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CCA remembers respected leader
SEMPER FIDELIS
Past CCA Leadership Remembers CCA’s “Always Faithful” 43rd President, Bruce Hafenfeld
by CCA Communications Director Katie Roberti
“Latin for ‘Always Faithful,’ Semper Fidelis is the motto of every Marine—an eternal and collective commitment to the success of our battles, the progress of our Nation, and the steadfast loyalty to the fellow Marines we fight alongside,” the website of the U.S. Marine Corps says.
As past presidents and leaders of the California Cattlemen’s Association shared stories and strengths of Kern County rancher Bruce Hafenfeld, just weeks after his passing on January 19, 2021, it didn’t take long to recognize Bruce was “always faithful.” As a retired Captain of the U.S. Marine Corps and leader for California’s cattle industry and ranching community, Bruce lived this motto out.
Every other year, a new member assumes the role of CCA president for a two-year term, and from 2007 to 2008, Bruce took his turn after being elected among his peer in the Association.
“Sometimes you are sorry that a guy only gets two years, and he’s [Bruce] one of the ones I am sorry he only had two years,” said Past CCA President Mark Nelson, Wilton.
As Bruce served as CCA’s first vice president before taking the reins as president, Nelson served as CCA president from 2005-2006. To Nelson, Bruce was more than just an acquaintance he served with for a few years in a volunteer organization. He was a great friend. Someone Nelson grew to love and now growingly misses.
“I want to start off by expressing my sorrow and how much I am going to miss Bruce,” Nelson said. “Bruce was a great man who cared about his family, his community, his friends and the industry he worked in, and it shows in the amount of time he gave to further all of those different things...”
Through their friendship and time serving on the CCA officer team together, Nelson came to find out how much Bruce truly cared for his peers in the ranching community. He was compassionate about the issues impacting membership and the industry. When needed, he put in the time to study and understand the issues well. Additionally, Bruce was not afraid to ask questions to make sure he understood a problem or situation.
“He’s the kind of guy you love to work with because you always know that he’s there, and he’s not going to go out on a limb without talking to people,” Nelson said.
In an organization like CCA, filled with people of all personalities and ranching styles, disagreements among members are occasionally anticipated. While traveling across, up and down the state together visiting local cattlemen’s meetings and events on behalf of the Association, Bruce’s ability to read a crowd and manage situations impressed Nelson.
“Bruce listened,” Nelson said. “He took in what your thoughts were, and he digested them. Maybe he agreed. Maybe he didn’t, but at least he heard it all before he made an opinion.”
During their time serving CCA together one of the tasks Nelson and Bruce, along with the other officers, took on was helping lead the staff and office in 2006 during a transition period of executive directors for the Association. The two assisted in hiring Matt Byrne, Woodland, as the executive director of CCA during that time, and he continued in the role for the next half-decade.
“You never had to wonder if Bruce was in your corner,” Byrne said of the first president he worked a full term with as the executive director for CCA.
With Bruce leading through the everyday issues and the unexpected ones, Byrne learned from his leadership both on a personal and professional level. The time Bruce put into cultivating relationships, maintaining partnerships between organizations and building connections with sectors of the cattle industry are among the key strengths of his that stood out to Byrne.
Bruce worked at maintaining CCA’s relationship with the California Rangeland Trust and working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to build the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition. He sought opportunities to represent and engage different sectors of the state’s beef supply chain that weren’t fully involved in CCA, such as calf ranches and feedyards. However, perhaps the most meaningful is the value Bruce placed on making personal connections.
““When he would come to the office, he would sit down with each member of the staff and have a business conversation but also a personal conversation,” Byrne said. “It was really appreciated by the entire staff that we had a president who clearly cared about us as an employee and as a person.”
Additionally, Byrne respected the effort Bruce made to stay connected to his family even when he was on the road, as CCA leadership often is to attend local cattlemen’s associations and events throughout the year. Specifically, Bruce always made time to step away from the crowd to call Sylvia, his wife of 46 years.
“No matter how long our days were, or how late the
meetings were, he always made time to have a check-in with what was at home, and that is something I certainly learned from him, to make sure while you’re out trying to conquer the world you don’t forget about the world that you left behind when you got in the truck,” Byrne said.
Bruce had tremendous pride in his family and ranch, and in his son Eric and daughter-in-law Jamie taking it over, Tom Talbot, DVM, Bishop, a longtime friend of his said. The Hafenfeld’s daughter Jessica and her family, who relocated from the Central Coast to Texas are also deeply immersed in the western world, which Bruce was very happy for.
As Nelson’s term as president ended, Bruce stepped up into the top spot and Talbot was honored to serve as CCA’s first vice president.
