Agribusiness is a cornerstone of economic wealth in rural America. It’s the corn production in the Midwest, citrus in Florida, California’s diversified horticulture, and dairy in the Northeast that sustain local economies and put producers on the map for their products.
One county stands out in livestock production, particularly in cattle and lamb feedlots: Weld County, Colorado.
Located just an hour outside Denver, Weld County spans a large swath of northern Colorado along the Wyoming border. This region is home to farming towns that host some of the largest livestock operations in the country, producing 26 percent of the state’s agricultural output.
In the towns of Greeley, Fort Lupton, and Eaton, family farmers work alongside the largest players in the industry — including Cargill, JBS, and Superior Feed — to supply the market with high-quality animal protein.
Of the agricultural output from the county, four-fifths comes from livestock, according to the 2022 U.S. Department of Agriculture Census. The county holds the title as the nation’s highest producer of lamb by market value and ranks 11th in market value of agricultural products sold across 4,000 farms. In addition to livestock, Weld County produces row crops, pinto beans, and sugar beets.
Small ruminants, big status
It is the people, the western lifestyle, and the commitment of producers that have kept production local.
Catherine Harper, who has spent most of her life in Weld County, now manages Harper Feeders in Eaton. “We’ve got a pretty neat, tidy operation,” Harper said. “We take a lot of pride in what we’ve created since 1977 and continue to do here.”
The Harper feedlot operates a 65,000-head lamb operation, one of four sheep feeders in the region that use Superior Farms as their processor in downtown Denver. Started by Catherine’s grandfather, Harold Harper, the fourth-generation farm is now under Catherine’s operational management, with her father, Mike, and mother, Mary Ann, by her side.
Feedlots across the West share similar goals of feeding animals until they reach market, but they vary in how livestock are raised and sold.
“Sheep is an inventory business,” Harper explained. Harper Feeders purchases all of its inventory in the fall, then manages the lambs up to a year and a live weight of 160 pounds, varying demand throughout the year on their 65-acre property.
The operation has not seen significant growth over the past decade. When asked about sheep production across Colorado, Harper said, “We are shrinking, but several of us have returned to the family operation, and in the last two years, especially, we’ve seen more of the younger generation rise through the ranks.”
This situation is common for sheep producers. The average age of a ewe farmer is 70 to 75 years old, almost 17 years above the national average. Operations now work to just maintain the current level of production. Historically, sheep producers have also struggled to gain market access for United States lamb products and increase demand for lamb meat.
“We have focused more heavily on implementing technology and trying to be as efficient as we can with the limited help [labor] we have,” Harper said.
Producing in Colorado is an asset. The region benefits from strong support from local government and grower associations based in the state, such as the American Lamb Board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Harper explained that these organizations “tie us together” and help keep the industry strong.
In Weld County itself, the market value of products sold has increased by 16 percent since 2017, while net cash farm income has nearly doubled, showing a 47 percent increase, according to USDA data. However, this data doesn’t fully reflect lamb meat.
Early this month, the American Sheep Industry Association asked President Donald Trump to add lamb to the list of tariffed items to ensure consumers have access to American lamb and to support the sustainability of the American sheep and lamb industry. Lamb imports set a record high of 309.3 million pounds in 2024, with tariffs targeted at Australia and New Zealand — the U.S.’s largest lamb exporters. Sheep producers often point to these imports as a reason for limited shelf space, and low price for American lamb.
While competition can come from near and far, in Weld County, the “help thy fellow neighbor” mentality remains strong, even when acres and miles of land separate them.
“When the cooperative in town won’t take our corn because it is too wet, it’s easy to call up a neighbor and ask, ‘What can we do to work together on this?’ ” Harper explained. “There is still that very tight-knit community among ranchers here.”
Beef — it’s how it started
For one of the largest feedlots in the industry, production means efficiency.
The Five Rivers Kuner feedlot has a capacity of 98,000 head on a property that spans 418 acres.
“Our feedlot supply chain is short: consistent buyer relationships, silage sourced within 12 miles, and a processing plant in the same county,” a representative from the Kuner facility said.
JBS Five Rivers Cattle Feeding LLC was acquired by Pinnacle Asset Management L.P. from JBS USA in 2018, and subsequently rebranded as Five Rivers Cattle Feeding LLC. Today, the company operates 13 locations from Arizona to California. While these feedlot operations are among the largest in the nation, the beef they produce is not primarily intended for the U.S. market. According to the operation, 70 percent of the beef produced at the Kuner facility is exported to Asia via the West Coast.
Market trends indicate that the beef market is shifting toward exporting high-quality beef while importing fat to meet America’s high demand for ground beef.
Cattle in quantities nearing 100,000 may seem impossible to monitor, but the facility has one full-time veterinarian and another nutritionist on-site for daily management, in addition to the cowboys — workers on horseback who walk through every pen every day to check on the health of the cattle.
“Investing in cattle safety saves money in the long run,” the operation explained.
The dense holding of cattle produces a nutritionally dense product, but meat is not the only thing coming from cattle in Weld County.
“In the county, we have cattle of all forms, with operations popping up, especially dairy farms. The big difference is that dairy farming has a lot of precision, while we in beef have a lot of efficiency,” the Kuner facility said.
Urbanization pressure: Weld does not budge
Northwest Colorado is well-visited and respected in animal husbandry from around the world. When business meets in Colorado, it often means a stop and tour of some of the most efficient livestock operations in the world.
The region is also a topic of debate regarding animal welfare and meat activism. When a ballot initiative was introduced in 2024 to ban slaughterhouses within the city limits of Denver — Ordinance 309 — Weld County came together, united behind its sheep feeders.
The initiative specifically targeted Superior Farms, the largest lamb processing plant in Colorado, one that supplies 20 percent of the lamb in the country. The associations united, national groups stepped in, and eventually, flags were waved in celebration after almost 64 percent of voters in Denver voted no on the measure.
The county itself also has a right to farm statement that recognizes the rights associated with land management and farming in historic Weld County.
As it faces urbanization pressures, rural life has become slightly different.
“Urban growth has drastically increased here,” Harper said. “The whole Front Range is kind of encroaching into the agricultural world, especially in the last five years.”
For those moving to the Front Range for the homestead experience, Harper said, “They don’t fully understand what they’re getting into and what all is part of a feedlot situation or a farming situation.”
Luckily for Harper Feeders, acres of farmland surrounding the feedlot property have prevented any encroachment on their rangeland home.
The growth reflects Colorado’s expansion and the quest for rural living, an ideal that has kept Weld County an agricultural stronghold.
Jake Zajkowski is a freelance agriculture journalist covering farm policy, global food systems and the rural Midwest. Raised on vegetable farms in northern Ohio, he now studies at Cornell University.