Docter Feedlot: Closing The Gate After Seven Decades Of Cattle

    From his winter home in Arizona, Mick Docter reminisced on almost 50 years feeding cattle. He said he won’t necessarily miss the cattle nor feeding them during the often harsh South Dakota winters. However, he will miss the great folks he worked with all those decades, both employees and customers. As he shut the gate at Docter Feedlot for good this past year, Mick looked back on the impressive history of the business.
    The operation located southwest of Amherst was started in the 1950s by Mick’s father Dalton. Mick explains that his dad was born in 1928 and though he did not finish high school, he was a hard worker when it came to the farm. Dalton started farming with his dad at age 17 and then on his own in the late-40s. In the 1950’s, he got the idea to start feeding cattle and started building a feedlot, pen by pen. He fed some of his own cattle but also ran it as a custom operation, feeding the cattle of other producers. 
    The business continued to grow through the next decade and by the 1960’s, they fed well over 11,000 head of cattle. Mick joined the operation after he graduated from college in 1975. He said that the business experienced some hardships during those years. This was exacerbated by the mega meat processor American Beef Packers declaring bankruptcy with a significant amount of Dalton’s money tied up with the company. Though he eventually received a large payment following a lawsuit led by then SD Attorney General Bill Janklow, the feedlot struggled for some years. 
    The Docters overcame obstacles and continued to thrive throughout the years. Mick would eventually go on to take over the feedlot in the mid-90s as his dad stepped back following an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. 
    Mick said they learned a lot over the years. This included how to take care of cattle in all kinds of weather conditions. He explains that with increasing humidity and heat in the last couple decades, it often became a challenge to keep cattle comfortable. 
    “In the early years, we never lost cattle due to heat and humidity,” said Mick. But when they lost 50 at one point a couple of decades ago, they made adjustments. “We learned to put less cattle in each pen and give them easy access to water. If they can drink, they can handle a lot.” 
    Another of the biggest things the Docters learned was to surround themselves with reliable and loyal employees. Mick explained that at one point they had as many as 25 employees when they had a trucking operation, but after dropping that, had 12 to 15 employees between the feedlot and farm. 
    Throughout time, many of these employees stayed with the Docters for years, including some people who worked for the family for upwards of 30 or even 40 years. One of these employees is Al Krutsinger of Britton. Krutsinger started with the Docters in 1982 after graduating from college. His brother had worked for the family previously and he knew he wanted to do something with ag. 
    “I thought it would be a good place to start,” said Krutsinger. When asked what job he had when he started, Krutsinger said, “Every odd job you can think of.” He didn’t expect to stay for the long haul, but the employee found he enjoyed working for the Docters. “There is always something to do out here,” Krutsinger said. “I’m a doer and we always keep busy. I always say that life is too short, so you have to like what you’re doing. And I plan to stay here until the boys kick me out.” 
    Krutsinger went on to be the foreman of the farm side of the Docter’s operation and is still in that position going into his 42nd year with the family. He adds that it wasn’t just him that chose to stay for decades either. The feedlot foreman Carl Kronberg and Rick Carlson were other employees that worked for around 40 years with the Docters. 
    Thanks to the help of reliable employees like those noted, the feedlot went the long haul and fed cattle for many satisfied customers. Mick notes that he always heard positive comments from those he fed for. “We would hear from customers that we were the best feeders they worked with,” the owner said. 
    The feedlot also added to the local economy in other ways as well. “When you feed that many cattle, you end up buying hay from all over,” commented Krutsinger. “And they did almost all of their business locally.” 
    While he enjoyed his employees and customers, Mick said a few years ago he knew it was soon going to be time to hang up the feedlot operation. His two children were not interested in running it and he and his wife Julie were enjoying more time in Arizona. He admits that feeding cattle in the South Dakota winter was becoming even more challenging, especially after last year’s harsh winter.
    In 2022, Mick and Kronberg spoke about the foreman’s eventual retirement. “Carl said 2023 would be his last year,” said Mick. “I knew I couldn’t replace him. In the end, it wasn’t too hard of a decision to make even though my customers asked me to keep feeding.”
    The operation began scaling back in the last years. Finally, Mick says that the last cattle left the lot on November 16 of this past year.  
    When asked of what he is most proud, Mick reiterated the longevity of his employees. “I like to think I was a good manager, but I also couldn’t replace all those good people we were able to keep over the years.” He added that he is also happy with the service they provided customers. 
    His employee Krutsinger emphasized about the longevity of the feedlot and the Docter’s operations in general, “Mick is the most honest guy I’ve ever worked around. He always thinks about what’s good for other people,” said the farm foreman. 
    Though the farm side of the operation is still going strong, the Docter property looks a little different these days without the presence of thousands of cattle. But like Krutsinger said, “Even good things must come to an end.”