KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Nine 50-year Hereford breeders and two 100-year Hereford breeders were recognized during the 2025 World Hereford Conference and American Hereford Association (AHA) Annual Meeting Oct. 25.

The Century Breeder recognition honors families and operations in the Hereford business for 100 years. The Golden Breeder distinction recognizes those in the business for 50 years. These dedicated breeders have stood the test of time.

“Building a sustainable business of any kind is a remarkable feat,” says Shane Bedwell, AHA chief operations officer and director of breed improvement. “I would argue that it is even more remarkable to do so in a business that relies on cattle and Mother Nature to survive. Those recognized as Golden and Century Hereford Breeders provide examples of what is possible over time in the Hereford seedstock business through commitment and resolve.”

Golden Breeders 

Ernst Herefords

Marshall Ernst grew up in Wisconsin and developed a lifelong passion for Herefords at an early age. In 1964, when Marshall was 12 years old, he started showing Hereford heifers. His junior show career spurred his interest in animal agriculture. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1974 and married his high school sweetheart, Barbara, that fall. Marshall worked in the meat industry for more than 30 years until he retired in 2006. 

The couple started Ernst Herefords. Initially, the Ernsts maintained their Hereford herd in partnership with Marshall’s uncle and then with Jerry Huth, Huth Polled Herefords. 

Ernst Herefords moved to Colorado and increased the size of the herd with the help of Marshall and Barbara’s four children, Stephanie, Katheryn, Melissa and Kevin. They have merchandised cattle and genetics to more than 25 states, Canada and Mexico and held successful annual bull sales. Marshall also served on the AHA Board from 2007-2012.  

While Marshall and Barb decided to disperse their herd in 2023, they are still partners in several registered Hereford bulls and sell semen. Kevin, and his wife, Courtney, continue the Ernst Herefords tradition at the ranch in Windsor, Colo. 

Evans Hereford Ranch

Evans Hereford Ranch, Squires, Mo., was founded in southern Missouri in 1974 when Mark Evans purchased 10 polled Hereford heifers and one polled Hereford bull as an FFA project. He registered his herd and still has those papers today. Passion for the Hereford breed runs in his blood; Mark’s grandfather ran a commercial Hereford herd and was a staunch believer in the breed.

Mark carried this passion post-graduation and continued to grow not only his herd, but his mission, too. He became AI-certified in the ’90s and grew his herd. The majority of his herd is polled.

One goal has remained consistent since Mark’s FFA days: raising high-quality, slick-haired cattle that perform well in the fescue pastures of Missouri and beyond. Mark and his wife, Kelly, have raised four children, Sarah, Sam, Hannah and Rebekah, who showed Herefords during their time in FFA. 

Mark continues to be involved with his former FFA chapter, supplying cattle for livestock teams to judge, students to view and earning the honorary chapter degree in 2022. Mark has a clear passion for the breed. 

Goehring Herefords

Goehring Herefords, operated by Bill and Becky Goehring and family near Libertyville, Iowa, bought their first registered Hereford from Milo Seitsinger at Kinross, Iowa. Today, their cow herd consists of 170 spring-calving registered cows and 90 fall-calving registered cows. The family markets 80 registered bulls private treaty throughout the year and holds an annual bred female sale the first Wednesday in December, offering fall bulls, bred heifers and 550 head of Angus and black-whiteface bred heifers. The commercial heifer program operates as 5G Cattle Co., in which the couple’s sons and their families play a major role.

Bill was a member of the junior Hereford board, served on the Iowa Hereford board and completed his term as AHA Board president in 2023. Bill has judged the pen show in Denver and Oklahoma City.

Since August of 1986 the family has owned and operated the livestock market in Keosauqua, Iowa, marketing all classes of livestock and hosting a weekly hay auction.

Kevin Jensen, Jensen Ranch

Kevin Jensen operates Jensen Ranch, Courtland, Kan., with his wife, Sheila, and their children, Brady, Brooke and Ben, and their families.

Kevin started his herd with a purchase of one polled Hereford heifer in 1972. Kevin was raised and still resides in Republic County, Kansas — the ranch is just five miles from where Kevin’s Norwegian great-grandparents homesteaded. The ranch sold its first polled Hereford bull in 1976.

