Our History

Kottke Cattle

The story of Kottke Cattle began back in the mid-1800s when the first Kottke left Prussia for the prairie that became central Illinois. Neal Kottke raised his first calf, and still helps at harvest, on the family farm there. Under his father and grandfather he learned the lessons of discipline, hard work, informed risk management and bedrock handshake honesty that are the core of our business today.

The pursuit of education, military service and prosperity took Neal far from the row crops of the Midwest for a few years but a deeply rooted love of family and the business of agriculture kept him coming back. With degrees from the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, a tour as lieutenant in the US Army in Europe, and several years trading for Continental Grain Company under his belt, Neal launched Kottke Associates at the Chicago Board of Trade. Years later at the time of its sale, the firm had grown to over $200 million in AUM.

Neal also served as Vice Chairman of the Chicago Board of Trade and Chairman of the Clearing Corporation there. Years passed and technology mandated change, as it so often does. Kottke Associates was sold, but Neal Kottke continues to raise cattle on the Kottke Ranch in northeast Oklahoma and row crops on that same farm in Illinois. His broad knowledge in both production and industrial agriculture have guided the successful development of Kottke Cattle.