Miller Feedyard, one of the first commercial feedyards in Haskell County, Kan., opened its doors in July 1969, but not without a little perseverance from its founder and my grandpa, Jim Miller.

Prior to opening the feedyard, Grandpa was running 3,000 calves on wheat in the winter and farming in the summer. After several years of losing the money he earned from his calves on his crops, he decided to stick with the industry that was making a profit and began building a 2,000-head commercial feedyard in September 1968.

At this time, his investment seemed risky and he had a very difficult time finding finances to develop the yard. On March 1, 1969, he received a letter from the Grant County State Bank in Ulysses, Kan., rejecting him yet again for a short-term loan. The letter read as follows:

I’ve considered your request for short-term risk capital loan money to finance your proposed commercial feedyard. We are not in the market for, nor will we in any way, finance your commercial feedyard operation under the use of short-term credit.

We have advised you of this numerous times, and formally, as early as January 9, 1969. We further advise you that whatever reckless steps you take toward using short-term credit arrangements will affect your credit capacity through the Grant County Agricultural Credit Corporation.

In the meantime, your real estate note to our bank in the principal amount of $23,500 will be due on March 13, 1969 and we will be expecting you to pay this note as you agreed.

We can not over emphasize the need for you to seek long-term capital funds and we offer our bank reference to anybody or any party to which you may request funds to finance your commercial feedyard.

Thank you for your courtesy and business.

Very truly yours,
John Doe

Vice President
Grant County State Bank
Ulysses, KS

Call him persistent, or stubborn, he continued to apply for loans at banks from Liberal to Topeka, Kan., before he was finally given a loan from the People’s National Bank in Liberal.

The banker only issued the loan because his wife had been Grandpa’s violin instructor when he was in 5th grade and had considered him a star pupil. He learned later that the banker also knew what it was like to start at the bottom, as he had worked his way up the ladder from a janitor at the bank to the president.

The banker retired shortly after he issued the loan to finance Miller Feedyard, however, the People’s National Bank of Liberal would continue to finance the expansions to the yard every time Grandpa applied.

In it’s nearly 40 years in business, Grandpa and my two uncles – Red and Lee – grew the commercial feedyard to a 17,000-head yard, feeding a little more than 42,000 head per year.

With the profits from the feedyard, Grandpa also purchased four ranches – one in Kansas and three in New Mexico – with a combined acreage of more than 100,000. Between the four ranches, he runs 1,000 to 1,500 cow-calf pairs and 1,200 yearlings each year.

Today, the feedyard is used to feed the Red Angus-Gelbvieh cross calves raised by Grandpa and Red on their ranches, as well as calves bought from other sources.

As for the letter received from the Grant County State Bank in 1969, it is fittingly framed and hanging in Grandpa’s den to remind him of the blood, sweat and tears it took to build his success.