In the mid-’70s the family bought females from Jim and Sue Rowland, G&R Polled Herefords, Marysville, Kan. Jim and Sue were instrumental in developing many young people, including the Jensen children, who were all heavily involved in the National Junior Hereford Association (NJHA). 

In the early ’80s Kevin purchased land to expand his Hereford fitting business and cow herd. The couple traveled the U.S. showing Hereford cattle, which allowed them to meet countless Hereford breeders and make lifelong friends. Today, their operation consists of 300-350 head Hereford cows and an extensive embryo transfer program. The Jensens have been fortunate to have shown and raised many champions. The ranch hosts an annual bull sale in March and female sale in October. They also participate in the National Reference Sire Program and Whole Herd Total Performance Records (TPR™).

The Jensen family is actively involved in the Hereford breed and their community, from Kevin judging state, national and international shows and being a past member of the AHA Board, to the couple serving as NJHA advisors.  

Meischen Polled Herefords 

Meischen Polled Herefords is operated by Robert and Marilyn Meischen. Everyone plays an important role in the operation, including their children, Harlan and Deanna, and their families.

The ranch was originally started by Robert’s father in 1959 as Robert Meischen & Sons. Robert started his herd with a heifer he purchased in 1964. Robert worked together with his parents and his siblings to manage and improve the family herd while building his own, and in 1969, while working at the Yorktown ISD as business manager, Robert met Marilyn, who came to Yorktown, Texas, to teach. In 1970 they were married, and the couple took over the registered polled Hereford business and changed the name to Meischen Polled Herefords. 

Robert and Marilyn diligently worked to build a herd that produced bulls to meet the needs of the commercial cattleman in South Texas. The success of their work is evidenced by having placed bulls in more than 100 different operations as well as having their bulls consistently be the high-grading bull in the DeWitt County All Breed Sale. 

Robert has served as director for his state Hereford associations, and Meischen Polled Herefords is a longtime supporter of local FFA and 4-H programs.

Pierce’s Hereford Haven LLC

Ken Pierce started in the Hereford business in 1968 with a few commercial Hereford females. In 1969 Ken purchased his first registered females — four open heifers. ln 1971, Ken’s parents, Jim and Elaine, decided to join the Hereford business, and a partnership was formed — Pierce’s Hereford Haven. The home farm near Baraboo, Wis., was purchased and stocked with about 130 cows. Individual production, udder quality, fertility and longevity were a must and still are. Ken married Sandy in 1981 and sons, Jim and Travis, were born in 1983 and 1985.

Ken and Sandy purchased the farm across the road from the home farm in 1993. Jim and Elaine were hands-on partners in all aspects of the farm until Jim’s death in 2003, when the herd was cut down to 90 cows, where it stands today. Ken and Sandy bought the home farm and Elaine’s remaining cattle. Elaine passed in 2017. 

Pierce’s Hereford Haven LLC is now a partnership of Ken, Sandy and Travis and his wife, Megan. The operation strives to breed top-producing females with great phenotype. Pierce’s Hereford Haven LLC has shown a national champion bull and bred a national champion female.

Reed Stock Farm

Jeff Reed of Reed Stock Farm, Hampton, Minn., began his Hereford operation with the purchase of a polled Hereford heifer for exhibition in the fall of 1972 from Sterling Polled Herefords. Jeff and Bonnie were married in 1980, and they continued to grow their registered polled Hereford herd, along with their family: children, Jason, Justin and Jessica.

 Over the past five decades, the family has dedicated themselves to advancing their herd through careful selection for performance, maternal strength and structural soundness, and they incorporated some horned genetics. Their herd has grown to more than 85 registered cows today. 

Reed Stock Farm is known for multi-trait excellence and has contributed genetics to both seedstock and commercial operations. Bonnie has served as a director and president of the state Hereford board. She was also a director for the National Hereford Women. 

Jeff and Bonnie continue to be very active in their state and community. The couple, along with all seven grandchildren, continue to show Hereford cattle at the state and national level.

