New Officers Take the Wheel in 2023

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Gene Coperhaver Virginia

Gene Copenhaver is a fifth-generation cattleman whose family dates back to the 1850s in Washington County, Virginia. Copenhaver currently manages his family’s stocker operation in southwest Virginia with his son, Will. Copenhaver was an agriculture loan officer for 38 years and served his clients who were primarily cattle producers in five East Coast states.

Prior to his current role, Copenhaver served as vice chair and chair of NCBA’s Tax & Credit Committee and, most recently, as vice chair and chair of NCBA’s International Trade Committee. He is a past president of the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association and past chairman of the Virginia Cattle Foundation. He and his family have long been active members and supporters of NCBA, Virginia Cattlemen’s Association, Smyth-Washington Cattlemen’s Association and the Virginia Cattlemen’s Foundation.

He has been married to his wife, Jodi, for 34 years, and they have three grown children — Brad, Will and Jaymee.

Tim Schwab Iowa

Tim Schwab has always been a cattle producer. His first job was as a herdsman at the Flying Dutchman Ranch in Pella, Iowa, where he worked for eight years and helped build the herd. In 1995, he moved closer to home in Ohio and began a career with Kopp Land and Livestock in Batesville, Indiana.

Along with expanding the cow-calf herd, he supported their backgrounding operation. In 2009, he took over as farm manager for Kopp Land and Livestock.

He has served as the Region I Policy vice president from 2020-2022 and been actively involved with the Indiana Beef Cattle Association since 2001. He is a past membership chairman, and he served as president of IBCA in 2017. He has been actively involved with the Franklin County Cattlemen Association for more than 25 years, serving as president and helping organize the first Ag Day.

Schwab and his wife Karen have been married for 33 years, and they have three grown children, Amanda, Jacob and Ryan and one grandchild, Evelynn.

Brad Hastings Texas

Brad Hastings is the co-chief executive officer and member of the board of directors of Cactus Feeders, Inc., which operates feedyards in the Texas panhandle and southwest Kansas. The employee-owned, diverse agricultural company also runs stockers on wheat and grass and manages cattle and hog operations in six states.

For more than 27 years, Hastings has held leadership roles within the agricultural industry including CFO, CEO and board member of companies that operate in the beef packing, cattle feeding, hog production and pork packing sectors. He is active with the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, served on the Beef Promotion Operating Committee (BPOC) as well as NCBA’s Tax & Credit and Finance & Audit Committees, and he served as chairman of the Texas Beef Council.

Clark Price North Dakota

Clark Price is the owner/operator of a commercial cow herd as well as stocker cattle in Hensler, North Dakota. He also operates a small feedyard along with his son, Brennan. They also raise corn, soybeans and wheat on their irrigated and dryland farm.

Price, along with his wife, Milissa, own and operate two agricultural retail stores - River Ag in Washburn, North Dakota, and Mid State Ag in McClusky. The two stores sell seed products and livestock vaccines as well as other livestock supplies.

Price is a fourth-generation rancher with many family members involved in ranching and farming. His great grandfather immigrated to central North Dakota in the late 1800s where he started raising Hereford cattle along the Missouri River.

Price has been involved with many local and national organizations. During his term on the North Dakota Beef Commission, he served as chairman from 2012- 2016. Price served on multiple committees of the Beef Promotion Operating Committees (BPOC) such as Freedom to Operate, Consumer Trust and was co-chair of Export Growth Committee. He also served the North Dakota Corn Growers Association, National Corn Growers Association Market Development Action Team and the National Agricultural Genotyping Center. He and his wife have two boys, Brennan and Masson, and two grandchildren.

Dan Gattis Texas

Dan Gattis and his wife Shana run a cow-calf and stocker/backgrounder operation in Williamson County, Texas. As part of their diversified operation, the Gattis family feed their cattle at various feedyards and sell some of their beef in their local community. Gattis has served on the board and as chairman of the Texas Beef Council and on the board of directors and the executive committee of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.

In addition, he is actively involved with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Federation of State Beef Councils.

Having served four terms in the Texas Legislature, Gattis knows the impact that politics, laws and regulations can have on beef producers like himself across the country. In addition, Gattis is a practicing attorney where he represents landowners in eminent domain and condemnation matters across the state.

Gattis knows that pressure from every angle — government, private entities, rising input costs — impacts producers’ bottom lines. He believes the way forward is with a unified voice and vision to promote and defend the beef industry to bring beef to tables of families in the U.S. and abroad.

Gattis and his wife Shana have three children: Sterling Jack (19), Carson Marie (16) and Kenedy Sue (14) who actively participate on their operation.

Don Schiefelbein Minnesota

Don Schiefelbein, his seven brothers and three nephews own and operate Schiefelbein Farms, a large diversified farming operation in Kimball, Minnesota.

Before returning to the family farm, Schiefelbein served as the executive director of the American Gelbvieh Association. He previously worked for the North American Limousin Association after graduating from Texas A&M University.

Schiefelbein has a long history of industry service, most recently in the role as chairman of the Beef Industry Long Range Planning Committee. He has also held several positions on committees and the board of directors of the American Angus Association. In addition, Schiefelbein is a past president of the Minnesota Cattlemen’s Association.

Schiefelbein and his wife of 32 years, Jennifer, have three daughters, Shelby, Abbey, and Bailee, all of whom are active in the industry.

These are companies that have teamed with NCBA as corporate members, demonstrating their commitment to the beef industry. Their involvement strengthens our future. NCBA members are urged to support these partners in turn by purchasing their products and services. Those who would like to become corporate members with NCBA (securing premium booth placement at the annual convention and trade show as well as other membership benefits), please call the Corporate Relations team at 303-694-0305.

Animal Health International www.animalhealthinternational.com

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Inc. www.bi-vetmedica.com/species/cattle.html

Caterpillar www.cat.com

Central Life Sciences www.centrallifesciences.com

ALLIED INDUSTRY COUNCIL

Lallemand

CHR HANSEN

Envu

Farm Credit Council

Huvepharma, Inc.

Corteva Agriscience™ www.corteva.com

Elanco Animal Health www.elanco.com

John Deere www.deere.com

Merck Animal Health www.merck-animal-health-usa.com

Micro Technologies www.microtechnologies.com

Moly Manufacturing www.molymfg.com

New Holland Agriculture www.newholland.com

Purina Animal Nutrition LLC www.purinamills.com/cattle www.ritchiefount.com

Ritchie Industries Inc.

Roto-Mix www.rotomix.com

Zoetis Animal Health www.zoetis.com