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Feeders, Packers and Industry Leaders

Paul Engler, the Nebraska Boy Who Built Cactus Feeders in Texas

From a first herd bought as a boy to one of the largest private fed-cattle companies in the country, Engler helped prove feeding cattle could be big business.

Who was Paul Engler?

Paul Engler was born on August 23, 1929, in Stuart, Nebraska, and died on May 3, 2024, at age 94, according to his obituary in Drovers. He spent most of his career in the Texas Panhandle, where he built Cactus Feeders into what Farm Progress called the largest privately owned fed-cattle producer in the country.

The sources differ on his youth. The obituary says he bought his first herd at age 12 and graduated high school at 15. The Farm Progress profile says he bought and managed his first 100 head by age 14. Both agree on an early start with cattle.

How did Engler start in cattle feeding?

He graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1951, earning an agriculture degree in seven semesters. In 1960 he founded Hereford Feedyard, which Farm Progress describes as the first large-scale commercial feedyard in Hereford, Texas, and one that showed large-scale cattle feeding could be economically viable.

In 1972 he joined Iowa Beef Producers, the packer, where he was an executive. Farm Progress says he headed the carcass division and helped design the Amarillo beef plant, then the largest beef harvesting plant in the country.

What is Cactus Feeders?

Engler moved to Dumas, Texas, in 1975 and founded Cactus Feeders. By 2009, according to Farm Progress, it employed more than 500 people across 11 locations in Texas and Kansas, ranked among the 50 largest companies in Texas and appeared on Forbes' list of the 500 largest private companies.

He also expanded fed-cattle operations internationally. The sources used here do not give feedyard capacity or revenue figures, so none are stated.

The Key to Engler's Success

Engler's record shows a feeder who thought about the whole chain from pen to plate. He worked as a feeder and as a packer executive, and each job informed the other.

If you want more on the feeding business, farm.FM keeps a ranching section with industry stories, including a farm.FM story on Panhandle cattle feeding.

  • He started small and young, with his own cattle before college.
  • He built a large commercial feedyard in 1960 to prove feeding at scale could pay.
  • He worked inside a major packer from 1972, which gave him a view of carcass quality.
  • He is credited with formula pricing, which rewards feeders for beef that meets consumer quality and health standards.
  • He set up what Farm Progress calls the first employee stock ownership plan in the fed-cattle industry.
  • He took on legal and public fights, accepting the risks that came with them.

What was the Oprah Winfrey lawsuit?

In 1996 Engler was lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against Oprah Winfrey over an episode about food safety and mad cow disease. The suit was filed by the Texas Beef Group under a so-called veggie libel law. The jury ruled for Winfrey.

Engler said in 2011 that he thought the suit did some good. The case remains part of his public record and is stated here without further comment.

Honors and the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame

Engler was an inaugural inductee of the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame in 2009, chosen by fellow feeders from a field of 12 nominees. He was 79 at the time. His bio appears on the hall's own page, the Cattle Feeders bio of Paul Engler.

In May 2022 West Texas A&M University gave him an honorary doctorate in business administration and agriculture. The Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business and the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences bear his name.

What is Paul Engler's legacy?

His legacy continues through the University of Nebraska, West Texas A&M University and the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation.

For historians, the main lessons are the 1960 feedyard, the formula pricing idea, the employee ownership plan and the willingness to enter public disputes.

Timeline

  1. 1929Born August 23 in Stuart, Nebraska
  2. 1951Graduates from the University of Nebraska
  3. 1960Founds Hereford Feedyard
  4. 1972Joins Iowa Beef Producers
  5. 1975Moves to Dumas, Texas, and founds Cactus Feeders
  6. 1996Lead plaintiff in the Texas Beef Group suit against Oprah Winfrey; jury rules for Winfrey
  7. 2009Inaugural inductee, Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame
  8. 2022Receives honorary doctorate from West Texas A&M University
  9. 2024Dies May 3 at age 94

Frequently asked questions

Who was Paul Engler?

Paul Engler (1929-2024) was a Nebraska-born cattle feeder who founded Hereford Feedyard in 1960 and Cactus Feeders in 1975, and was an inaugural Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame inductee in 2009.

What is Cactus Feeders known for?

Cactus Feeders, founded by Paul Engler in 1975, was described in 2009 as the largest privately owned fed-cattle producer in the U.S., with more than 500 employees across 11 locations in Texas and Kansas.

What was formula pricing?

Farm Progress credits Engler with creating formula pricing, which gives feeders incentives to produce beef that meets consumer health and quality standards.

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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