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Hans Wittenburg of Edna: Aggie, Deere Dealer and Beefmaster Legend

A Texas A&M animal husbandry graduate ran a John Deere dealership by day and spent nearly five decades building the Beefmaster association.

Who is Hans Wittenburg?

Hans Wittenburg lives in Edna, in Jackson County, Texas, and grew up in Lockhart. The BBU Legends Award article is the main account of his life. It describes a man who graduated from Texas A&M in 1950 with a bachelor's degree in animal husbandry and then served two years in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant.

The Beefmaster Breeders United Hall of Fame roster lists him in the class of 2003.

From Green Valley Cattle Co. to the John Deere dealership

After college Wittenburg worked for Green Valley Cattle Co. in San Marcos, where he first saw Beefmasters. In 1955 he joined his father-in-law at the John Deere dealership in Edna, which he owned until 1998.

He bought his first Beefmasters at a sale in Alice, Texas, and joined BBU in 1968. The article does not report herd size, so none is given here.

Fifty years of Beefmaster service

Wittenburg chaired or served on every BBU committee between 1968 and 2015, including a decade on the breed improvement committee. He served as BBU president and spent eight years on the board, and he was president of the Lone Star Beefmaster Breeders Association in 1976.

He consigned animals to Beefmaster sales and won grand champion honors at sales and futurities numerous times, according to the article.

The Key to His Success

Wittenburg's record shows a man who kept a steady job and a steady commitment to the breed. The dealership gave him income and a rural customer base in Edna, while the Beefmaster work gave him a network. He did not depend on cattle alone to carry the family.

He also stayed. From his first BBU membership in 1968 to committee work in 2015, the record spans nearly five decades.

  • He studied animal husbandry at Texas A&M, graduating in 1950.
  • He spent time with a commercial cattle company before starting his own operation.
  • He ran a farm equipment dealership, which spread business risk.
  • He joined BBU early, in 1968, and served on every committee.
  • He consigned cattle to sales and futurities, where outcomes were publicly judged.
  • He held local leadership, including Jackson County's Man of the Year in 1967.

Awards and recognition

BBU named him Breeder of the Year in 1983 and inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2003. The Legends Award, presented by Nolan Ryan, goes to members who have raised Beefmasters for 50 years or more. It began in 2002, and Wittenburg was the ninth recipient, honored at the 57th annual convention in Galveston.

Locally, the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce named him Man of the Year in 1967, and he won Jackson County Rancher of the Year several times.

The 2003 class and the 2017 convention

He entered the hall in 2003 alongside E. C. Larkin. The Galveston convention, called 'Beefmasters on the Bay', ran October 26 to 28, 2017 at Moody Gardens, as the convention report states.

That same year the hall honored Dale and Laurie Lasater, sons of the breed's founder.

What the Legends Award means

The Legends Award is a long-service honor. It began in 2002, goes to members who have raised Beefmasters for 50 years or more, and had reached only nine recipients by the time Wittenburg received it. That count says something about how rare half-century careers are in any single breed.

Wittenburg's first Beefmaster purchase at the Alice sale and his 1968 membership date together mark the start of that stretch. His committee service through 2015 then carried it past the 45-year mark by the association's own count of his committee years.

The breed and the region

Jackson County sits on the Texas coastal plain, not far from the South Texas country where Tom Lasater developed the Beefmaster in the early 1930s from Hereford, Shorthorn and Brahman cattle. The breed gained USDA recognition in 1954, as the Beefmaster article reports.

For readers who want more, farm.FM runs ranching coverage and a farm.FM story about coastal Texas cattle.

Timeline

  1. 1950Graduates from Texas A&M in animal husbandry
  2. 1955Joins his father-in-law at the John Deere dealership in Edna
  3. 1967Named Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year
  4. 1968Joins Beefmaster Breeders United
  5. 1976President of the Lone Star Beefmaster Breeders Association
  6. 1983Named BBU Breeder of the Year
  7. 1998Last year he owned the Edna John Deere dealership
  8. 2003Inducted into the BBU Hall of Fame

Frequently asked questions

Who is Hans Wittenburg?

He is a Beefmaster breeder from Edna, Texas, a Texas A&M graduate who owned a John Deere dealership until 1998 and served on BBU committees from 1968 to 2015.

What is the BBU Legends Award?

It honors members who have raised Beefmasters for 50 years or more. It began in 2002, and Hans Wittenburg was its ninth recipient.

When was Hans Wittenburg inducted into the Hall of Fame?

Beefmaster Breeders United inducted him in 2003. He was also BBU Breeder of the Year in 1983.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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