention in San Antonio, Texas, as part of the class that Beef magazine reported on when the 2025 inductees were announced. For more on the families and companies behind American beef, see farm.FM's ranching section or read a farm.FM story about a Kansas feedyard.

Timeline

  1. 1973Graduates from Iowa State University with an animal science degree.
  2. 1983Takes a job managing a feedyard east of Omaha.
  3. 1985Moves to Garden City, Kansas, to manage Poky Feeders at 17,000 head.
  4. Late 1990sPoky expands into pork with an on-site sow unit.
  5. 2007Joins the board of U.S. Premium Beef, where he remains.
  6. 2025Inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame in San Antonio.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Joe Morgan of Poky Feeders?

Joe Morgan is CEO of Poky Feeders in Scott City, Kansas. He moved to Garden City in 1985 to manage Poky, grew it from 17,000 head, and was inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame in 2025.

How big is Poky Feeders?

The Hall of Fame bio puts Poky at 103,000 head and Drovers at 105,000, so sources differ slightly. About 95% of the cattle belong to customers, with 5% owned by the company.

What is Joe Morgan's role in U.S. Premium Beef?

Morgan is a founding member of U.S. Premium Beef and was instrumental in starting the organization. He has served on its board since 2007 and is currently vice chairman.

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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