George Littrell Jr, “Frank”, has been working for Midwest Feeders, Inc. in Ingalls, Kan. for more than 31 years. He moved from Alva, Okla., to Kansas in February 1993 with his wife and infant twins.
“I always wanted to be a cowboy. Taking care of animals is in my blood,” Littrell says. “My favorite part of the day is in the morning and getting everything ready for the day. If the morning starts off well, it’s usually a good day.”
Littrell gets to the yard early in the day and gives his crew processing orders. They ship every day, except Sunday. He likes to make sure his crew is running well during the day, and makes sure all the records balance at the end of the day.
“For me to do my job I need other people to do their job,” Littrell says. “Years ago cowboys were everywhere. Now they’re getting harder to find. You have to have a good crew.”
Littrell’s started driving a feed truck when he began at Midwest Feeders. His passion for caring for cattle soon moved him to the head cowboy position.
“When I began as head cowboy everything was pencil and paper,” he recalls. “We would record treatment records on index cards.”
When Littrell started in the early 90s, the yard had a one-time feeding capacity of 4,500 head, and has expanded to 90,000 since then.
“Frank is a very dedicated employee,” says Jeff Sternberger, who helps manage Midwest Feeders. “He tries very hard to do his best every day. He understands cattle and can read the cattle as well as anybody I’ve ever met. He’s probably allowed us to grow faster than we would have otherwise.”
As the current Cattle Foreman, Littrell runs a crew of 21 cowboys, 2 outside processing crews and works weekly with consulting veterinarians. The cattle management system has vastly changed over the years and is now completely computer-based tracking an animal’s health daily including treatments, processing, implanting, shipping, receiving and inventories. As Littrell’s role has expanded, he misses riding pens daily, but really enjoys working with his team and the cattle.
When Littrell is not at the feedyard he enjoys spending time at the lake with his family and playing with his 4 grandchildren. He has passed on his passion for the cattle feeding industry and great work ethic to his son, who is the Mill Foreman for Midwest Feeders, Inc.
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