After having been-introduced by a mutual friend, prior to their time together at CCA, Talbot and his wife Laura, became fast friends with Bruce and Sylvia. In addition to having a valued friendship with Bruce and the Hafenfeld family, Talbot had the opportunity to work with him professionally as the two served on CCA’s officer team at the same time for over four years. Being from similar parts of the state, the friends were also able to travel together often for the Association.
When stepping into the role of CCA president, there is no crystal ball for knowing what issues will arise or events will transpire during the time. Talbot notes that as president, Bruce faced some challenging situations in his two years. One of those unexpected issues was the infamous incident that sparked widespread animal welfare discussions after video footage of the unethical treatment of downer cows at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company in California was released throughout the world. The disturbing footage of the inhumane handling created a crisis that California’s cattle industry leaders had to tackle.
Though a terrible event, Bruce’s character and leadership were exemplified in the steps he took to respond—maybe more so the actions he didn’t take. With Holsteins being recognizable in the video, one reaction Bruce could have taken would have been to blame the actions from the incident solely on the dairy industry. To some, that may have seemed like the easy out for CCA and the beef sector. But Bruce would have no part in placing that blame, Talbot said.
“We aren’t going to throw the dairy industry under the bus,” Talbot remembers Bruce saying.
Rather than potentially damaging CCA’s relationship with the dairy industry over the crisis, Bruce was able to do the opposite. Out of a disastrous situation, he led difficult discussions on how to manage the problem and be proactive in eliminating future harm while strengthening relationships with the dairy and the sale yard sectors.
“What I thought was impressive about Bruce was that he took a leadership role in response to critics of the industry by saying that this is a really unfortunate event and something that no one in the livestock industry with credibility would condone, but at the same time don’t paint all of us with the same brush,” Byrne said. “He bridged that gap of saying this isn’t right, but it also isn’t normal and taking it a step further as a leader to challenge the industry to self-identify and address anyone who wasn’t meeting a high standard of animal welfare.”
Another issue Bruce was passionate about and one he worked hard with others to improve—through pushing to get meetings with the California Natural Resources Secretary at the time and working with non-traditional partners like the Nature Conservancy—was opening up grazing on undermanaged state lands. Bringing in allies,
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Former CCA staff and officers (L to R): Matt Byrne, Bruce Hafenfeld, Bill Thomas, Dave Wood, Kevin Kester, Tom Talbot, DVM, and Dr. Jack Cowley.
Always a gentleman, Bruce Hafenfeld was a well-respected speaker who could command a room from the podium.
developing novel partnerships to bring groups together to solve a problem was characteristic of the way that Bruce led, in Byrne’s opinion.
The efforts he put into working with the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition are particularly remembered by Darrel Sweet, Livermore, who served with Bruce on the officer team and as CCA President from 2003-2004.
But finding common ground with allies was a strength Bruce also used on his ranch. Bruce’s work on the South Fork of the Kern River, where the Southwestern willow flycatcher continues to be listed as endangered both federally and with the State of California, also stands out to Sweet when thinking back on his peer’s labors.
Bruce saw value in the restoration work he did to protect the Southwestern willow flycatcher and, through this, was able to show how ranching and grazing can benefit and help create needed habitat for one specific species. The endangered bird stopped appearing on lands adjacent to his after the California Fish and Game Commission no longer irrigated and Audubon California stopped grazing the land. Without water and grazing, the willows that are needed to provide habitat for the bird vanished, and the species stopped showing up to the dismay of Bruce’s environmentally friendly neighbors. As the birds continued to show up in Bruce’s pastures, which are held in a conservation easement with the California Rangeland Trust, both groups came to their neighbor for help on how the land needed to be managed for the birds to come back. The persistence and perseverance Bruce had for this project impressed Sweet. His work on the Southwestern willow flycatcher, and knowledge of other areas in the industry, also found the appreciation of CCA’s Immediate Past President, Mark Lacey, Independence.
“I first met Bruce when I was just out of college and faced working with the Forest Service on our grazing allotment in the Golden Trout Wilderness,” Lacey said. “Frankly, I didn’t know my way around NEPA, so someone suggested that I contact Bruce Hafenfeld, which I did. Bruce helped me tremendously on that issue, and later on we conferred quite a bit on the listing of the willow flycatcher and its habitat which affected both of us.”
Leaving behind a legacy of hard work and dedication to serving California’s ranching community is undoubtedly something Bruce accomplished. But beyond his leadership endeavors, his friendship won’t soon be forgotten.
“The first thing you could conclude about Bruce is that he was a military man—he had the high and tight haircut, and you could tell from the vibe he gave off,” Lacey said. “The second thing you sensed was that he was a man of strong conviction and determination who lived his life by a code, which in Bruce’s case I would say was family, God, and country. Bruce was a great person and friend. His passing is a loss for the livestock community, and he will be missed.”
“Bruce was passionate, firm in his beliefs,” past CCA President (2011-2012) Kevin Kester, Parkfield, said, echoing Lacey’s comments.
