Beef Magazine

Larry Lorenzen, Lorenzen Ranches, Pendleton, Ore., received the 2008 Red Angus Breeder of the Year Award at the National Red Angus Convention in Cheyenne, Wyo., Sept. 17-19. Kenda Ponder, Red Angus Association of America (RAAA) registrations department manager, presented the award to Lorenzen.

“Larry emulates the goal of the Breeder of the Year award,” said Ponder, “providing full service genetic solutions to help his customers meet their challenges.”

Lorenzen assumed the lead role in his family’s operation from his father who was the 1987 Red Angus Breeder of the Year. The Lorenzen Ranch also received the prestigious Pioneer Breeder of the Year in 1998 and they were named one of the “50 Most Influential People” in the breed in 2004.

Over the past several years, Lorenzens have increased their sale offering from 100 bulls to over 300 bulls a year that they market through their annual February sale and private treaty offerings. They are one of the largest suppliers of Red Angus genetics and their list of core customers reads like a who’s who of the largest ranchers of the high desert country.

Lorenzen’s loyalty to his brand is a function of his family’s commitment to their customers’ success. They run over 1,000 registered females but only catalog the top 250 bulls for their February sale. “Lorenzens do not even give their customers the opportunity to buy bulls from the bottom half of their calf crop,” said Ponder.

In addition to supplying seedstock to their customers, they have set up marketing opportunities as well. Lorenzens work in alliance with Beef Northwest, a 95,000-head-capacity feeding enterprise based in Oregon and Washington. Lorenzen negotiated a proprietary fed-cattle pricing grid which provides quality and yield premiums as well as age- and source-verification incentives.

This outlet for their commercial customers’ cattle added value to their product and earned several GridMaster awards for loads marketed on the grid.

Even more significant than the awards, however, has been the increased momentum for the Red Angus Feeder Calf Certification Program (FCCP) among ranchers in the Northwest. The yellow Red Angus tag plays an integral role in identifying eligible cattle.

As a past RAAA committee and board member, Lorenzen supports the ideals of the strategic plan and understands the commitment to the Red Angus breed. He also recognizes its purpose must be maintained in the future through the next generation. His son, Sam, plays an integral role in the operation and recently attended the Young Guns conference.

“I am humbled,” said Ponder, “to call Larry Lorenzen my dear friend and am proud to present him as the 2008 Red Angus Breeder of the Year.”

For more information, contact:

Clint Berry, RAAA communications and member services director

(940) 387-3502 • clint@redangus.org