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Honorees Inducted into Hereford Hall of Fame, Merit

Honorees Inducted into Hereford Hall of Fame, Merit

October 27, 2024

KANSAS CITY. Mo. – Keith Fawcett, Ree Heights, S.D.; Doug and Maxine Gerber, Richmond, Ind.; and Dale and Nancy Venhuizen, Manhattan, Mont., were inducted in the Hereford Hall of Fame on Oct. 26 in Kansas …


KANSAS CITY. Mo. – Keith Fawcett, Ree Heights, S.D.; Doug and Maxine Gerber, Richmond, Ind.; and Dale and Nancy Venhuizen, Manhattan, Mont., were inducted in the Hereford Hall of Fame on Oct. 26 in Kansas City, Mo., during the American Hereford Association (AHA) Annual Meeting and Conference. 

Keith Fawcett

Keith Fawcett was a fourth-generation rancher from Ree Heights, S.D. In 1906, his great-grandfather journeyed from Arkansas to South Dakota and purchased the initial land to start what is now known as Fawcett’s Elm Creek Ranch (FECR). A large majority of the original land is still part of the operation. When Keith graduated high school in 1977, he became an integral part of the operation. Three years later, Keith married Cheryl, and together they grew the operation. In 1985, Keith and Cheryl formed a partnership with his parents, Robert and Marjean, that has spanned generations to establish today’s ranch.

As Keith and Cheryl grew the ranch, they also grew their family. They have four children and six grandchildren. Their son, Danny, and his wife, Kyla, reside on the ranch with their children, Hollis and Ivy. Their daughter, Kristin, and her husband, Weston, live on the ranch with their children, Falon, Jensen and Marty. Their son, Matt, lives in Miller, S.D., and helps at the ranch on weekends. Their daughter, Erin, resides near Arlington, S.D., with her husband, Adam, and their son, Kaladin. 

Keith’s vision and hard work, with the help of his family, has grown FECR to its current scale and scope. Currently, the family maintains around 1,000 cows; 80% of those are Herefords and the other 20% are Angus and commercial cows. They market their genetics through an annual sale in February. Outside of the sale, the Fawcetts have a commercial bred heifer development program. On top of that, they typically background 1,200 head of feeder cattle during the winter.

Keith’s contributions to the beef business and the Hereford breed go beyond the ranch in Ree Heights. For many years, he was involved with the South Dakota Hereford Association (SDHA), American Hereford Association (AHA) and Hand County Crop and Livestock Improvement Association. He spent time as a board member with the SDHA; Keith and Cheryl served 10 years as junior advisors for the state’s junior Hereford association. From 2011-2015, he served on the AHA Board. He was honored by the SDHA in 2023 for his years of dedication to Hereford cattle and the association. 

With decades of genetic progress and an endless pursuit of making Hereford cattle better, FECR has become a destination for commercial and purebred cattlemen to source their genetics. Keith’s emphasis on breeding Hereford cattle offering a balance of maternal traits and carcass merit has created a demand for the ranch’s bulls and calves and made those investing in FECR genetics more profitable. 

Like so many in his generation, Keith knew how to work hard; he lived the ups and downs of ranching and farming and reaped the rewards of his livelihood. Keith’s knowledge, kind spirit, and honesty earned him respect as one of the breed’s great stockmen. 

“We could go on and on about Keith’s contributions to the Hereford breed,” writes Matt Zens, SDHA president, in his letter to the selection committee. “However, the kind of person that Keith was would have much more substance even in comparison to his love for Hereford cattle. He was thoughtful and genuine. He was caring and has an eye toward the success of future generations.”

Keith passed away in June of 2024 and is being inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame. His loyalty and service to the breed and its youth, and his passion to improve and promote Hereford cattle has only ever been replicated by a select few.

Doug and Maxine Gerber

Doug and Maxine Gerber, Richmond, Ind., own and operate Gerber Land & Cattle. A fourth-generation farmer from western Ohio, Doug got his start in 4-H, showing cattle. He purchased his first polled Hereford in 1960. After three years of working and learning, Doug showed the county champion and reserve champion at the junior show at the Ohio State Fair. He attended Miami University (Ohio), studying zoology. His love of cattle and agriculture eventually called Doug back to the farm. 

In 1967, Doug married Maxine, and they became true partners in every sense of the word. Maxine was a nurse, working in the operating room and later at a local nursing home, while Doug worked on the farm. Maxine and Doug both loved cattle. 

