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Tom Jones and Hy-Plains Feedyard: A Kansas Feeder Who Invested in Research

A Garden City farm kid who bought a 28,000-head yard in 1999 and spent the next two decades building a research-minded feeding operation.

Who Is Tom Jones of Hy-Plains Feedyard?

Tom Jones runs Hy-Plains Feedyard in southwest Kansas, and in 2022 the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame added him to its roll. His official Hall of Fame biography describes a man raised on a row crop farm just north of Garden City, Kansas, who went on to study animal science at Kansas State University and to work on both the live cattle and packing plant sides of the beef business.

That mix matters. Plenty of feeders know cattle, and plenty know the packer's side of the table. Jones spent time on both, and the Hall of Fame notes that he has surrounded himself with leaders in cattle feeding. The result is a yard that treats the buyer, the veterinarian, the researcher and the pen rider as parts of one system.

Early Career: From Pen Rider to Cattle Buyer

According to a Drovers profile of the yard, Jones started as a pen rider for feeding pioneer Earl Brookover and later managed Brookover Ranch Feedyard. Pen riding is the entry-level job of the feedyard world: you ride the pens, spot sick cattle and learn what a healthy animal looks like before you ever manage a budget.

Before he went out on his own, the same profile says he worked as a cattle buyer for IBP, now part of Tyson, and for Hy-Plains Dressed Beef. Buying cattle for a packer teaches a person what the plant actually pays for, which is a useful thing to know when you later feed cattle to sell to that plant.

How Hy-Plains Feedyard Was Built

In 1999, Jones and a group of investors bought a 28,000-head feedyard near Montezuma, Kansas, and began operating it as Hy-Plains Feedyard LLC. The Hall of Fame biography lists the yard at Garden City and says it was acquired through an investment group in 1999, after which Jones spent about two decades improving and building on its successes.

Drovers reports that the yard expanded twice, first to 35,000 head and then to its current capacity of 50,000. Those are trade-press figures, so treat them as reported rather than audited. What is clear from both sources is that growth came in steps and stayed tied to a single location rather than to a sprawl of yards.

The Education and Research Center

The most distinctive thing about Hy-Plains is a building rather than a pen. The Hy-Plains Education and Research Center opened in 2017 to educate producers and consumers on topics such as antimicrobial use, water conservation, farming practices and community development. It also supports collaborative research on animal health, efficiency and product safety.

Drovers says Jones made that choice after a strong 2014, when he could have added pens or feed trucks and instead put money into education and research. Staff from ABS and Veterinary Research and Consulting Services of Hays, Kansas, work at the center, and Miles Theurer serves as research director for both VRCS and Hy-Plains. The center also hosts customer leadership from companies such as McDonald's and Carl's Jr., and about 120 local elementary students attend an annual field day.

The Key to Jones's Success

The documented record points to a feeder who invested in knowledge and people when many peers would have invested in capacity. Several habits show up in the sources, and they are practical enough for any operator to study.

One caution applies. The sources describe his approach and results but do not publish the yard's finances, so nothing here should be read as a claim about profitability.

  • He learned the whole chain: pen riding, yard management and packer-side cattle buying before owning a yard.
  • He bought an existing 28,000-head yard with investors in 1999 and expanded it in two stages rather than building from scratch.
  • After a strong 2014 he chose research and education over more pens and trucks, and opened the center in 2017.
  • He emphasizes stockmanship: cattle are processed quietly, and processing is not treated as a timed event because calmer cattle perform better.
  • He works with customers and the public, from corporate beef buyers to local schoolchildren, and serves on the U.S. Roundtable on Sustainable Beef.

Cattle, Quality and Recognition

Drovers reports that cattle at Hy-Plains are grading 100 percent Choice, with the yard working toward Prime. In 2019 Hy-Plains received the Certified Angus Beef Progressive Partner Award, covered in a Drovers report on the CAB honors.

Jones himself was inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame in 2022. The honor recognizes lasting contributions to the cattle feeding industry, and his citation centers on the education center and two decades of building the yard.

Southwest Kansas and the Feedyard Belt

Garden City sits in the heart of the High Plains feeding region, where irrigated corn, sorghum and nearby packing plants make large feedyards workable. A yard like Hy-Plains is one link in a chain that runs from cow-calf ranches across the country to the packing houses of western Kansas.

For readers who want more on the ranching side of that chain, farm.FM's ranching coverage is a good place to start, and a farm.FM story about Kansas cattle feeding follows similar country.

Timeline

  1. 1999Jones and investors buy a 28,000-head yard near Montezuma, Kansas, and form Hy-Plains Feedyard LLC
  2. 2014A strong year that Jones later says he used to fund research rather than new pens
  3. 2017Hy-Plains Education and Research Center opens
  4. 2019Hy-Plains receives the Certified Angus Beef Progressive Partner Award
  5. 2022Jones is inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame

Frequently asked questions

Who is Tom Jones of Hy-Plains Feedyard?

Tom Jones is the Kansas cattle feeder who leads Hy-Plains Feedyard. Raised north of Garden City and trained in animal science at Kansas State, he and investors bought the yard in 1999. He entered the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame in 2022.

How big is Hy-Plains Feedyard?

Drovers reports the yard started at 28,000 head in 1999, expanded to 35,000 and then to its current capacity of 50,000 head. Those are trade-press figures from a profile of the yard.

What is the Hy-Plains Education and Research Center?

Opened in 2017, it is a shared space for research, demonstration and training on animal health, antimicrobial use, water conservation and product safety, with staff from partner research groups working on site.

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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