12.3.25
Smarter by Design: Building Better Cattle Flow with Larry Deges
Groundbreakers: Stories of Rural Innovation | E12: Featuring Larry Deges, Facility Designer at MJE Livestock Equipment
When it comes to cattle handling, good flow doesn’t happen by accident — it’s designed that way.
In this episode of Groundbreakers: Stories of Rural Innovation, host Ethan Cantrell sits down once again with Larry Deges, MJE Livestock Equipment’s veteran facility designer, to talk about what really makes a working system work.
Larry has spent decades designing feedyards, dairies, and ranch systems across the U.S. His experience runs from large commercial operations to family cow-calf setups — and that perspective has shaped every inch of MJE LE’s new CattleLine™ Modular Working Facilities.
Designed for Real Life
Larry doesn’t talk theory — he talks reality. From layout planning to safety gates, he explains how every successful design starts with one question: Who’s actually working the cattle?
For some ranches, that’s a two-person team of husband and wife. For others, it’s a rotating crew or a single hand managing sick pulls solo. Larry’s approach ensures every layout, (whether 50 head or 5,000) is designed to reduce stress, improve safety, and cut wasted motion.
“If you don’t have good flow, you’re fighting cattle and footing every day,” he says. “The best design is the one you never have to fight.”
The Power of Modularity
“You can start with what you need now — and build from there.”
As Ethan and Larry discuss, modular design has changed the game for ranchers. With MJE’s CattleLine™ systems, producers can start small, expand as their herd grows, and adapt to their operation’s needs — without tearing down or starting over.
Each package comes ready for real-world work: heavy enough for daily use, flexible enough to grow with your operation, and designed by the same team that builds commercial feedyards across the country.
Larry puts it simply: “We build generational equipment — the kind you hand down.”
Design Lessons From the Field
Larry’s seen it all:
- Massive feedyards across the midwest.
- Modular rebuilds under old barns in Florida.
- Full systems designed remotely through Google Earth and customer collaboration.
Through all that experience, a few rules never change:
- Safety and flow come first.
- Leave room for expansion.
- Listen before you design.
- Walk the ground & measure — don’t guess from a screen.
- Keep it simple and efficient.
MJE Livestock Equipment’s new CattleLine™ Modular Working Facilities are built on Larry’s decades of design wisdom.
Every system — from Select to Prime — is designed for smoother flow, safer handling, and longer life.
It’s the same design intelligence behind the feedyard layouts Larry creates every day, adapted for ranchers who want professional-grade efficiency on their own ground.
🎧 Listen Now
Listen to Groundbreakers: Stories of Rural Innovation with host Ethan Cantrell and special guest, Lightning Larry Deges by clicking the link below or find it on:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Or wherever you get your podcasts.