The 61st Annual Beefmaster Breeders United (BBU) Convention was hosted in Oklahoma City, Okla., at the Omni Oklahoma City Hotel on October 21 and 22, 2022. During the convention several member awards were presented to outstanding Beefmaster breeders who have excelled over the past year and decades before.
The BBU New Member of the Year award is awarded to a BBU member who has been involved in the breed for less than eight years, and to a member who has shown, dedication, progressivism, and growth within their program and the breed. This member must also be a part of at least one BBU satellite or marketing group. The 2022 new member of the year was awarded to Bill and Sheila Wilson of WW Beefmasters in Edinburg, Texas. They have been BBU members since 2015.
The BBU Member of the Year award recognizes a member that makes significant efforts to promote Beefmaster cattle and Beefmaster Breeders United. Melvin and Marilyn Scherer of V7 Beefmasters in Fannin, Texas were announced as the 2022 member of the year. The Scherers have been BBU members since 1976 and they have served each of those years in numerous leadership roles within BBU and the Live Oak Beefmaster Breeders Association. For decades this family has been dedicated to the promotion, marketing, and improvement of the Beefmaster breed.
The BBU Performance Breeder of the Year award was created to recognize members who are whole herd reporting (WHR) breeders, collect performance and ultrasound data, as well as have superb management practices within their breeding program. Lorenzo Lasater of L Bar Beefmasters in San Angelo, Texas was announced as the 2022 performance breeder of the year. Lasater has been a BBU member since 1995 and is the grandson of the founder of the Beefmaster breed, and a fifth-generation rancher, so he has spent his entire life around Beefmasters. He is the President of Isa Beefmasters, LLC and the company holds a 140 head bull sale each October, sells 50 private treaty bulls each spring, offers females for sale private treaty, and sells semen and embryos both domestically and internationally.
The BBU Environmental Conservation Award was created to recognize Beefmaster breeders who are stewards of the land and provides an opportunity for the Beefmaster breed to showcase the stewardship, conservation and business practices that work together on farms and ranches. The 2022 environmental award was awarded to Tim Chapman of H.T. Chapman Beefmasters in Rockport, Texas. His current method to improve grazing and grazing management includes having 610 acres as part of a 10,000-acre cattle operation that is divided into two parts, which they currently rotate for maximum grazing management.
The BBU Breeder of the Year award was created to recognize the efforts and contributions made by members to promote BBU and Beefmaster cattle, while also evaluating the type, size, and management practices of the member’s breeding program. The 2022 breeder of the year was awarded to Lyssy Beefmasters of Stockdale, Texas. The Lyssy family has been involved in Beefmaster cattle since 1972, when they first became BBU members. Lyssy Beefmasters has always operated under the belief that “you can’t manage what you don’t measure”. By selectively breeding for animals that maintain their phenotypical integrity while also enhancing their carcass performance, Lyssy Beefmasters has been able to get their herd to the point they are at today.
Beefmaster Breeders Cattlewoman (BBC) of the year was awarded to Marilyn Scherer of Fannin, Texas. Scherer has been an active and integral part of the cattlewomen group for many years and a BBU member since 1976. She works tirelessly to coordinate events and to raise money to support the JBBA scholarship fund. Not only is she dedicated to BBC, but she has served in various leadership roles and on numerous BBU committees.
For more information about Beefmaster Breeders United and its membership awards please contact the BBU office at 210-732-3132 or visit www.beefmasters.org. Stay connected to BBU throughFacebook, follow us on Instagram, view our videos on YouTube, and follow us on Twitter. Receive our news updates through joining our mailing list.