The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame inducted its 14th class, and recognized two more award winners, Jan. 31, prior to the 2023 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in New Orleans.

The two Hall of Fame inductees for 2023 include Jerry Adams, with Adams Land and Cattle in Broken Bow, Neb.; and the late Ed Barrett of Barrett and Crofoot Feedyard in Hereford, Texas. Thomas “Dee” Likes, chief executive emeritus of the Kansas Livestock Association, Larkspur, Colo., received the Industry Leadership Award; and Terry Wegner, with Drinnin West Cattle Co., Palmer, Neb., received the Arturo Armendariz Distinguished Service Award.

Hall of Fame inductees

Jerry Adams and his brother Bill Adams started out in 1972 with five employees, 5,000 calves and 3,000 acres of farmland near Broken Bow. From that humble start, the Adams brothers grew Adams Land and Cattle to a finishing capacity of 125,000 head and a backgrounding network of up to 100,000 head in more than 85 locations. Starting in 1990, Adams started to focus on research and technology in feeding cattle, and today, Adams Land and Cattle is known for its innovation and data-driven model of cattle production, according to the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame.

HALL OF FAME: Randy Blach (left), CEO of CattleFax, presents Jerry Adams his plaque inducting him into the 2023 class of the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame, Jan. 31, in New Orleans. Adams, of Broken Bow, Neb., has grown a reputation in the industry for adopting technology and research into its work feeding cattle.

Ed Barrett spent his lifetime in the cattle feeding industry. He began his career running Lubbock Feedyard before moving back to Emporia, Kan., in 1968, and building and operating Flint Hills Feedyard. In 1975, Barrett, with the Crofoot family, established the Barrett and Crofoot Feedyard in Hereford, Texas, growing it to three yards with a total capacity of 135,000 head. Barrett died in 2020. Today, his sons and grandsons are continuing his legacy owning and operating the family business.

Industry leadership

According to the Hall of Fame, “The Industry Leadership Award is given to distinguished individuals who demonstrate outstanding leadership, provide exemplary service and contribute to the advancement of the cattle feeding industry.”

INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP: Current Kansas Livestock Association CEO Matt Teagarden (left) presents KLA CEO emeritus Thomas "Dee" Likes with the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame Industry Leadership Award. This award recognizes Likes’ career working on behalf of Kansas livestock producers.

Likes returned to Kansas from his tour of active duty in the U.S. Navy in the 1970s and earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science from Kansas State University. In 1976, he joined the staff of the Kansas Livestock Association, where he spent the rest of his career lobbying on behalf of the state’s livestock producers. He retired after serving several decades as CEO of KLA.

Distinguished service

The Arturo Armendariz Distinguished Service Award is named for a longtime devoted employee of Poky Feeders, Scott City, Kan. It recognizes feedyard employees who go above and beyond in their work to raise beef and improve the cattle feeding industry.

LONGTIME SERVICE: Terry Wegner was awarded the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame Arturo Armendariz Distinguished Service Award, recognizing his lifetime of service to the cattle feeding industry. Wegner has worked for more than 45 years with dairy cattle, and today is employed by Drinnin West Cattle Co., Palmer, Neb.

Wegner has worked for more than 45 years with dairy cattle, and today is employed by Drinnin West Cattle Co. using his wealth of knowledge. He’s adopted to new technology and new tools to bring efficiency to the yard, ensuring animal welfare and efficient feeding is maintained.

To learn more about the current class or previous inductees, visit cattlefeeders.org.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame contributed to this article.