From Feedlots to the Big Leagues: Dick Monfort on Building Beef & Baseball Dynasties
We Live It | LiveAg's Livestock Marketing Podcast · LiveAg
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Show Notes
Recorded live at Colorado Rockies home turf, Coors Field, during Stockmen at the Stadium, this episode is one we’ll never forget.
We sat down with legendary cattle feeder, former President of ConAgra Red Meats, and Rockies owner Dick Monfort for a conversation that bridged two iconic American institutions: beef and baseball.
Long before stadium lights and opening day crowds, Dick was riding pens at four years old, feeding cattle alongside his grandfather in northern Colorado. He helped lead one of the most transformative eras in the beef industry, from shipping live animals to pioneering boxed beef, to scaling plants that harvested over 100,000 head per week. He lived through razor-thin margins, near bankruptcy, plant start-ups, industry reinvention, and the relentless grind of feeding a nation.
Then came a curveball.
In the early 1990s, the Monfort name became tied to Major League Baseball when the Rockies franchise was awarded to Denver. What started as a $95 million investment turned into one of the most recognizable brands in professional sports. Today, Dick’s legacy spans feedyards, packing plants, and a ballpark that seats more than 50,000 fans under the Colorado sky.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Growing up in a three-classroom schoolhouse outside Greeley
- Feeding cattle year-round on Colorado’s Front Range
- The shift from carcass beef to boxed beef
- Running a packing plant at 26 years old
- The ConAgra acquisition
- Why cattle genetics today are better than ever
- And how running a feedlot compares to running a Major League franchise
What makes this conversation special is the humility. Dick speaks with deep respect for the cattle industry, calling it the business that “helped feed the world.” For us, recording this episode inside Coors Field felt like a full-circle moment for agriculture.
Dick, thank you for your time, your candor, and the blessing of this conversation. It was an honor to sit in your stadium and talk about the industry that built it.
If you care about cattle, leadership, grit, or the evolution of American agriculture… this one is for you.
🎧 Listen now and don’t forget to subscribe to the We Live It Podcast.
- (00:00) - – Welcome to Coors Field
- (01:15) - – Growing Up in the Feedlot
- (03:45) - – Feeding Cattle Year-Round in Colorado
- (06:50) - – Shipping Carcasses vs. Live Cattle
- (08:30) - – The Birth of Boxed Beef
- (10:45) - – Learning the Hard Way in the Feedlot
- (13:20) - – Buying Cattle During College
- (15:00) - – Scaling to 100,000 Head
- (18:40) - – Running a Packing Plant at 26
- (22:00) - – The ConAgra Acquisition
- (24:30) - – Entering Major League Baseball
- (26:45) - – Beef Business vs. Baseball Business
- (28:10) - – Hot Fat Trim & Innovation in Packing
- (30:00) - – Modern Genetics & Today’s Cattle Industry
- (32:00) - – The Future of Beef & Final Thoughts