What started as a 4-H project in Redmond, Oregon, grew Denny Hoffman into a herdsman, manager and now owner of Hoffman Herefords in Thedford, Nebraska. The operation includes Denny’s wife, Dixie, son, Jason, and his wife, Kaycee, and their children, Haxton, Kennedy and Hayden. Other family members include Denny’s daughter Stephanie and her husband Randy Myers and their daughter, Shayne; daughter Regan and her husband Curt Hain, and their kids Lilly and Logan; and daughter Jennifer Goodman and her kids Garrett and Parker.
Hoffman Herefords runs 300 Hereford cows, a herd of Angus and a set of commercial cows for an extensive ET program. The Hoffmans host two sales a year and exhibit cattle at national shows across the country, and are very involved in helping their younger buyers become successful in the showring.
With more than 60 years of active involvement in the breed, Denny began the early part of his career as a herdsman for Stone Herefords, Hermiston, Oregon, where he fit several champions both on the Hill and in the Yards at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. He also judged the national Hereford show on the Hill in 1989. He served on the AHA Board of Directors from 2006-2010 and held a position on the board for the California-Nevada Hereford Association. His extensive mentorship also includes helping several young herdsman, many of whom went on to be named Herdsman of the Year in Denver.
On a courageous leap of faith, Denny moved the family operation from California to Nebraska in order to grow and sustain the business for the next generation. Longtime customers Will and Jennifer Harrison of Harrison Livestock, note, “we do not feel there is a more fitting example of a gentleman who has built his legacy the ‘all-American’ way through hard work and determination with his family at his side.”
Beyond the Hereford breed, Denny is very active in the beef industry and the Thedford community. His passion for mentoring youth has resulted in roles as a 4-H leader, FFA advisor and Little League baseball coach. Before making the move to Nebraska, he was CEO of the Intermountain Fair for 17 years, and has since held multiple leadership roles with the Nebraska State Fair.
He is known for his personable character and is respected for his honesty, openness and integrity with customers and other breeders. “Denny is an aggressive thinker with their breeding program and is always looking for something different to help improve their genetics, their customers and the industry,” shares Marie Farr. “Denny has a lot of pride in what he does and also in his family. He once said, ‘I have failed a lot of times, but I believe you need to get up as many times as you have been knocked down.’”
