At the 2021 two-day Cattle U and Trade Show in Dodge City, Kansas, High Plains Journal presented the first-ever Cattle U awards to producers who were nominated by their fellow cattlemen and women for their dedication to the industry and accomplishments. The award ceremony took place July 30 during the third general session.
The 2021 Cattle U Cattlewomen of the Year award was presented to Lorna Marshall. Marshall is the vice president of Select Sires Beef Genetic Program. She and her husband, Troy, operate Marshall Cattle Company, their family seedstock operation in St. Joseph, Missouri. They have three children.
The 2021 Cattle U Cow-Calf/Ranch award was presented to Bob Davies. Davies operates the Davies Ranch in Liberal, Kansas. His grandparents homesteaded the ranch back in the late 1880s. Since then it has been added to several times and now consists of 12,000 acres. Bob, along with his wife and daughter, runs 700 to 800 cows.
Sponsored by Croplan, the 2021 Cattle U Young Cattlemen of the Year award was presented to Trey Wasserburger. Trey, and his wife, Dayna, currently own and operate TD Angus at Rishel Ranch in North Platte, Nebraska, where they sell 350 Angus bulls a year and run 900 registered pairs, 1,500 yearlings and feed cattle at the family feedlot in Hershey, Nebraska. They raise the bulls that sire the calves all the way to the supply chain. They are also founders of Sustainable Beef LLC, a packing facility in North Platte. They have four children—two boys and two girls.
Sponsored by Central States Testing, the Cattle U Feeder/Feedlot of the Year award was presented to Sam Hands. Since 1919, the Hands Family have farmed, ranched and fed cattle on the same place 12 miles south of Garden City, Kansas. Hands heads up the cattle operations consisting of cow-calf pairs, stocker and feeding programs of the multi-generational diversified operation.
The Cattle U Stocker of the Year award was also sponsored by Central States Testing and was awarded to Brent Diel. Diel is a third-generation rancher based in Kiowa, Kansas. Diel began working on the ranch in 1975 alongside his father. With the death of his father in 1989, Diel took over the ranch and continued his family’s legacy. He receives the majority of his cattle from the Carolinas and calves come in at about 375 to 450 pounds. Fall calves go to wheat until they are about 800 to 900 pounds and then go on feed. Spring calves follow the same regimen with the exception that they go out to grass. Brent, and his wife, Leysa, have raised three daughters—Brook, Blair and Brena.
High Plains Journal always looks for opportunities to commend producers for their contributions to the cattle industry, so if you know ranchers who deserve recognition for their efforts, you can nominate your fellow cattlemen and women for the 2022 Cattle U awards at cattleu.net.
Lacey Newlin can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].