Doug was elected to the American Polled Hereford Association (APHA) Board, and at the time, he was the youngest board member in the Association’s history. He later became the youngest board president, serving from 1980-1981. During his tenure, Doug helped lead the Association through several challenges, seeking the best for the Hereford breed.

The Gerbers were early adopters of Whole Herd Total Performance Records (TPR) and the use of genomics, carcass and ultrasound data collection. Doug always has been one to continue to learn, whether it was attending Beef Improvement Federation meetings or visiting with other breeders. When these activities pulled Doug away from the farm, Maxine, a very capable herdsman, was more than ready to handle the day-to-day operation. From doctoring cattle to pulling calves, Maxine was up to the task. In 2007, Maxine passed away after a battle with cancer. While Doug and Maxine didn’t have children, the thousands of cattle they raised were part of the family in many ways.

Over the years, the couple worked to perfect the Gerber cow herd and tirelessly chased genetic improvement. Many herds all over the country have been influenced by the Gerber herd, whether it was through cow families, like Dixie or Rosie Lane, or bulls, such as Gerber High Time H65. The Gerbers continued to look to improve, as there is no such thing as the perfect cow, just a better one using a generation at a time. 

With the help of his farm employee, Steven Thomas, Doug calves out about 100 cows each year. Doug spends a great deal of time studying potential herd sires, and continually reads literature and speaks with other producers to better his herd. Doug enjoys the science behind raising high-quality cattle, whether it be genetics, nutrition or agronomy.

Doug was awarded the Outstanding Cattleman Award in 2018 by the Indiana Beef Cattle Association. He was also awarded the Distinguished Hoosier Award by the State of Indiana during the Indiana State Fair Hereford open show in August of 2018. Doug remains very active in many organizations in the community, including serving as the pianist at the Boston Methodist Church and being a member of the Indiana Beef Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Wayne County Cattlemen’s Association.

“It would indeed be a well-deserved recognition to place Doug and Maxine Gerber in the American Hereford Association Hall of Fame,” writes Bryce Schumann, Schu-Lar Herefords, in his letter to the selection committee. “They have been a shining example of faith in God, hard work and trust in the greatness that Hereford cattle and their breeders possess.”

The couple’s passion and dedication are best represented in the herd they worked so hard to put together over the years, culminated with some of the best genetics in the Hereford breed. The Gerber family will have a lasting impact on the Hereford breed for years to come.

Dale and Nancy Venhuizen

Located 90 miles north of Yellowstone National Park in Manhattan, Mont., Dale and Nancy Venhuizen founded Churchill Cattle Co. shortly after they married in 1980. 

Dale was raised on a Hereford ranch and seed potato farm in southwest Montana. He attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., and it was there that he met his wife, Nancy. They both transferred to Montana State University, graduating in 1979. Dale graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business and Nancy with a bachelor’s degree in finance. 

Since then, the couple has called Montana home, raising their four daughters — Katie, Anne, Megan and Camille — about five miles from the Hereford operation Dale grew up on. They now have 11 grandchildren they often welcome to the ranch.

The operation’s name — ‘Churchill’ — stems from a bull named DV Lord Churchill out of a female gifted to Dale by his father, John. The proceeds from the bull’s sale at the Western Nugget in Reno, Nev., served as the foundation for Dale and Nancy’s Hereford herd. 

The couple started with about 60 head of registered Hereford females, and now they calve about 350 Hereford pairs and a handful of commercial females. Annually, the Venhuizen family hosts a fall female sale and spring bull sale, selling about 100 head in each. Their sale tag line, ‘world class,’ is synonymous with the herd the Venhuizens have built. Their customer base consists of both commercial and seedstock producers, and they sell females and bulls whose progeny can perform in the feedyard, on the range or in the donor pen. 

The Venhuizens are constantly improving their herd, carefully planning mating decisions and herd additions. They are early adopters of technology, utilizing embryo transfer and AI since 1980 and using ultrasound technology to collect carcass data since 1992. In a partnership with Trans Ova Genetics, Churchill Cattle Co. serves as a satellite location and regularly IVF (in vitro fertilization) flushes donors. Students as well as teachers, they’re always learning, growing and sharing their expertise.

Dale is a lifelong advocate of the Hereford breed. Whether it was providing a steady hand following the merger of the APHA and the AHA or being a vocal leader for Certified Hereford BeefÒ (CHB) — he led with integrity, positivity and progressive thinking. He was a member of the AHA Board of Directors from 2000-2004 and again from 2010-2014, serving as president of the AHA Board in 2004 and CHB president. He’s participated in the World Hereford Conference, enrolled Churchill cattle in the Hereford Feedout Program, and is actively involved in his community, having served on the Calvin College board of trustees, Manhattan Christian School board and as elder and deacon on his local church council.

