At 6,000 head capacity, we provide the best of both worlds - a hands-on management approach that provides health outcomes you expect from smaller yards with feeding efficien Great-grandfather, James Robert Rhea, and his brother fought on opposing sides in the U.S. Following the war as life began to return to normal, there were few places in the East where former Confederate and Union soldiers were
welcome together. These men, with strong family ties, could not bare the thought of separation, so they headed West. In 1872, James and his brother purchased land near Bell Creek, Nebraska (present day Arlington). They were successful with their horse breeding, even winning Best of Show at the 1912 Minnesota State Fair. As mechanized agriculture became more prevalent in the 1920s, demand for their prized horses greatly decreased. To preserve their way of life in the frontier, the brothers converted their horse barns into sheep barns. By the late 1950s Grandfather Howard ran one of the largest sheep operations in Nebraska. In 1964, just as Bill graduated from college, the sheep harvesting facilities in nearby Omaha closed. Abandoning the sheep business, Bill and Howard converted the sheep facilities into a cattle feedlot. Today, cowboys ride the range, keeping watch over the cattle, the newest generation play in the yard where James Robert Rhea’s children once did, and the soil as rich as the day he and his brother arrived. Our family has fought hard to maintain our roots to Eastern Nebraska, to ensure this way of life for future generations. A commitment to family, heritage, the love of the land, and its way of life, these are the unspoken philosophy of our family. For 129 years our family has had a strong commitment to agriculture. Today we focus on feeding quality cattle to produce quality beef. We focus on roles as environmental stewards, winning the NCBA Region 5 Environmental Stewardship Award. We focus on Beef Quality Assurance standards and providing the best care for the cattle. To our family, agriculture is not just about a means of making a living, it is about a way of life. Strong family roots, pride in the land and the hard work that is required of the living off the land, heritage that runs as deep as the rich, brown soil, these are the pieces of agriculture that give us a truly special way of life.
