Pioneer of Commercial Cattle Feeding

Louis Dinklage pioneered the cattle feeding business in 1923 with the establishment of a 3,000-head operation near Wisner, Nebraska. By the late 1960’s Dinklage was considered the largest cattle feeder in the country. When a former partner moved to the western part of the state, he reported that he had found an excellent location to feed cattle. Louis was quick to recognize the attributes of the drier, more arid region, its abundant feed sources and water supply. He envisioned the panhandle as a major feeding area.

His vision was correct, for today, Dinklage Feedyards is one of the largest and most successful commercial feeding operations in the nation.

By the summer of 1969, Dinklage, along with other investors built the initial western yard at Sidney. Under the guidance of Louis, his nephew Herman, and 28-year manager Benny Von Seggern, Dinklage began an expansion program that today encompasses six strategically located feed yards with a one-time capacity of 170,000 head.

Carrying on the legacy that the Dinklage name portrays is an important point of pride in today's organization. In 1997, Von Seggern retired handing the reins to Tom O’Connell, Jr. A business graduate of Colorado State University, O’Connell came to the company as office manager in 1976 and today serves as the CEO of the vast feeding enterprise.