This national award is presented annually to a producer to recognize his or her dedication to improving the beef industry at the seedstock level.

Shaw Cattle Co. is a generational beef operation that manages Hereford, Angus and Red Angus herds in a diversified system of irrigated rotational grazing, maximizing forage resources and beef cattle genetics. Today, Shaw Cattle Co. maintains more than 1,500 registered cows encompassing the three breeds. The Shaw family works together to improve the cow herd through the diligent selection of breed-leading genetics with a keen eye toward performance, science and technology.

The origin of Shaw Cattle Co. began with a Hereford heifer. Tom Shaw worked weekends and summers throughout high school for a neighbor. After high school and upon his return from the U.S. Navy, the heifer was given to Tom as payment for his summers and as a thank you for serving his country. The registered Hereford heifer became the foundation of Shaw Hereford Ranch in 1946. By 1959, Tom had married Mary, started a family and purchased a home near Notus, Idaho. The family moved from the original Shaw homestead to the current headquarters and continued to build a cow herd and raise a family.

Tom and Mary's youngest son, Greg, officially joined the operation after graduation in 1968 and married Cleo two years later. In 1988, the Shaw cow herd was divided into three herds. Greg and Cleo remained on the original home place at Caldwell to raise their three children – Tucker, Sam and Jaime – and subsequently formed Shaw Cattle Co.

Today, the third and fourth generations are continuing the tradition of raising reputable performance cattle. In 1990, Shaw Cattle Co. diversified the Hereford cow herd and added Red Angus genetics. In 1996, Black Angus cattle were added to the herd.

Greg and Cleo's son, Sam, returned to the ranch in 1999, after graduating from the University of Idaho. Sam and his wife, Janel, are raising their three daughters on the ranch. After graduating from the University of Idaho and working in the private sector, Tucker returned with his wife, Angie, in 2003. They are raising their five children on the ranch. Greg and Cleo's daughter, Jaime, her husband, Kelley, and two daughters live in Eugene, Oregon, and enjoy helping out on the ranch when they can.

The American Hereford Association nominated Shaw Cattle Co. for this award.

More than 600 beef producers, academia and industry representatives were in attendance at the organization's 48th annual convention. BIF's mission is to help improve the industry by promoting greater acceptance of beef cattle performance evaluation.  

—From K-State Research and Extension news release

PHOTO: Shaw Cattle Co., Caldwell, Idaho, was named the 2016 Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year during an awards ceremony June 16 in Manhattan, Kansas. Pictured are (from left) Wes Ishmael, BEEF magazine, award sponsor, with recipients Tucker, Angie, Cleo, Greg, Janel and Sam Shaw; along with Craig Bieber, Leola, South Dakota, 2015-2016 BIF president; and Marty Ropp, Normal, Illinois, 2016-2017 BIF president. Photo provided by K-State Research and Extension.