2021 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN THE EXHIBITION OF BRANGUS CATTLE

2021

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN THE EXHIBITION OF BRANGUS CATTLE PRESENTED TO Myron Saathoff

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. 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

2011, five full clones to the 915C cow were shipped as threemonth-old calves with their recip mothers from Illinois to Texas. They were not shipped sooner since two different DNA tests had to be completed to assure that the clones were the exact duplicates of the original 915C cow. By accident, the original 915C cow was across the fence from where the calves were unloaded. All five clone calves ran straight to the original cow. Even after the recip mothers were unloaded, it was difficult to get the five clones to leave the original 915C cow.

After the clones were weaned, if one laid down, all five would lay down. If one stood up, all five would stand. Two of these clones are still in production at the Williams Ranch Company in Bastrop, Texas. Whatever it took to produce the perfect offspring was Saathoff’s mindset.

Despite all the changes he’s seen, one thing remains – the belief that the Brangus breed is the best breed. In a world where ranches come and go, his devotion to the cattle industry has always been one of his top priorities. He often said that the longevity of the JLS program, or any program, was based on three things – honesty, integrity, and trust – each of which have to be earned.

His participation in the Brangus breed involves the show ring, marketing in public and private sales, as well as serving on International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) committees, and as a director in several regional Brangus organizations. He’s also served as an advisor for both the Texas Junior Brangus Breeders Association and the International Junior Brangus Breeders Association, and he has especially demonstrated a heart for juniors helping with fundraisers, by donating and buying donation heifers. He pioneered the ‘junior option’ at JLS’ annual sales, making it easier for junior members to afford their choice of show animals.

The show ring has possibly been where Saathoff has received the most exposure with his connection to the Brangus breed. During his lifetime of showing Brangus he has received: the IBBA Herdsman Award three times, twice for black Brangus, once for Red Brangus; 14 times in the last 21 years, he has taken home an IBBA Show Animal of the Year Award; and in 2007, Jeff Smith and Saathoff were named the IBBA Breeder of the Year.

In an article published in 2013 titled, “The Showman,” he recounted one of his favorite show memories.

“In 2004, when the National Western Brangus Show was first hosted in Phoenix, Arizona, JLS brought back both big prizes of grand champion heifer and grand champion bull. Another outstanding memory was in 2003, when JLS won grand champion heifer at the Futurity for the third time by the same breeder. This third win allowed JLS/Saathoff to be the first person to take home the Brangus Futurity trophy engraved with all the past Futurity winners. This trophy had previously been displayed at the IBBA office, but is now proudly displayed at JLS.”

The only thing that tops his love and devotion to the Brangus breed is his love for God and his family. With all of his mishaps, multiple broken bones, accidents, tractor, truck and trailer wrecks, he knows that the grace of God is the only reason he is still here.

He has been married to Neva for 46 years and labels her as his, “best (only) hand” on their personal ranch. His jobs, on all of the various ranches, established a lifestyle for his family. Neither their daughter, Tanessa, nor their son, Tate had a choice regarding their extra-curricular activities. They would work in the barn and on the ranch where Myron happened to be working and they would show Brangus cattle. Both of them have shown their share of champions and won showmanship awards. They are both now married, and Myron and Neva are blessed with seven grandchildren. Both Tanessa and Tate appreciate the hard work and dedication that was instilled in them through their dad and are now passing that down to their own children. Today, the Saathoff grandchildren are showing livestock in local and a few major stock shows.

Other members of his family include the many friends he has made through the years being involved with the Brangus breed.

“I am a blessed man, with ‘family’ all over the United States,” concluded Saathoff.

Pictured to right: Tate, Myron, and Tanessa Saathoff, all in the Grand Drive at the 1998 Houston International Livestock Show. At this time, Saathoff was self-employed, and Saathoff Brangus had their own fitting service. Each of the family members were showing for different owners.