Betty Jo Gigot, Editor and Publisher

Soft spoken and articulate, Kevin Buse is a serious young man, determined to be the best possible at what he does. He comes by it naturally, following the Buse and Winter family traditions. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also had some of the best mentors in the industry. Meat scientist Darrell Tatum, Ph.D. was his advisor at Colorado State University where Buse studied animal science, and James Herring and Dave DeLaney oversaw Buse’s eight-year tenure at Friona Industries. Buse certainly has the credentials and strives to use that knowledge at Champion Feeders LLC near Hereford, Texas.

Six partners including Buse own Champion, which just purchased Tascosa Feedyard in nearby Bushland, increasing their overall capacity by 25,000 head.

Stickler for details
As the manager at Champion, Buse and operations manager Kent Haley run a tight and lean operation. The thirtysome-year-old feedyard presents particular problems with upkeep and efficiency. The day I was there, pens were wet from another soaking rain, but the crew was moving fast to make sure cattle were as comfortable as possible.

Located in the triangle of feedyards at the east end of Hereford, the yard is like an old lady who needs a new dress, and Buse spends his days ensuring she looks and feels good. “You always do what is best for the cattle,” Buse said.

Buse believes efficiency is key to running a tight ship. An outside consultant evaluates monthly their efficiency and cost of labor, comparing them with other yards of the same size. Buse has used his efficiency-minded philosophy to change some things around the yard. Replacing their mill’s four rollers with a single 24-foot by 56-foot roller, installed by local millwright Ferrell Ross, saves energy and maintenance costs. Two larger feed trucks have replaced four smaller trucks, saving labor, fuel and time.

Buse is a perfectionist about the yard’s nutrition program. “I am a very strong believer and rely heavily on my consulting team to give me an ‘outside-looking-in’ evaluation.” He and consulting nutritionist Keith Hansen are hopeful that the area’s proposed ethanol plants will provide consistent feed byproducts.

“You can do everything to be competitive, but if you do not benchmark your operation, you never know what competitive is,” Buse said.

A strong believer in QSA and BQA they record information, via individual electronic ID on every animal from “day 1 to day 180.”

“We need to be able to validate exactly what has happened to each animal in order to help maintain domestic as well as global markets,” Buse explained. “The protein market is a very competitive place and we cannot afford to lose market share.”

Buse has issues with starting the individual identification process at the feedyard, believing the place to start is at the ranch. Ninety-nine percent of their ranch customers EID their cattle and that, according to Buse, is where the real value comes in. He feels the same way about BVD-PI testing, knowing that the ranch is the best place for that to be done, as well.

B use says he depends on Jim Schwertner and his group at Capital Land and Livestock when sourcing his feeder cattle. “You don’t have to wonder if he will make a deal good,” Buse said. “You don’t have to be afraid of getting into a bad situation.”

Buse makes full use of the Schwertner Select program, which fits well with their preconditioned calf and yearling programs. The company also has an outside grazing program, utilizing forage and grassland within 30 miles of the feedyard.

Custom feeders
Buse and his owner group all work on finding customers for the yard, where more and more of their cattle are part of the Rancher’s Renaissance program. Other cattle are sold live or on some type of grid.

“The biggest challenge right now is the market,” Buse said, noting that it is an interesting time with huge volatility. Finding and keeping good employees also takes time because Buse knows that he cannot afford turnover.

Dealing with the coming construction of two large ethanol plants in the community will make for some interesting times in Hereford, but Buse sees that as a long-term boost for the local economy. He believes strongly in the Hereford community and sees that every penny possible is spent in the community.

Showing maturity and sophistication beyond his years, Buse loves his family, sports and fly-fishing, but enjoys the challenge of feeding cattle … it runs in the family.