How Boise's Agri Beef Has Persuaded People To Buy High-Priced Northwest Cuts
July 17, 2015 | 1 min to read
Before Agri Beef crossed the $1 billion yearly sales threshold, before it took a chance on Wagyu cows and before the company was even formed, founder Robert Rebholtz Sr. had to convince bankers that he could turn around a bankrupt feeding lot in American Falls.
The San Francisco native had the resume for the job: stints working on California ranches, a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis in animal husbandry, an MBA from Stanford Business School, and five years managing a ranch in Battle Mountain, Nev.
But he didn’t have the cash to buy the 4,000-head Snake River Cattle Co. lot in American Falls, where cattle were beefed up before heading to the slaughterhouse. So he pitched a business plan to bankers at First Security Bank, which owned the lot, said Robert Rebholtz Jr., who succeeded his father as Agri Beef CEO. The bank agreed to finance the purchase. That was in 1968.
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