CALF_News_April_May_2019

18 CALF News • April | May 2019 • www.calfnews.ne t Continued on page 20  B ill Foxley, a self-taught, wheeling and dealing Nebraska cattle feeder and hedger, and James Herring, a mild-mannered Texas feedyard execu- tive who helped foster branded beef and value-added production, are the newest members of the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame (CFHOF). These men were inducted during the CFHOF’s 10th annual induction ceremo- nies that kicked off the Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Trade Show in New Orleans in January. The event also honored Jim Odle, recipient of the CFHOF Leadership Award for his role as a pioneer in satellite video cattle auctions and founder of Superior Livestock Auc- tion. Jessie Ramirez, a 36-year employee at Brookover Feedyard, was recipient of the Arturo Armendariz Distinguished Service Award for exceptional feedyard employees. BILL FOXLEY Mr. Foxley was introduced by Dan May, a former Foxley associate now with LaVaca Cattle Co. of Colorado. May noted that Foxley once said,“The only way to discipline a market is with a checkbook.” That, and having a knack for knowing when to hedge, helped Foxley grow into the nation’s third-largest cattle feeder, with additional interests in grain handling and packing facilities. He was founder of Foxley & Co., and got started in the early 1960s with a 15,000-head feedyard on the edge of Omaha. Foxley learned to sort cattle from his dad, who ran a small feedyard, as well as being a cattle buyer who sold for major commission companies. After high school, Foxley attended Notre Dame University. Upon receiv- ing his degree, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines. He had watched and learned from his father, who was among the cattlemen hit with major market down- falls in the 1950s. After his father got back on his feet, he was tragically killed in a traffic accident while on a cattle-buying venture in Texas in 1957. Foxley wanted to get into the cattle business himself and later leveraged part of the inheritance from his father’s estate to build the Omaha yard. He was able to finish cattle with an efficient cost of gain. “A lot of it was good timing,” Foxley said during his induction speech.“The futures market had just started, and people were starting to know more about nutrition. “The whole industry was changing. I was able to get 100 percent financing from Connecti- cut Mutual and was like a kid in the candy store. I had to build another feedyard. “I was doing all of the buying, selling and hedging myself. I’d get an inkling the market was going up. Sometimes I was right. I was probably the first to hedge cattle in a major way. I could lock in $40 per head profit. It was almost too easy.” When the cattle marketed crashed limit-down for nearly two weeks in the early ‘70s, Foxley was hedged. He had locked in price protection after remember- ing how his father had suffered in the ‘50s. Foxley admitted risk management through futures trading is not a guarantee. “Hedging cattle is just like Wild Turkey [whiskey],” he said.“I like Wild Turkey, but you can drink too much.” Lenders liked his savvy and provided financing for more feedyards, including the 65,000-head Bartlett, Neb., facility that featured half-mile-long covered sheds over waste pits, which fed irrigation of Sand Hills farmland. He also had a lever- aged buyout of then-troubled Flavorland, a Fortune 500 meatpacker. He turned the company around the first year. From Nebraska to Texas to Wyo- ming, Foxley & Co. operated numerous feedyards, elevators and packing facilities. Foxley ran them from a home office on the beach at La Jolla, Calif., outside San Diego. The operations were successfully sold in the 1990s. Over the years, he also acquired numerous works of Western art, which is now a prestigious collection in a Denver museum. Betty Jo Gigot, CALF News publisher and herself recipient of the CFHOF Leadership Award in 2014, was excited with Foxley’s induction.“After many years, it was such a treat to see Bill Foxley again,” she said.“I had the pleasure of interviewing him many years ago at his office in California. His being honored with the Hall of Fame award was so well deserved.” By Larry Stalcup Contributing Editor Bill Foxley, founder of Foxley & Co., and a pioneer of custom cattle feeding, is presented as a new Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame inductee by Dan May, LaVaca Cattle Co. T H E C A T T L E C O M M U N I T Y G A T H E R S I N N E W O R L E A N S Foxley, Herring Newest Members 18 CALF News • April | May 2019 • www.calfnews.net