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Maddux was nominated for the Golden Spur Award by the
National Cattlemen’s Foundation, based in Centennial, Colo.
“Jack is most deserving of this recognition, as he
continues to provide leadership and a common sense approach to the
ranching and livestock industries,” said Terry L. Stokes, CEO of the
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “He does not seek
recognition, as that is not what drives his motivation. He is not
fueled by credit for himself, but by the success of others. He works
to do what is best for the industry and the people who mean so much
to him.”
In addition to a
3,000-head feedyard, Maddux Cattle Co. encompasses a 2,500 head
cow-calf operation on some 40,000 acres of deeded and leased land in
the Sandhills of Nebraska.
The Maddux breeding program uses a composite of Red Angus, Tarentaise and South Devon breeds. The calves are finished in the Maddux feedlot
along with purchased background calves. The Maddux program was one
of the first to adopt a multi-cell rest-rotation grazing management
system, cross fencing and no-till corn production.
Raised on the ranch,
Maddux earned a B.S. degree from Colorado State University in 1953
and served a tour of duty as an Air Force pilot. He and his wife,
Carol, have three grown children and seven grandchildren. Maddux has
used his knowledge to improve the family ranch, which was
homesteaded in 1886. The Maddux Cattle Co. is in the western end of
the Frenchman River valley with sand hill pastures and irrigated
pastures and corn.
The family got its start
in Nebraska the 1880s, when. Taylor Maddux, Jack’s grandfather,
moved to Nebraska and ran a livery stable in McCook. In 1886, his
wife, Clara, took up a claim outside present-day Wauneta on Stinking
Water Creek. That original homestead is the headquarters of the
Maddux Cattle Co.
By the early 1900s, Taylor had accumulated enough
land to get a toe-hold in the ranching business. He sold the livery
stable and a herd of Angus cows and moved back to the ranch. He died
in 1917, at which time Glen Maddux took over and prospered through
World War II. In his heyday, Jack said his father fed 1,000 head of
cattle.
“Back then, everything was done by hand with a team
of mules and a No. 14 scoop.” That was a long way from how
operations are run today on the Maddux ranch.
Robert D. Josserand,
chairman of the National Cattlemen’s Foundation, said, “As an
outstanding Nebraska cattle rancher, Jack’s management techniques
have been sought by many organizations and people in the industry,
both in the United States and in other countries.”
Today, the feedlot
operation revolves around the longstanding practice of early weaning
utilized by Jack and his son John. They say for them it is cheaper
to feed their calves on low-cost corn and byproducts in a feedlot
setting than carry them on grass to the yearling stage.
Actively involved with the National Cattleman’s Beef
Association, Jack Maddux has traveled extensively in the interest of
bringing better management and financial planning to the industry.
He was the first honoree to be named Cattle Businessman of the Year
by the Association in 1984 and served as the first treasurer of NCBA.
He is a trustee of the National Cattlemen’s Foundation.
Maddux has held leadership roles on the Nebraska
Stock Growers Association and the Society for Range Management. He
is listed in the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement and
received the Nebraska Ag Builder Award. He is a past chairman of the
board of the University of Nebraska Foundation, and he was named
Cattleman of the Year in 2002 by Nebraska Cattlemen’s Association.
In 2004, he was recognized as Livestock Leader of the Year by
Colorado State University. Maddux and his wife were honored for
excellence in the management of Nebraska rangeland by the Nebraska
Society for Range Management.
Additionally, Maddux has
been active in water and natural resource policy issues. He served
on the Legislative Water Advisory Committee and was involved in the
formulation of Nebraska’s groundwater management legislation. He is
a former member of the Platte River Whooping Crane Trust and serves
on the Water Policy Task Force.
The National Golden Spur
Award is a joint recognition by some of the industry’s leading
organizations, among them the American Quarter Horse Association,
National Cattlemen’s Foundation, Ranching Heritage Association,
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Cattle
Feeders Association and Texas Farm Bureau.
Host organization, the
Ranching Heritage Association, is a support arm of the National
Ranching Heritage Center museum and historical park established to
preserve the history of ranching, pioneer life and the development
of the livestock industry in North America.
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