Sandhill Farms

While Kevin Schultz, Haviland, Kan., is the sixth generation on the land, which he works and lives, he is a first generation seedstock producer. From a young age he has always had a passion to breed performance-improving Hereford cattle. Kevin bought his first registered heifer at a Kansas Polled Hereford state-sponsored sale in Salina, Kan., in November of 1974 at the age of 10. That heifer grew from a childhood dream into a way of life.  

Kevin and Vera were married in 1986. On their honeymoon they bought a set of cows. Kevin and Vera have three adult children and nine grandchildren. 

Kevin has been a TPR breeder since the inception of the program. He has served on the Board of Directors and as president of AHA and the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF). Kevin has been chairman of the board at his community church for almost 30 years. Kevin and Vera give all glory to God for the blessings they have been given the past 50 years.

West Star Herefords

Owned by Sheldon Wilson, West Star Herefords. Folsom, N.M., runs cattle in Colorado and northeast New Mexico. The operation sells bulls and females private treaty.

West Star Herefords purchased a large group of cows from Camco Herefords of New Mexico in the winter of 1987. These cows added stacked pedigrees with eye-appeal and maternal look with an emphasis on milk, meat, muscle, pigment, small teats, performance and predictable genetics. Through the operation’s embryo transplant program, they have utilized only the top individuals that possess these most important traits.

West Star believes in the importance of uniformity and predictability and has built their program around high-performing cow families. 

Century Breeders 

The Lauber Family

The Lauber herd of Herefords near Yates Center, Kan., was started by Jeff Lauber’s great-grandparents, Herman and Elizabeth. They moved to Woodson County, Kansas, from Germany in 1882 and started the herd soon after. They built one of the biggest barns in the state, used to keep the cattle in at night during the winter and for hay storage.

The herd was passed to their youngest son and Jeff’s grandfather, Oscar, and his wife, Dessie, and then to their sons, Bill and O.L. The brothers split the herd and maintained their own herds, working side-by-side until their deaths. 

All the Laubers were lifelong cattlemen. O.L. operated his herd alongside his wife, Lila, and their sons, David and Jeff, who now manage the present-day herd. Jeff has been a Hereford breeder for 59 years.

Throughout the years, females have been retained from the herd and registered bulls have always been purchased to add new genetics. Lila got to see the progress — Jeff says his dad would be quite pleased too. 

Oklahoma State University

The Oklahoma State University (OSU) animal science purebred beef herd located near Stillwater, Okla., consists of more than 300 cows representing five breeds. Hereford was introduced in the 1920s. Each year, through national sales and the annual Cowboy Classic production sale, hosted each April, OSU merchandises seedstock to other registered herds and range bulls to commercial cattlemen.

The driving force behind the OSU Purebred Beef Cattle Center is teaching. Purebred beef cattle are bred and raised at OSU to furnish students with examples of high performing, modern-type cattle, which are used in numerous animal science and agricultural courses. The herd provides OSU students, as well as 4-H and FFA members, with beef cattle and facilities to prepare for careers in the beef industry.  

Recommended programs for registered herds are applied to serve as a demonstration of profitable, practical management, breeding and feeding of high-quality purebred beef cattle. As a result of field days, tours, livestock judging contests and other educational events approximately 125 head of OSU purebred cattle are viewed by more than 2,000 potential OSU students each year. 

The 19th annual World Hereford Conference, Oct. 22-26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo., features an educational forum, a celebration of high-achieving and influential Hereford breeders of all ages, an international sale and National Hereford Show. 

The World Hereford Conference takes place every four years when delegates of the World Hereford Council meet to conduct official business aimed at breed improvement and opportunity development. It is a time for Hereford breeders from around the world to network and learn from one another — the U.S. is hosting for the first time since 1996.

View the press release and photos here.

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The American Hereford Association hosts the World Hereford Conference (WHC), presented by Merck Animal Health, in Kansas City, Mo., Oct. 22-26, and the Young Breeders Competition at Kansas State University and in Kansas City Oct. 19-25. The World Hereford Council convenes every four years at the WHC — in different council-member countries — where delegates conduct official business aimed at breed improvement and opportunity development.