All In | April 2025

By Cheryl Kepes

Photos courtesy Mueller family

The Mueller family, Halstead, Kan., is charting a course of success in various sectors of the commercial cattle industry.

A fourth-generation farmer and rancher in Halstead, Kan., Josh Mueller locked in on his desired profession at a young age. “I tell people when I’m giving my life story that I only ever wanted to do two things. One was to be a professional football player, and the other was to be a cattle buyer, and so obviously we know how that ended,” Josh Mueller said with a chuckle.

Confident of his chosen career path, Josh started buying cattle for his family and neighbors while in high school. After he graduated from Kansas State University, he accepted a position with a feedyard in northwest Kansas. Soon he became a representative with Superior Livestock Auction, setting him on a course as a cattle marketer for 22 years and counting. In addition to repping for Superior, Josh operates his own custom cattle buying business – Circle M Cattle Co.

Though Josh has lived his dream job as a cattle buyer for two decades, his drive coupled with his commitment to the cattle industry has placed his career on a steady upward trajectory.

Now, Josh works in most every facet of the commercial cattle industry. He grazes thousands of stocker and feeder cattle, manages hundreds of bred heifers and cow/calf pairs, and owns and operates a local sale barn, El Dorado Livestock Auction.

Additionally, Josh works alongside his dad and family in the day-to-day operations of Mueller Farms. The business row crops 1,200 acres of wheat, corn, milo, soybeans, and hay.

Josh appreciates the insight he gleans from working in branches throughout the agriculture industry. “We’re involved in many different segments and so I get input and talk to people that are in all those different segments all the time and try to keep a good grasp on the market,” Josh shared.

Despite his packed work schedule, Josh sets aside time to devote to local, state, and national organizations. The Kansas Beef Council recently appointed him vice-chairman for 2025. Nationally, he serves on the Federation of State Beef Councils.

Josh and his wife, Macey, have four children: Conway (17), Raleigh (8), GG (6), and Coral (5). Macey is equally entrenched in the agriculture industry. In addition to helping with the farming and cattle operations and El Dorado Livestock Auction, she writes for agricultural publications, acts as the Halstead Community Foundation Associate Director, and serves on the United Sorghum Checkoff Program board.

The Muellers are growing their direct-to-customer beef program as well. What started as processing beef for themselves and a few friends, has evolved into finishing 12 to 15 beef a year.

El Dorado Livestock Auction

Throughout his life, Josh has made the 53-mile drive to El Dorado Livestock Auction countless times. As a cattle order buyer he was a regular at El Dorado Livestock Auction’s sales, knew its owners and customers, and appreciated the value it brought to the community. When the business went up for sale six years ago, the Muellers purchased the sale barn. They decided the business would fit seamlessly with their current operations.

The Muellers made facility improvements at the sale barn and expanded its sale offerings. After following an in-depth process, El Dorado Livestock Auction is now certified and registered with IMI Global. The certification allows the sale barn to market program cattle such as all-natural cattle and Non-Hormone Treated Cattle (NHTC).

Josh dedicates time to working with producers to help them get the most money possible for their animals. He advocates for vaccination and weaning protocols and is always willing to share advice and answer questions. “I’m more than happy to advertise the fact that we think that there’s tools out there that these guys can use that maximize their profitability,” Josh said.

El Dorado Livestock Auction markets close to 70,000 head of cattle annually. The addition of the sale barn to the Muellers’ business ventures has helped them create new relationships and partnerships with even more people in the cattle industry.

“It’s open some doors for us. It’s expanded our network and enlightened us as to different aspects of what other people are doing. And we are just that much more in tune with the market itself because we deal with it every week,” Josh stated.

Cattle Operation

The Muellers manage a diverse cattle operation spread across multiple counties and states. They run stocker/grower and cow/calf programs in the counties near their farm and ranch headquarters.

During the winter months, the cattle graze in the Muellers’ wheat fields. Then the first of May, the cattle pasture in the native grasses of the Flint Hills. At any given time during the summer as many as 2,000 to 3,000 head of cattle forage on the Flint Hills prairie land. In July and August, the stocker cattle will be sold as feeders.

The principal criterion for selection in the Muellers’ stocker program is the health of the animal. Josh purchases stocker cattle with Angus cross genetics, but the herd also consists of different crosses, primarily black and red hided.

The Muellers further diversify their business through investing in feeder cattle. They finish cattle in seven commercial feedlots located in Kansas and Nebraska. Through their own inventory and partnership feeder cattle, the Muellers consistently possess interest in 1,000 to 1,500 feedyard cattle.

As a risk management strategy, Josh aims to buy and sell feeder cattle a couple times a month. His goal is to ensure he is buying and selling in the same market. This is a tactic a revered cattle buyer taught Josh during his first days in the business.

Cow/Calf Program

At their home place, the Muellers manage a commercial Red Angus cow herd. Additionally, they run a crossbred cow/calf operation. This year the Muellers increased the numbers in their cow/calf program. They are currently caring for 300 to 350 fall and spring calving females.

Due to the current prices in the stocker and yearling market, the Muellers chose to expand parts of their cattle operation. “We picked up some spring cows and bought some bred heifers this year just because of the tightness and numbers of feeder cattle. We are spreading our risk out with the different grazing programs that we have,” Josh explained.

Balancing the various aspects of their operation can be a bit daunting. The Muellers rely on their small crew of employees as well as cattle partnerships to help each segment of their business run smoothly. “It gets a little intense to manage and we’re always trying to figure out ways to handle it better by adding people to our network,” Josh said.

Growing Organically

Josh and Macey wanted to expand their cattle operations through the years but in some ways, it simply grew on its own. “We had some opportunities present themselves and so we were just fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of some of them,” Josh said. “We didn’t do it all on our own. There’s been people who helped us along the way and so I give credit to those people and will always be thankful for the people that gave me a hand up,” he added.

Josh and Macey have reached the point in their business journey in which they can help young farmers and producers reach their own goals. The Muellers are grateful for the guidance and wisdom they received from industry leaders, and now it gives them deep satisfaction to also partner with and invest in the next generation.

learn more at www.eldoradolivestock.com