Betty Jo Gigot, Editor and Publisher

It was early Monday morning at PACO and the start of another week. The first thing I noticed was the silence. The office staff were at their desks, working their way through the weekend paperwork. The only sound in the cattle working area was the bawl of a calf as he was processed. Manager Feller Hughs occasionally checked his computer screen as he visited about PACO Feed Yard and the goals they strive for every day.

Rich in history
In 1969, PACO Feed Yard was the second feedyard built by a group of local businessmen including A. L. Black that would eventually become Friona Industries. In 1990, PACO was sold to a group of eight area cattlemen and ranchers. Feller Hughs hired on as manager in 1993. Originally from West Texas, Hughs worked for Clayton Williams in the Davis Mountains of Texas and at Supreme Cattle Feeders near Liberal, Kan., for seven years. He jumped at the chance to move back to Texas and oversee the 35,000-head capacity yard south of Friona.

During Hughs’ tenure, the entire yard has been totally reworked, adding back alleys and revamping the mill. A new processing area is his pride and joy, taking three years of planning and building that has resulted in a state-of-the-art working facility.

Hughs claims he has the best of all worlds, with a perfect, low humidity climate, close proximity to processors and access to five, 110-railcar facilities for grain delivery.

Right now, admittedly, he is concerned about high grain prices in the wake of extreme volatility revolving around the explosion of ethanol plants.

“I stepped up and bought all of my corn through March, and sometimes questioned my sanity.” Now, of course, he wishes he had “stepped up” further.

Hughs is realistic about feeding byproducts and, as of now, is very satisfied with the dry corn glutton pellets he uses in his rations. “There is only so much protein you can use, even if it’s free,” Hughs said when asked about the new ethanol plants planned for the Friona area.

Hughs is careful not to get blindsided by high feed costs. He knows he has to protect what he has invested in his current inventory. “With grain up $1.50 per bushel, those cattle will hurt unless they were protected. I still think the best hedge is to be in the market every week.”

PACO runs about 80 percent custom feeding, mostly for customers from Texas and New Mexico. Along with the 35,000 head yard, several thousand outside cattle are part of the program.

Hughs feeds primarily crossbred cattle that match the climate so well. “We buy all of our feeder cattle from Capital Land and Livestock at Schwertner, Ellison Carter from Santo, or from the country.”

When asked what his feeder-calf specifications are, Hughs was very blunt. “All I want to buy is something that will make money. I would feed a giraffe if he would make money.”

As for marketing, PACO has sold all of their cattle through Consolidated Beef Producers (CBP), a fed-cattle marketing association, since its inception, and Hughs thinks they do a good job for him and his customers.

“I make up the show list, which goes to the packer buyers and the people at CBP. Both come to look at the cattle and CBP takes bids. It is easier for me because Consolidated has more access to who needs what cattle when and what fits on what grid. I call the customer to get their okay on the sale. We pay $1 per head for the service and are getting a return on our investment.”

20/20 vision
Hughs understands what his priorities are. “We should get up every morning and thank U.S. consumers for staying with us through the BSE crisis.” They kept eating beef and Hughs appreciates that.

He also strongly believes that the industry needs to strive daily to produce more and more Choice-grade beef. “If we have to compete on a global market with Select-grade beef, we will loose,” Hughs said. “If the product is good, they will pay for it.”

Hughs sees endless possibilities for beef in the future, noting that muscle profiling and other advancements offer us more opportunities every day.

Hughs has implemented a BVD-PI-testing program at PACO. “We test everything that comes into the yard,” Hughs said. “We started by only testing high-risk cattle but soon found that we needed to test yearlings, too. On the sale barn cattle, we try to keep the back tags on, and if we find a positive, notify the buyer, who gets back to the auction barn, who lets the producer know.”

Hughs also believes that individual ID is coming, and explained about finding a PI-positive calf in two groups of ranch cattle. In one case, the owner had individual identification on his calves, so he knew which animal it was. The other rancher had to test his entire herd to find the PI-positive cow.

His testing program has paid off in more ways than one. “In one set, we found five head of positives in a load of sale barn calves,” Hughs said. As it turned out, they all came from the same herd. “All I know is that I have had pens where I wish I had known why they kept breaking, if only for staff morale. They really get discouraged when they have done everything they can and are still pulling cattle.

Mostly, Hughs works on consistency in every facet of the yard’s operation. He maintains that all of the little pieces have to fit together to make the most profit for his customers. That is what Hughs works on daily, quietly and steady as she goes.