Nebraska cattleman elected president of Cattle-Fax

John Maddux of Imperial, Neb., has been elected president of Cattle-Fax, a Denver-based market information and analysis service. The election took place during the annual Cattle-Fax Board of Directors meeting, which was held in conjunction with the 2006 Cattle Industry Annual Convention in Denver. Maddux represents the North Plains Region cattle producers and feeders on the Cattle-Fax Board.

Maddux is owner/manager of Bentz Valley, Inc., a cow-calf and yearling operation in Chase County, Neb. He is also involved with his parents in the management of Maddux Cattle Co., a 30,000-acre ranching and cattle feeding operation.

Maddux has an agricultural honors degree with special emphasis in animal science from the University of Nebraska and a MBA in finance from the University of Chicago. He worked in New York for 10 years selling municipal bonds--an eye-opening experience for a cowboy from Nebraska. In 1998 he returned to the ranch where he was born and raised and the ranch his great-grandparents homesteaded in 1886.

Cattle-Fax, which provides market information, analysis, research and educational services, is owned and directed by its cattle-producer members, such as Maddux. It serves cattlemen in all segments of the industry, in all regions of the country.

Ned Ellis, Ft. Deposit, Ala., was elected president-elect of Cattle-Fax at the same meeting. Ellis is the Southeast Regional Director on the Cattle-Fax Board. Ellis owns Circle E Farms, one of the top ChiAngus operations in the country, where he runs 450 cows.

Ellis developed the family pecan candy business into a nationally recognized mail order company. He retired from ownership of Priester Pecan Company and now is president of First Lowndes Bank. He is very active in cattle organizations serving at the local, state and national level. He has served as chairman of the Board for the American Chianina Association, chairman of the Check Off Division of the NCBA and as chairman of the Alabama Beef Industry Council.

Ellis served several years on the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Executive Committee and on the Audit Committee. Ellis also served several years as chairman of the State Steer Show. He served as president of the Alabama Cattlemen's Association in 1992 and graduated from Auburn University in 1953, receiving a degree in agricultural science.

Date: 2/21/06