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The Neff Mill
“A Family Operation”
by Elaine Swanson
Feature Story
The Neff Mill, located on the
John Neff Ranch in Ruby Valley,
is a solid investment in Elko
County’s agricultural economy.
“In 1984, my brother Steve and I
decided to build something to
mill grains for our own use here
on the ranch. However, I could
quickly see that there was no way
we could afford to build a mill
just for our own 500 cow operation,” John Neff , owner of the
Neff Mill said.
That realization was a turning
point. Brothers John and Steve
Neff could abandon plans to mill
grains for their own use, or they
could take a risk and move to a
countywide milling operation. “If
we went for a big mill, we could
spread the costs out over a larger
production,” John said.
“The Ranchers of Ruby Valley, Clover Valley, Starr Valley, Lamoille and Tuscarora...those
are the people who built the mill.” John Neff
“We developed a primary mission. We determined that we would
serve the needs of Elko
Neff is a broker for Land O’ Lakes Feeds and Cargill County ranchers.
Products. “I buy feed for my bulls from the Neff Mill. They burned some
John is a very honest, genuine, down to earth, man. I
midnight oil, and wore
enjoy doing business with him.” Pius Nolz
some pencils to the
stub calculating costs
and returns. Then the
brothers made their decision to “go for it”, as
John’s wife Kathy said.
“We had to build everything with the ‘dime on
the dollar’ concept to
make it pay. A lot of
mills in Idaho and Utah
have gone broke in the
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4 SEPTEMBER 2002 WELLS
last 20 years,” John ruefully admitted.
“The mill was built on the foundation of Kathy’s good cooking,”
John smiled.
Kathy took up the thread of the
story. “Our daughter Annemarie
was born April 10, 1986. For two
weeks following her birth, we had
no meals without extra people. To
save time and money, concrete
crews and other workmen stayed
here on the ranch. They ate and
slept here until their work on the
mill was complete. My mother
came and helped.”
In 1986, John bought out Steve’s
interest in the mill. However,
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a dime-sized flake. “Then we could
feed our cows ‘corn flakes’,” John
said.
John’s plans
went forward
to add components to the
mill. Every
year
John
added new
machinery
that increased
efficiency and
production.
“A pellet mill would give us added
flexibility. This mill would bond
together the ground feeds and
supplements in pellet form.
John said he
has a deep appreciation for
Nevada Bank The Neff Mill operation uses this truck to haul feed products to their
customers all over Elko County. The truck is equipped with an
and Trust in
elevator to move the product from the truck to the farmer’s bin. The
Elko who fi- flat bed trailer behind the truck allows Neff to haul bagged feed
nanced the products.
operation
range cubes, salt blocks, and salt
when other lending institutions
meal from the Cargill Company.
had “cold feet”. “We paid off the
We try to meet the needs of every
mill on a five-year note. We have
customer.
been able to meet our obligations because all our grain cus- “We put on dinners every fall in
tomers paid for their grain. We the Community Halls in Starr Valhave been so fortunate with our ley, Jiggs, and Ruby Valley. These
customers. It’s pretty hard to take dinners promote our business. We
grain back after its been through pay the 4-H Clubs to provide side
dishes, and Kathy and I furnish
the cow,” John grinned.
steaks and hamburgers. We invite
The risk paid off.
everyone who might be interested
The Neff Mill grinds a combina- in our production. We organize a
tion of grains and supplements to program that explains what we do.
meet the needs of individual cus- The two biggest feed processors
tomers.
in the world, Land O’ Lakes and
The feed mixes contain more the Cargill Company, help us sponcorn than any other grain. The sor these promotional dinners,”
corn comes from Nebraska. John said.
Some barley and wheat come
from locally grown sources. The
rest is trucked in from Idaho.
The Neff Mill is a dealer for
Nutrena and Land O’ Lakes products. “Customers needing those
products can buy them here. We
can put together truckloads of
However, John saves his biggest
dream for a few years into the future. “We’re thinking about
pelleting switch grass for burning
as a fuel.”
John said that a Diamond Valley
Ranch is growing switch grass as
an experiment. “Fuel from
pelleted switch grass would be like
ethanol from corn.” Fueling
power plants is one possibility for
this product. It would be an added
constituent in agriculture’s arsenal.
It is encouraging to know that an
agricultural based business can
develop and thrive in Elko County.
Kathy and John Neff enjoy a brief moment
of relaxation in their gazebo. “Kathy is
my partner in everything,” John said.
“John has a Masters Degree in Civil
Engineering. This gave him the courage
to “go for it”. He never doubted,” Kathy
said.
While John is pleased with his
current operation, he has his eyes
on the horizon. He has a bin full
of plans for future development.
He plans to incorporate a steamroller into the mill. The steamroller is designed to soften kernels of barley, oats, or wheat into
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