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Cattle Breeders and Breed Pioneers

Lester Galbraith: Montezuma's Polled Hereford Pioneer

He took over the family's cattle tradition in 1940 and spent his life raising hornless Herefords in southeast Iowa.

Who Was Lester Galbraith?

Lester Galbraith was a Polled Hereford breeder from Montezuma, Iowa, who spent his life raising the breed. According to a Farm Progress report on the 2016 induction class, his father, John, started the family herd in 1910, and Lester began his own herd in 1940 at Montezuma.

He died in January 1986. His induction into the Iowa Hereford Hall of Fame came in 2016, thirty years later, and was posthumous. The report gives few biographical details outside his cattle work, and this profile does not guess at the rest.

Building a Polled Herd From 1910 to 1940

The family's cattle story spans two starting points. John Galbraith's herd began in 1910, and Lester's own herd started thirty years later. Lester and his wife Merna Sue raised five children on their farm south of Montezuma.

Polled Herefords are Herefords bred without horns. Galbraith joined both the American Polled Hereford Association and the Iowa Polled Hereford Association.

A Leader of Polled Hereford Associations

Galbraith was active in the Hawkeye association in Cedar Rapids and in the Iowa Polled Hereford Association, whose Des Moines sale was later renamed the B.O. Gammon Sale. He held every office, from director to vice president to president, in the Southeast Iowa Polled Hereford Association at Oskaloosa.

He was a member of the American Polled Hereford Association and the Iowa Polled Hereford Association from the early 1950s until his death. That long membership kept him in the group through the years the breed's sales were organized.

Consigning to Annual Sales

Each year Galbraith consigned three to seven head of cattle to the Southeast Iowa association's annual sales. In 1969 he had the champion bull at the Southeast Iowa sale, an animal from the CEK Rollo Trend bloodlines.

Association sales were a main way seedstock breeders sold bulls and females to neighbors and commercial ranchers, so a champion bull put the consignor's name in front of buyers.

The Key to Galbraith's Success

The record shows a breeder who relied on steady work rather than size. He held a small, consistent program, sold through his regional association and took on its offices.

The lessons are modest but concrete.

  • He inherited a herd tradition from his father and made it his own by starting a separate herd in 1940.
  • He stayed with one breed, Polled Herefords, for his whole career.
  • He served in every office of the Southeast Iowa association.
  • He consigned a few head every year, which kept his name in front of buyers.
  • He used bloodlines with a track record, such as the CEK Rollo Trend line behind his 1969 champion bull.
  • Limit: the sources reviewed give no herd numbers, prices or acreage, so scale cannot be stated.

A Family That Stayed in Polled Herefords

His daughter, Diane Galbraith Honecker, was the first Iowa Polled Hereford Queen and still raises Polled Herefords near Montezuma. His grandson Mark Honecker attended the 2016 ceremony.

The Iowa Hereford Hall of Fame inducted Galbraith in the same class as Arnold Sheriff of Orient, whose family has also bred Herefords for three generations.

Why He Is Remembered

Galbraith belongs in a cattlemen's hall because breeds grow through people like him: breeders who raised good bulls, held association offices and showed up at sales year after year.

The American Hereford Association hall of fame page gives the national view. For the wider world of beef cattle, visit the ranching section of farm.FM or read a farm.FM story about Polled Hereford breeders. For the 2016 class, see the Iowa Hereford Hall of Fame coverage, which is also the main source for this profile.

Timeline

  1. 1910Father John Galbraith starts the family Hereford herd
  2. 1940Lester Galbraith begins his own herd at Montezuma
  3. 1950sJoins the American and Iowa Polled Hereford associations
  4. 1969Has the champion bull at the Southeast Iowa sale
  5. 1986Dies in January
  6. 2016Posthumously inducted into the Iowa Hereford Hall of Fame

Frequently asked questions

Who was Lester Galbraith?

Lester Galbraith (died 1986) was a Polled Hereford breeder from Montezuma, Iowa, who began his own herd in 1940 and was inducted into the Iowa Hereford Hall of Fame in 2016.

When did the Galbraith herd begin?

Lester's father, John Galbraith, started the family herd in 1910. Lester began his own herd in 1940 at Montezuma, Iowa.

What offices did Lester Galbraith hold?

He held every office, from director to vice president to president, in the Southeast Iowa Polled Hereford Association at Oskaloosa, and was active in Iowa and Cedar Rapids associations.

Who else was inducted with Lester Galbraith in 2016?

Arnold Sheriff of Orient, Iowa, a third-generation Hereford breeder, was inducted into the Iowa Hereford Hall of Fame in the same 2016 class.

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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