North Texas cattleman Jimmy Atlas has been involved in the Hereford industry since his youth.

Jimmy and his wife, Claudia, own and manage Atlas Farms, a registered Hereford and grain and cotton farming operation in Grandview, Texas.

Jimmy was raised in north Texas on a cotton and commercial Hereford farm. He grew up involved in the Hereford breed as a junior member, showing horned and polled heifers and steers. Following college graduation, he and Claudia married and joined the AHA as lifetime members. He accepted his first job as a herdsman for Chisholm Trail Ranch in Rhome, Texas, a registered Hereford operation. Three years later the duo purchased their first Herefords and began Atlas Farms.

Atlas Farms has been in business for more than 40 years. In that time, Jimmy and Claudia have expanded their operation from 90 acres to more than 3,000 by purchasing neighboring parcels of land.
Today, the farm comprises 100 head of registered Hereford cow-calf pairs and 40 commercial females. Artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer (ET) are extensively utilized in their herd. They market show heifers, cow-calf groups and bulls to registered and commercial breeders.

Atlas Farms runs cattle on land historically used for cotton farming. The Atlases have increased efficiency and reduced production cost per head by grazing cattle on harvested crop residue. Their goal is to market functional, profit-making cattle to customers.

Jimmy has served as president and director for the Texas Polled Hereford Association and is a current director of the Texas Hereford Association. He was also a junior advisor for the Texas Junior Polled Hereford Association. He is a Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association member, a Johnson County Farm Service Agency committee chairman and a First Methodist Church, Alvarado, member. Jimmy and Claudia have one daughter — Precious, and her husband, Sam — and two grandchildren.

Elections for the three vacant spots on the AHA Board of Directors will be held Saturday, Oct. 28, at the AHA Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Mo. Jimmy represents the Southwest Region.