by Alvin Benn

Ned Ellis has spent most of his life raising cattle, selling pecans and running a bank, but he may be happiest behind the wheel of his pickup truck as he bounces through a pasture where "No. 17" rules the roost.

That’s the name given to one of his prize Chiangus bulls and Ellis is careful not to get too close to scratch the big animal or his big pickup truck.

"Just look at him," he said, during a recent visit to his Circle E Farms in this Lowndes County community. "He’s really something."