“Their commitment to the Hereford breed is unmatched. Whether serving on boards, hosting tours or events or mentoring young breeders, Dale and Nancy have provided an atmosphere in which people feel comfortable, and their thoughts are valued,” writes Mark Cooper, Cooper Hereford Ranch, in his letter to the selection committee. “Their eagerness to implement new technologies is to be commended. Dale has served our Board in many ways but was very instrumental in establishing the Certified Hereford Beef program and ensuring its success. Their ranch remains committed to implementing technologies that monitor feed efficiency and carcass evaluation to this day.”

A household name in the Hereford breed, Churchill cattle have influenced herds across the U.S. and around the world. Dale and Nancy themselves have undoubtedly made Herefords better and have touched countless lives in the process.

Hall of Merit

Jack Hedrick, Signal Mountain, Tenn., was inducted into the Hereford Hall of Merit Oct. 26 at the AHA Annual Meeting and Conference in Kansas City, Mo.

Jack Hedrick

Jack Hedrick, cattle sales manager and owner of JDH Marketing Services LLC, Signal Mountain, Tenn., has deep roots in the Hereford breed. His grandfather, Perry Hedrick, was a polled Hereford Pioneer Breeder, and his father, Roscoe “Rusty” Hedrick, managed many notable Hereford herds. Jack was young when his dad joined legendary polled Hereford breeder M.P. “Hot” Moore at Circle M Ranch in Senatobia, Miss., as a herdsman. 

Even at an early age, Jack was always drawn to sale day. As a ranch manager’s kid, Jack witnessed firsthand the hard work, creative marketing and professionalism poured into each successful sale. Circle M Ranch sales often averaged more than $6,000 per head — a sizable investment in those times — and Jack vividly recalls the excitement generated by those high-selling lots.

In 1966, the Hedrick family left Circle M and moved to Damascus, Md., to join Col. E. Brooke Lee’s Silver Springs Farms. When Washington D.C. began to encroach upon the farm, the Hedrick family moved a portion of Lee’s cowherd to a farm in Columbus, Miss., where Jack met his wife, Mary Helen. 

While in Columbus, the Hedricks started their own Hereford operation called Yikes Farms. Struck with the economic inflation of the ’70s, Rusty started working cattle sales. In 1975, just a couple of years out of high school, Jack hit the road doing the same, working with Bill Maerli from Missouri. 

While working sales, Jack met Eddie Sims of National Cattle Services Inc., from Elgin, Okla. Jack went to work for Sims in 1978, hauling chutes and equipment between sales to prepare cattle with Eddie’s brother, Dale “Slim” Sims. Under the tutelage of the Sims brothers, Jack learned about sale management and made many industry connections. Those connections would become even more important when Jack started providing sale management, consulting and ring service through his own sales marketing company, JDH Marketing Services LLC, in 1988, after a decade with National Cattle Services.

Jack views sales management as a team sport where managers call upon the best in the industry in their trades — photographers, catalog designers, videographers, auctioneers, clippers, fitters, ring help and auctioneers — to help prepare for a successful event. 

“I think Jack’s greatest attributes are his personality and dedication to do the best job possible for all his employers,” writes Walt McKellar, CMR Herefords, in his letter to the selection committee. “This dedication and integrity has earned him a special place in all aspects of our industry. He has been the ultimate mentor and friend throughout my life, and I know he has done the same for so many others.”

More than four decades later, Jack has worked his entire life in the cattle sales industry and has never received a salaried, bi-weekly paycheck. Instead, like the farms and ranches he serves, Jack depended on robust markets and successful sales. He currently resides in Signal Mountain with his wife of 43 years, Mary Helen. Their son, Dustin, and his wife, Carleigh, also live in Signal Mountain with their two sons, Thom and Monte.

Jack says the farmers and ranchers he served have always been the most rewarding part of his job. There are several sales he has worked for more than 35 straight years. The sort of tenacity and grit it takes to ride the ups and downs of the livestock industry is something Jack not only learned from his clients but admires about them.

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The American Hereford Association, with headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., is one of the largest U.S. beef breed associations. The not-for-profit organization along with its subsidiaries — Certified Hereford Beef (CHB) LLC, Hereford Publications Inc. (HPI) and American Beef Records Association (ABRA) — provides programs and services for its members and their customers, while promoting the Hereford breed and supporting education, youth and research. For more information about the Association, visit Hereford.org. For pictures and additional news releases, visit www.hereford.org/media. 

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