FEATURE ARTICLE EXECUTIVE CORNER
2021
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN THE EXHIBITION OF BRANGUS CATTLE
Myron Saathoff PRESENTED TO
Myron Saathoff has been many things in his lifetime, but most see him as a cattleman, showman, an honest gentleman, and mostly a friend. He grew up on a family farm and ranch in Hondo, Texas. His dad was a farmer, but his grandfather was a rancher, and he established a love for cattle and the ranching lifestyle early in life. His mother would say he was always a “cowboy” and pretended to gather cattle as he rode the arms off of the family couch. Saathoff began showing cattle in high school with a Hereford steer. Upon graduating, he attended Texas Lutheran College in Seguin, Texas, on a baseball and football scholarship and finished his agricultural studies at Texas State University. His first ranching job was working for Larry Blackman of B2B Farms near Bowie, Texas, as an AI technician for the Angus division. Then while working at B2B Farms, he later became the manager and AI technician of the Brangus division, thus beginning a “lifetime” of love and commitment to the Brangus breed. In 1976, Saathoff began working for Great Plains, an investment corporation. He managed their Brangus cattle division in Nixon, Texas. While at Nixon, the general manager for the Texas operation of Great Plains was Swazye McCrain. The company received an invitation from the governor of Jalisco, Mexico to display Brangus cattle at the National Show in Guadalajara. Very few, if any, Brangus had ever been into the interior of Mexico. The Brangus cattle received a lot attention and interest at the show. While at the show, they were also invited to the Governor’s Ball. The governor himself ended up purchasing four of the bulls taken for display. With each move, Saathoff continued to manage and establish Brangus operations across the state as his family grew. These included Escoba Brangus, T-Diamond, Star Creek Brangus, and Star J Brangus. He also established a sales management, cattle showing, and consulting business after he moved home, but it always involved Brangus cattle. With each prayerful move, God allowed Saathoff to stay in the Brangus breed. Like always - God’s timing is perfect. 44
May 2021
When the Saathoff family needed to settle in a more permanent situation, Jeff Smith entered the picture. An Alabama Brangus breeder, Smith opened up a Texas division of JLS, Inc. not far from Saathoff’s old “stomping grounds.” He continues to work for Jeff Smith and JLS, Inc. to this day. They have implemented a, “Breeding up to Brangus” program in order to introduce new genetics and avoid line breeding. His goal is to keep the breed pure at 3/8 x 5/8. Though a challenging task, when it comes to genetic selection, he knows what to look for, and his number one priority is - and will always be - performance. This has been proven time and time again with the 915 cow family, who was the foundation of the JLS success and their slogan “Where champions produce champions!” In 2018, JLS sold all of their breeding stock to Williams Ranch Company. These “tried and true genetics” are being used in the Bastrop setting where Saathoff consults and continues to be part of the breeding program that he originally developed. He now gets to work for Jeff Williams and collaborate with longtime friend, Gary Bruns. As Saathoff’s job locations changed, so did the Brangus breed. As plans have changed, for the last 48 years, he has continued to adapt and consistently excel to become a progressive thinker, bettering the breed one cow family at a time. Saathoff believes that the registered Brangus breeder and the commercial cattlemen who want Brangus bulls are the ones who establish the market demands. So as demands changed, he had to determine how to give the market what it wanted. Therefore, whether it was the bigger, the better, the moderate size, or the use of EPDs in selection, he adapted to the market. Even in the show ring, things have changed since the days of cattle shown with slick hair. His quest to produce what he feels is the perfect animal has never wavered, however the methods have. JLS has explored every path from natural breeding to AI to embryo work, and even cloning. With all of the success that the 915C cow had given JLS, they decided they needed more of the original blood. In
