Blackhawk Cattle Company Receives Breeder of the Year Award

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Photo caption: The American Gelbvieh Association named Blackhawk Cattle Company, Oregon, Illinois, the AGA Breeder of the year for 2019. Skyler (middle) and Annette Martin (left) were presented the award by Stuart Jarvis, Phillipsburg, Kansas, (right).

Skyler and Annette Martin of Blackhawk Cattle Company, Oregon, Illinois, were honored as the American Gelbvieh Association’s (AGA) Breeder of the Year for 2019 during the awards banquet held at the 49th Annual AGA National Convention in Billings, Montana.

Skyler and Annette were present at the AGA awards banquet to accept the award. Stuart Jarvis, Bar Arrow Cattle Co., Phillipsburg, Kansas, presented the Martin couple with the award.

Blackhawk Cattle Company has been a member of the AGA since 1985. Currently, the operation consists of 130 registered Gelbvieh and Balancer® cows and extensively utilizes artificial insemination and embryo transfer. With a focus on quality seedstock and an eye toward the commercial beef industry and the feedyard sector, Blackhawk Cattle Company understands the profit drivers throughout the beef supply chain.

Skyler’s goals for the seedstock operation have always centered on performance and quality from conception to consumption. In fact, Blackhawk Cattle Company has a bid/buy back program to purchase local bull customers’ feeder calves.

The family’s connectivity to the beef industry stretches beyond the seedstock sector. The Martins are also involved in Nordman Feedlots, which is a family business from Annette’s side of the family.

The Martins, their seven children included, have also seen success at major shows across the country. Showing was their way to get the next generation further involved in the Gelbvieh business.

Skyler is a former AGA Board of Directors member and is currently active on the American Gelbvieh Foundation Steer Challenge and Scale and Rail contest committee. He is also a past board member of the Gelbvieh Breeders of Iowa organization.

Gelbvieh Association Awards Commercial Producer of the Year

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Photo caption: The American Gelbvieh Association named Rodger and Lindy Schroeder of Chugwater, Wyo., the AGA Commercial Producer of the Year for 2019. Rodger (left) and Lindy Schroeder (right) were presented the award by AGA board member, Jeff Swanson, Oxford, Neb. (middle).

Rodger and Lindy Schroeder of Chugwater, Wyoming, were honored as the American Gelbvieh Association’s (AGA) Commercial Producer of the Year for 2019 during the awards banquet held at the 49th Annual AGA National Convention in Billings, Montana.

Rodger and Lindy were present at the AGA awards banquet to accept the award. Jeff Swanson, an AGA board member from Oxford, Nebraska, presented the couple with the award.

The AGA Commercial Producer of the Year Award honors individuals who use Gelbvieh and Balancer® genetics in progressive commercial cattle operations and are proactive in their promotion of the Gelbvieh and Balancer breed.

Rodger and Lindy have a family history that is rich with Western culture. The ranch was started in 1881 when Lindy’s great-grandfather came to Wyoming from Scotland in search of a prosperous life. Today, the family operation is split between Lindy and her two sisters. The Schroeder family runs Balancer cattle and has been very successful.

The Schroeders bought their first Gelbvieh bull out of the pens in The Yards at the National Western Stock Show in 1981. Rodger said they “like the Gelbvieh for their milk, their meat, their disposition, and their structure.” Starting out with an almost purebred Gelbvieh herd, Rodger and Lindy found that Balancer cattle were the best fit for their program.

The Schroeder family has put together a great program in southeastern Wyoming. They have invested a lot of hard work into creating a place that sets a great example for others living the ranching lifestyle. With the deep family heritage and the strong passion for ranching, their ranch will surely carry on well into the future.

Jim Thomas Inducted into Gelbvieh Hall of Fame

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Photo caption: Vernon and Eileen Davidson, Ponteix, Saskatchewan, Canada, presented Jim Thomas, Guthrie, Oklahoma, with the 2019 American Gelbvieh Association Hall of Fame award. Left to right: Virginia Potter, Hiedi LaBrue, Jim Thomas, Eileen Davidson, and Vernon Davidson.

