In 1870 the ancestors of Bob Harrell, Jr., traveled in a covered wagon across the historic Oregon Trail to Baker City, Ore. His parents, Bob and Edna Harrell, established Harrell Hereford Ranch along the foothills of Baker Valley, in the high-country of Eastern Oregon, three generations later. Today, Harrell Hereford Ranch is a family run operation, managed by the fifth and sixth generation of Harrells, consisting of Bob Jr.; his wife, Becky; and daughter, Lexie. Bob was raised in Baker City and graduated from Baker High School. After graduation, he attended Oregon State University for two years, and then transferred to Kansas State University (K-State). At K-State, Bob competed on the livestock judging team and earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science.
The cattle ranch originated in 1970 with 80 acres and 100 head of Hereford cows purchased from Harold Thompson’s TT Herefords in Connell, Wash. Under Bob’s management, the ranch has grown to six ranches and currently consists of 400 registered Hereford cows, 400 black baldy commercial cows, a 1,000-head backgrounding feedlot and 25 Quarter Horse broodmares. The cattle run on 8,000 acres of high-desert, native range. With the help of six employees, the Harrells also manage 3,000 irrigated, tillable acres of alfalfa and meadow hay, pasture, corn silage, earlage and small grains. The Harrell herd has been enrolled in performance testing since its inception in 1970, and for more than 51 years, the goal has been to produce performance cattle that work under a variety of management systems and branded beef programs.
Bob was on the American Hereford Association Board of Directors from 2006 to 2010. The success of those years was largely driven by a strategic planning effort in 2005, which Bob helped lead. During that time, while chairing the Marketing Committee, he was at the center of the technology revolution, which included the explosive influence of the internet. AHA led the industry, delivering new online tools for producer data exchange. These years also brought about the advent of breeding system economic selection indexes and novel, economically relevant maternal traits.
The discovery and disclosure of genetic abnormalities evolved during this time, as well as the very beginnings of genomic-enhanced expected progeny differences (EPDs), which changed the game in terms of selection accuracy of younger seedstock prospects.
For years, Bob and his family at Harrell Hereford Ranch worked with industry partners to co-host cattlemen from across the western U.S. at their annual “Cattlemen Workshop.” He has been a leader willing to educate himself and share with others ways to remain economically successful and fundamentally sustainable in an ever changing business environment. All these leadership qualities are what made Harrell Hereford Ranch a cornerstone Hereford seedstock operation in the western states. The genetic influence of the Harrell Hereford Ranch has been felt in commercial cowherds across the country. Bob’s contribution to the industry drove Harrell Hereford Ranch’s recognition as the 2009 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Seedstock Producer of the Year — one of the most prestigious recognitions bestowed upon a seedstock operation.
