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A 136-year ranching legacy lives on in Nebraska with U.S. Bank at its side
The Maddux Cattle Company in western Nebraska has strategically navigated the ups and downs of agriculture for four generations.
Rain.
That’s the one thing that, as John Maddux looks toward the future, he’s hopeful for as he builds upon a family legacy that started 136 years ago when the Maddux Cattle Company was founded in western Nebraska.
“The one thing about our industry right now is that we are under stress,” said Maddux, the president of the Maddux Cattle Company who represents the fourth generation of Maddux family members to have led the business. “We are in a severe drought, which we have been in since 2019. Higher energy and diesel fuel costs has also impacted a large part of our business.”
These are not unfamiliar, outside pressures for the Maddux family’s operations or for anyone working agriculture and ranching. In the Maddux’s case, they’ve strategically and successfully navigated the ups and downs of ranching since 1886. Their business expanded beyond the family homestead when they started feeding cattle to finished weights in 1917. Since then, they’ve grown significantly, now owning 35,000 ranch acres and about 8,000 head of cattle. As they’ve expanded, and from a financial perspective, this has meant relying on a trusted partner to walk alongside them.
“We’ve been doing business with U.S. Bank through proceeding banks since 1937,” said Maddux, who moved their entire banking relationship to U.S. Bank in the 2010s. “It was time for us to go with one bank and one that was more sophisticated to better serve our needs.”
Maddux Cattle Company, along with the two other entities that make up the Maddux family enterprises, relies on U.S. Bank to provide technology-forward services that make doing business easier as well as offer competitive rates. This includes Treasury Management services, such as remote deposit, and operating lines of credit. “As a business, the Maddux Cattle Company is not only extremely resilient and financially strong, but they truly have a passion for what they do,” said Scott Meradith, the business banking relationship manager at U.S. Bank working with Maddux and his family. “Here at U.S. Bank, we aim to make it easier for them to get back to the work that they enjoy. For instance, having remote deposit for their business just makes sense because of their rural location. It saves them time and, for John, that’s time that could be spent sorting cattle.”
Meradith and Maddux have worked together for 13 years, through both the good and the challenging times. Through it all, they’ve fostered a relationship built on trust and candidness.
“The quality of the people I’ve worked with… I can’t say how much of a plus that’s been for me,” said Maddux. “I also appreciate that U.S. Bank is financially sound. I feel like the bank has great financial controls, which allow for stability and excellent rates.”
The Maddux’s relationship with U.S. Bank runs deep – spanning 85 years, generations of Maddux family members and bankers, and early evening tours of the Maddux operations with Tim Welsh, vice chair of Consumer and Business Banking at U.S. Bank.
“To be a part of the conversations that are having real impact on our clients’ businesses, families and livelihoods, that is a real honor our bankers do not take for granted,” said Welsh, who visited the Maddux family at their operations in Imperial, Nebraska, which is about a three-hour drive from Denver. “For John and the Maddux family, that drive for success and enthusiasm for their business is awe-inspiring. To be able to play even a small part in powering their potential, that is what a purpose-driven approach is all about and you can’t ask for much more than that.”
For Maddux, the future looks bright. While he’s had to decrease his herd size to reduce costs due to lack of rain in 2022, he is positioning the company to grow its herd in 2023.
“We’re preparing to skew our herd toward more heifers, which help feed our country and grow the business,” said Maddux. “We will get rain. It’s just a matter of when and where.”
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