The 57th Annual Beefmaster Breeders United (BBU) Convention “Beefmasters on the Bay” was hosted in Galveston, Texas at the Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa and Convention Center from October 26 – 28, 2017. This year’s convention was very special because two legendary men were inducted into the BBU Hall of Fame. The BBU Hall of Fame has been established to honor the exceptional, visionary men and women who have made outstanding contributions to the Beefmaster breed.
The 2017 Hall of Fame inductees are the late Dale Lasater of Matheson, Colo., and Laurence “Laurie” Lasater of San Angelo, Texas. Both of these men are sons of Tom Lasater, the founder of the Beefmaster breed.
Dale Lasater’s son Alex and fiancé Sarah Cannady, left, accept the award from presenter Gary Frenzel.
Dale Lasater
Dale Lasater was a well-known Colorado cattle rancher, conservationist and humanitarian. Dale Lasater’s life touched many people in the ranching and land stewardship community, worldwide. He was a beloved and visionary figure in his field, carrying on four generations of cattle breeding and ranch management. In 1986, he took over the management of the Lasater Ranch in Eastern Colorado, which was founded in 1948 by his father and mother, Tom and Mary Lasater. He continued the “Genetic Experiment” begun in 1937 by Tom, through successfully maintaining the oldest closed herd in the world, the Foundation herd of the Beefmaster breed – still closed in 2017. He broadened and deepened his parents’ commitment to working holistically with nature and the environment, producing organic grass fed beef. Dale, along with his brother Laurie, made presentations about the family philosophy of cattle breeding and range management across the United States, Europe and Latin America. He worked throughout his career to implement conservation of irreplaceable Colorado short-grass prairie and other range environments.
Dale Lasater was raised on The Lasater Ranch in Falfurrias, Texas, and Matheson, Colo. After graduating from Princeton University Magna Cum Laude in 1965, he spent a year studying Fulbright scholar at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and spent two years working with a cattle improvement program with the Peace Corps in Colombia. Prior to taking over the family ranch, Lasater worked as a general manager of International Cattle Systems, a diversified livestock company headquartered in Kansas.
He is a past president of the Pikes Peak Cattlemen’s Association and served on the board of directors of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, Texas Cattle Feeders Association, National Cattlemen’s Association (predecessor of NCBA), and Beefmaster Breeders United. He was a founding board member of the Holistic Management Colorado Branch. In 2002, Dale Lasater was awarded the Slow Food Award for Biodiversity in Turin, Italy. In 2012, he was awarded the Stuart P. Dodge award for lifetime achievement from the Palmer Land Trust. Lasater is the author of Falfurrias (College Station, Texas A&M University Press, 1985) and the editor of Flatrock (Colorado Springs, Master Publications, 2001). Dale Lasater is survived by his beloved wife Janine; sons Alex (fiancé Sarah Cannady) and Tom (spouse Peiching Lasater); two grandchildren, Thomas and Elizabeth. The BBU Hall of Fame is honored to welcome the late Dale Lasater to this prestigious group of Beefmaster breeders.
Laurie Lasater and family accepting award from presenter Mark Blau
Laurence Matthews “Laurie” Lasater, the oldest son of the late Tom and Mary Lasater, was born on October 21, 1941 in San Antonio, Texas. He has been a Beefmaster breeder since 1964 and was present at the first meetings forming the Beefmaster Breeders Universal association. Laurie and his uncle, Watt M. “Palo” Casey, are the longest members of the three Beefmaster associations. Laurie has served on multiple committees and served as President of the Foundation Beefmaster Association. He also has been a director of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, as well as an elder of the First Presbyterian Church in San Angelo, Texas. Laurie was honored as Breeder of the Year by Beefmaster Breeders United in 2000.
In 1964, after Laurie had graduated from Princeton University and finished active duty in the National Guard, he and his wife Annette moved to Mexico and introduced the Beefmaster breed into that country. They lived and ranched on Rancho Santa Cruz near Muzuiz, Coahuila, Mexico. The Lasaters returned to the U.S., in 1972 and at that time their Santa Cruz Beefmaster herd was sold in Mexico to Guillermo Osuna and Isidro Lopez. They have lived in San Angelo, Texas since 1972 and established the L Bar Beefmaster herd during this time. Their company Isa Cattle Co., has marketed Beefmaster females via private treaty, developed their annual bull sales and an international frozen genetics business.
Laurie authored the book The Lasater Philosophy of Cattle Raising. It was first published in 1972 and is now in its seventeenth edition in English and its second edition in Spanish. He later authored Tail Winds Both Ways, a memoir.
Laurie and Annette have two married children. Isabel, and her husband J.C. Hernandez, have three children and live in Katy, Texas. Their son Lorenzo Lasater, and his wife Leslie Lasater, have two sons and live in San Angelo, Texas. Laurie and Annette retired in December 2014 and at that time their children formed their own cattle business, Isa Beefmasters, LLC. The L Bar Beefmaster herd is continuing with annual bull sales, as well as female and frozen genetics sales. The BBU Hall of Fame is honored to welcome Laurence “Laurie” Lasater to this prestigious group of Beefmaster breeders.
