Katie Eason

Professional Title: Cattle Manager, Winner Circle Feedyard
Age: 28
Home: Syracuse, Kansas

Katie Eason grew up in the mountains of Northeastern California on her family’s 4th generation cattle ranch. Integrity and a hard work ethic were instilled in her at a young age which set the foundation for her career in the cattle industry.

While studying animal science at California State University-Chico Katie set a goal to learn as much as possible about every sector of beef production. This lead her to become involved in the National Beef Ambassador Program, California State Young Cattlemen’s, and Chico State Livestock Judging Team. These programs opened her eyes to the world of agriculture outside of California and she set foot on my first feed yard in the summer of 2013 while touring cattle operations in Colorado.

Katie was instantly fascinated and would end up interning and working for that same company, Five Rivers Cattle Feeding. While involved in their management trainee program she set a new goal for herself to someday manage a yard. Female feed yard managers were practically unheard of at this time, but she is proud to say that after 5 years she has accomplished that goal and currently manages an 18,000 head feed yard in Southwest Kansas.

While she has stuck to my production roots in her career, Katie also has a creative side that she cannot ignore. She loves digital illustration and calligraphy and combines these passions through her side business, Agvokate Designs. Katie is proud to be a woman working in production agriculture and thankful for the opportunities entrepreneurship has brought her.

Vision for the future of women in the Western industry: “It’s no doubt that women have made leaps and bounds when it comes to working in the western industry. As time changes I see more and more women in leadership roles holding the door open for those behind them. That is where the future lies and as we move forward it’s important to choose community over competition. Females are often outnumbered in western industries and it takes a lot of grit to overcome many struggles. In the past, I feel as though there was a sense of women believing they each had to pay their dues. While a hard work ethic is essential, it excites me to see a new generation of women helping each other through these same obstacles and cheering others on. Our strength is found in community and I believe the future is bright for future generations thanks to supportive women paving the way today.”

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COWGIRL 30 Under 30, presented by Wrangler, is sponsored by Cavender’s, Charlie 1 Horse Hats, Durango Boots, Montana Silversmiths, and The Cowboy Channel.