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Wallace Harrell: Beefmaster Breeders United Hall of Fame Inductee (1986)

Wallace Harrell was inducted into the Beefmaster Breeders United Hall of Fame in 1986, honored for contributions to a breed born on a Texas ranch.

Who is Wallace Harrell?

Wallace Harrell is listed among the 1986 inductees of the Beefmaster Breeders United Hall of Fame. The association's page gives only the name and year. Nothing else about his cattle, location or career is confirmed in the sources we could open.

Harrell shared his induction year with two others, and the page does not separate their records.

How the Beefmaster breed began

Every Beefmaster herd goes back to the Lasater Ranch. The Oklahoma State University breeds page reports that Ed C. Lasater began the program in 1908 with Brahman bulls over Hereford and Shorthorn cows, and that Guzerat blood arrived in 1925. Tom Lasater, working after his father's death in 1930, combined Brahman and Hereford cattle, added Shorthorn bulls, and coined the name Beefmaster.

Beefmaster breeding was about culling. According to the breed page, herds used multiple sires and animals were dropped for poor disposition, fertility, weight, conformation, hardiness or milk. Color and horns did not drive decisions. The Lasater Ranch estimates that modern Beefmasters carry slightly less than half Brahman blood and slightly more than a quarter Hereford and Shorthorn.

The association and the early years

The association side of the story starts in 1961, when Beefmaster Breeders United was founded. The BBU About page adds that the breed was built from Hereford, Shorthorn and Brahman crosses begun by Tom Lasater in the early 1930s, and that the USDA recognized it as a pure breed in 1954.

The association grew with the breed. Rapid expansion began in the early 1970s, and membership climbed from 300 in 1974 to nearly 7,000 by 1998. The page now lists roughly 3,000 members and ranks BBU in the top five U.S. beef breed registries by membership and the top ten by registrations.

What the Hall of Fame says

On its news page, BBU describes the hall as a way to honor exceptional, visionary men and women who made outstanding contributions to the breed. The page covers a different induction class and gives no selection rules, so it cannot add detail about this member.

Homer Herring, Wallace Harrell and Jack Dunn were all inducted in 1986, the first year listed on the hall page. Over on farm.FM, the ranching section follows the same kind of cattle history across breeds and regions.

Why It Mattered

A hall of fame entry is a short record, but it points to a long one. The documented parts of this story are the breed's origin, its selection standards, the creation of a breed association, and the recognition BBU later gave to people like Wallace Harrell.

Because the available pages do not detail this inductee's own work, the lessons below come from the documented history of the breed that the hall honors.

  • Start with a clear purpose: the breed was built for cattle that earn money in hard economic times.
  • Measure what pays: weight, conformation, milk, fertility, hardiness and disposition.
  • Cull on those traits, not on color, hide or horns.
  • Use many sires and keep records so the herd improves in a visible way.
  • Organize breeders: BBU was founded in 1961 and grew from 300 members in 1974 to nearly 7,000 by 1998.

What we still do not know

The official hall page lists Wallace Harrell and a 1986 induction year, and nothing more. Birth and death dates, home ranch, herd size and the specific contributions behind the honor are not given there, and we found no other source that documents them. We have chosen to leave those blanks rather than guess.

If you have family records, a ranch history or an old BBU publication that covers this inductee, it would make a better profile than context can. In the meantime, a farm.FM story about Beefmaster cattle gives a feel for the cattle and the people who raise them.

Timeline

  1. 1908Ed C. Lasater begins adding Brahman bulls to his Hereford and Shorthorn herd
  2. 1925Guzerat blood introduced to the herd
  3. 1930Ed C. Lasater dies; son Tom Lasater continues the program
  4. Early 1930sTom Lasater crosses Hereford, Shorthorn and Brahman cattle
  5. 1954USDA recognizes Beefmasters as a pure breed
  6. 1961Beefmaster Breeders United is founded
  7. 1986Wallace Harrell is inducted into the BBU Hall of Fame
  8. 1998BBU membership reaches nearly 7,000

Frequently asked questions

Who is Wallace Harrell?

Wallace Harrell is a Beefmaster Breeders United Hall of Fame inductee, listed on the association's hall of fame page with a 1986 induction. The page gives no biography, so personal details are not documented in the sources we reviewed.

When was Wallace Harrell inducted into the Beefmaster Hall of Fame?

The BBU hall of fame page lists Wallace Harrell among its inductees for 1986.

What is a Beefmaster?

Beefmaster is a beef breed developed by the Lasater family in Texas from Hereford, Shorthorn and Brahman cattle. USDA recognized it as a pure breed in 1954, and it is selected on the Six Essentials.

Who founded Beefmaster Breeders United?

BBU was founded in 1961, according to its About page. The breed itself was founded by Tom Lasater, who began crossing Hereford, Shorthorn and Brahman cattle in the early 1930s.

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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