Jim Thomas of O Lazy Y Ranch in Guthrie, Oklahoma, was inducted into the American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) Hall of Fame for 2020. The induction took place during the awards banquet at the 49th Annual AGA National Convention in Billings, Montana.

Jim was present at the awards ceremony to accept the award along with his daughter Hiedi LaBrue, and Virginia Potter. Vernon and Eileen Davidson, Pontiex, Saskatchewan, Canada, presented the award.

The AGA Hall of Fame recognizes individuals for their lasting contribution to the growth and development of the Gelbvieh breed. Hall of fame inductee selection criterion includes contributions to breed promotion efforts, leadership provided to the association, and the breeding of superior genetics that are of great influence within the Gelbvieh and Balancer® cattle population.

Jim was one of the first Gelbvieh breeders to display and exhibit Gelbvieh cattle at the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) in the ’70s. Later, he went on to show
his cattle at nearly every state fair in the Central US. Black Feature, purchased from Valhalla Ranch, won Jim champion ribbons at nearly every fair he was exhibited. Today many qualities of the breed can be traced back to Black Feature and O Lazy Y breeding.

Jim has been very active within the association and remains so today, attending a Gelbvieh event whenever he can. He has held many committee leadership positions and has attended AGA conventions, American Gelbvieh Junior Association (AGJA) events and the NWSS. He has also taken a leading role as historian for the American Gelbvieh Foundation’s Gelbvieh History Book.

His undying commitment to the Gelbvieh breed makes Jim Thomas a notable figure in the breed’s history. A lifetime of preserving, improving and promoting the breed, all while encouraging fellow breeders to do the same, speaks to Jim’s infallible dedication and integrity. The endeavors and contributions have not only impacted the breed, but also the AGA and the AGJA.

American Gelbvieh Association Elects Board of Directors

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Photo caption: The American Gelbvieh Association elected directors and officers for 2020 during its national convention in Billings, Montana. Front row (left to right): Secretary John Carrel, Columbus, Mont.; Treasurer Derek Martin, Bucklin, Kan.; Vice President Klint Sickler, Gladstone, N.D.; President Dan McCarty, Rifle, Colo.; Executive Director Megan Slater, Lincoln, Neb. Back row (left to right): Lori Maude, Hermosa, S.D.; Leland Clark, Barnard, Kan.; Mark Covington, Montrose, Colo.; Jeff Loveless, Spanish Fork, Utah; Dustin Aherin, Phillipsburg, Kan.; Jeff Swanson, Oxford, Neb.; Lowell Rogers, DVM, Seminary, Miss.; Andrea Murray, Kingfisher, Okla. Not pictured are Todd Bickett, DVM, Chickamauga, Ga. and Randy Sienknecht, Gladbrook, Iowa.

Members of the American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) elected five candidates to the board of directors at the annual membership meeting held December 6, 2019, during the 49th Annual AGA National Convention in Billings, Montana.

Newly elected board members are Mark Covington, Montrose, Colorado, and Tom Vehige, Billings, Missouri. Re-elected to serve a second term were John Carrel, Columbus, Montana; Leland Clark, Barnard, Kansas; and Klint Sickler, Gladstone, North Dakota.

The AGA Board of Directors also elected individuals to serve in leadership positions on the executive committee for 2020. Dan McCarty, Rifle, Colorado, was elected president. Klint Sickler was elected vice president. John Carrel was elected secretary and Derek Martin, Buklin, Kansas, was elected treasurer.

Other members of the board include: Dustin Aherin, Phillipsburg, Kansas; Todd Bickett, DVM, Chickamauga, Georgia; Jeff Loveless, Spanish Fork, Utah; Lori Maude, Hermosa, South Dakota; Andrea Murray, Kingfisher, Oklahoma; Randy Sienknecht, Gladbrook, Iowa; Jeff Swanson, Oxford, Nebraska; and Lowell Rogers, DVM, Seminary, Mississippi.

Retiring members of the 2019 AGA board of directors were Doug Hughes, Max Meadows, Virginia, and Walter Teeter, Mount Ulla, North Carolina, who served as treasurer for three years. The AGA would like to thank those members for their years of service on the AGA Board of Directors.