Jimmy Atlas

Grandview, Texas

Atlasfarms@sbcglobal.net

214-202-5178

Jimmy and his wife and teammate, Claudia, own and operate Atlas Farms, a 46-year-old operation in North Central Texas and southwestern Oklahoma. Their diversified program includes over 100 head of registered horned and polled Hereford cow-calf pairs and a grain and cotton farm. The ground was historically used for cotton, and the Atlases have reduced production costs by running cattle on harvested crop residue and have doubled cropland through no-till drilling. The family strives to breed and to market functional cattle that compete in the showring and fit the wants and needs of commercial breeders. To achieve these goals, they prioritize heat resistance while maintaining performance in their breeding and culling programs.

Jimmy grew up on a sharecropper cotton, corn and small-grain farm with commercial Hereford and Angus cattle in Grandview, Texas. He later added to the farm by purchasing property his grandfather lived on when he arrived in Texas from Ellis Island as an orphan immigrant. After graduating college, Jimmy was the herdsman for the registered Hereford operation Chisholm Trail Ranch in Rhome, Texas, before he and Claudia started their own operation. Additionally, he spent 35 years in the steel production industry, working in the melt shops and rolling mills.

A lifetime member of the American Hereford Association (AHA), Jimmy was involved in Hereford programs as a junior and showed horned and polled heifers and steers. His daughter, Precious, exhibited in every junior national show from 1989-2004. During that time, the family was active in hosting the junior nationals in Abilene and Fort Worth and both Jimmy and Claudia have been advisors for the Texas Junior Polled Hereford Association. Precious and her husband, Sam, recently purchased land near the Atlas family farm, bringing their tow kids home to be actively involved in the farm’s daily operation as the fourth generation.

Jimmy is a past president of the Texas Polled Hereford Association and is currently a director and the vice president of the Texas Hereford Association. He is also a past committee chairman of the Johnson County Farm Service Agency.