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Feeders, Packers and Industry Leaders

Kenneth Monfort: The Greeley Feeder Who Moved the Packing Plant to Cattle Country

By placing a packing plant near the feedlots and cutting beef before it shipped, Ken Monfort changed how fed cattle became grocery-store meat.

Who was Kenneth Monfort?

Kenneth Monfort ran Monfort of Colorado, the Greeley feeding and meatpacking company that his father began and that grew into a Fortune 500 firm. The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame bio says he revolutionized cattle feeding by building a packing plant in cattle-feeding country, and credits him with inventing boxed beef sold to foodservice and retail buyers.

He was inducted into the hall in 2010. Greeley's local history pages remember him as a rancher by circumstance who became a civic leader and philanthropist.

Growing up in Greeley and taking over

According to Greeley History, Ken was born in Greeley on November 22, 1928. His parents, Warren and Edith Monfort, were both teachers, though Warren preferred farming. At 11 or 12 he won the National Steer Championship in 1941, and he later earned an agriculture degree from Colorado State University.

His older brother, Lt. Richard Monfort, was reported missing in action in World War II and presumed dead, which left Ken to work with his father in the family business. He first worked for his father and later as an executive at Monfort Inc. In 1970 he became chief executive and led the company to Fortune 500 status.

Year-round feeding with sugar beet by-products

Greeley History says Warren Monfort and W.H. Farr developed feedlots that used sugar beet by-products as cattle feed. Feeding cattle year-round meant beef could reach the market throughout the year rather than only in fall, when cattle were traditionally rounded up for slaughter.

The hall lists his feedlot as Monfort Feeders in Greeley. The Colorado Business Hall of Fame entry notes that his father began feeding year-round so the family could sell beef at better prices throughout the year.

Moving the packing plant and cutting beef at the source

Ken moved meatpacking from cities to rural areas closer to feedlots. Greeley History says he moved the plant out to the country near the new highway system close to Greeley, nearer ranchers and feedlots while still close to markets.

By the 1950s stores employed butchers to break down carcasses, which the Business Hall of Fame calls costly and wasteful. Under Ken, the company did this butchering in-house and shipped primal cuts to stores. Greeley History says grocers and restaurants liked the product, and the hall credits him with boxed beef.

The Key to Monfort's Success

The record shows an executive who moved the work to where the cattle were.

He took over the business after a family loss in the war, and he later served in the state legislature.

  • Go to the cattle: he moved packing from city stockyard districts to the country near Greeley feedlots.
  • Cut the beef before shipping: in-house breaking of carcasses into primals saved stores from doing it.
  • Feed all year: the family's year-round feeding supported steadier beef supply and better prices.
  • Use local by-products: Warren Monfort and W.H. Farr fed sugar beet by-products.
  • Give back locally: the family funded college scholarships and civic buildings in Greeley.

Later years, public life and the sale to ConAgra

Greeley History says Ken ran for the Colorado Senate in 1968 and lost, after serving in the Colorado General Assembly. He retired to Florida with his wife, Myra, in 1995 and died at Longboat Key on February 2, 2001. Monfort Plaza, with a statue of him, was dedicated in Greeley in 2000.

ConAgra Foods acquired Monfort of Colorado in 1987, according to a Wikipedia summary of the Monfort brothers, which also says Ken's son Dick Monfort became president of ConAgra Red Meats after the purchase.

Honors and what Greeley remembers

The National Western Stock Show named Ken Monfort its Citizen of the West in 1991, calling him a pioneer in the livestock industry and community leader in the Rocky Mountain West. He is also a Colorado Business Hall of Fame laureate.

The family legacy in Greeley includes Monfort Elementary, the University of Northern Colorado's Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business, the Monfort Birth Center, the Monfort Children's Clinic and the Union Colony Civic Center. Learn more about beef's supply chain in the ranching section of farm.FM, or read a farm.FM story about beef packing.

Timeline

  1. 1928Born November 22 in Greeley, Colorado
  2. 1941Wins the National Steer Championship
  3. 1968Runs for the Colorado Senate and loses
  4. 1970Becomes chief executive of the family company
  5. 1987ConAgra Foods acquires Monfort of Colorado
  6. 1991Named Citizen of the West by the National Western Stock Show
  7. 1995Retires to Florida
  8. 2001Dies February 2 at Longboat Key, Florida
  9. 2010Inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame

Frequently asked questions

Who was Kenneth Monfort?

Kenneth Monfort (1928-2001) led Monfort of Colorado, a Greeley feeding and packing company, from 1970. The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame inducted him in 2010 for building a packing plant in feedlot country.

Did Ken Monfort invent boxed beef?

The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame credits him with inventing boxed beef. Greeley History describes his company cutting beef at the plant and shipping it pre-cut to stores, which grocers and restaurants liked.

Where did Monfort build its packing plant?

Near Greeley, Colorado, in the countryside close to the new highway system. Moving packing out of cities put it nearer ranchers and feedlots while keeping markets within reach.

What happened to Monfort of Colorado?

ConAgra Foods acquired Monfort of Colorado in 1987. Ken's son Dick Monfort became president of ConAgra Red Meats after the purchase, according to a Wikipedia summary of the Monfort brothers.

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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