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Feeders, Packers and Industry Leaders

James Herring: The Friona Industries Chief Who Pushed Vertical Alignment

A Harvard MBA from Amarillo turned a feedyard company around in 1989 and championed tighter links between ranch, feedyard, packer and retailer.

Who is James Herring?

James Herring is a Texas cattle feeder best known for leading Friona Industries, a Panhandle feeding company. According to the Drovers profile of the 2019 inductee, he was born in Amarillo, earned a finance degree from the University of Texas and received an MBA from Harvard in 1974.

He is a living person, so this profile covers only his public professional record. Personal and family details are left out.

How did Herring get into cattle feeding?

He began in the 1960s as administrative assistant to oilman T. Boone Pickens, who had entered cattle feeding through Mesa Agro. After his MBA, Herring returned to work for Pickens and stayed until Mesa Agro was sold in 1975.

He later ran a stocker cattle business that peaked in the early 1980s at 54,000 head grazing 1.2 million acres from California to Texas.

What did Herring do at Friona Industries?

Herring became president and CEO of Friona in 1989 after proposing an 11-point turnaround plan and asking for an equity stake. He led the company for about 25 years.

Under his leadership Friona became the third-largest U.S. cattle feeding company, with six Texas Panhandle feedlots and 440,000-head capacity. The Drovers profile says the company now runs six feedyards supplying about 1.3 million process-verified cattle a year to Cargill Meat Solutions, and that Friona accounts for roughly 5 percent of U.S. beef supply.

The Key to Herring's Success

Herring's record shows a manager who arrived with a plan and a stake in the outcome. He then pushed the industry to treat the beef chain as one connected system.

For more beef industry coverage, see farm.FM's ranching section, including a farm.FM story on beef supply chains.

  • He proposed an 11-point turnaround plan before taking the top job in 1989.
  • He asked for an equity stake, linking his reward to the company's results.
  • He built scale: six feedlots and 440,000-head capacity.
  • He championed vertical alignment across cow-calf, stocker, feeding, packing and retail.
  • He led process-verified supply to a packer, Cargill Meat Solutions, with branded beef sold to seven retailers in nearly 3,000 stores.
  • He held leadership roles in feeder, cattlemen and data groups, including CattleFax.

What is vertical alignment in beef?

The Drovers profile says Herring championed vertical alignment across the five cattle industry segments, from cow-calf to stocker, feeding, packing and retail, to produce a more consistent product.

In practice, that means feedyards, packers and retailers share information and standards instead of trading anonymous cattle at each step. Friona's process-verified supply to Cargill Meat Solutions is the example the profile gives.

What industry roles has Herring held?

Herring is a past president of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, a former director and executive committee member of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and a past chairman of CattleFax. He also chaired the Cal Farley's Boys Ranch Foundation Board of Trustees and the Amarillo Area Foundation.

Governor Rick Perry appointed him to the Texas Water Development Board in 2004 and named him its chairman in 2008.

Why does James Herring matter to beef history?

Herring matters because he ran one of the largest feeding companies in the country for about 25 years and used that position to argue for connected supply chains. Friona accounts for roughly 5 percent of U.S. beef supply, and its cattle feed branded beef sold to seven retailers in nearly 3,000 U.S. stores, as the Drovers profile reports.

His career also shows how a non-rancher, a finance graduate with a Harvard MBA who started as an assistant to an oilman, can reshape a cattle business. Public service on the Texas Water Development Board adds a second record, in a state where water shapes every cattle operation.

Honors and the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame

Herring won the NCBA Foundation Vision Award in 2008 and the National Ranching Heritage Foundation's Golden Spur Award in 2014, as listed on the Golden Spur recipient page. He was inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame in 2019.

The hall's own page, the Cattle Feeders bio of James Herring, carries his citation. Readers wanting his current activities should check recent trade coverage, since this entry reflects the 2019 profile.

Timeline

  1. 1974Earns an MBA from Harvard
  2. 1975Mesa Agro is sold; Herring's time with Pickens ends
  3. Early 1980sStocker business peaks at 54,000 head on 1.2 million acres
  4. 1989Becomes president and CEO of Friona Industries
  5. 2004Appointed to the Texas Water Development Board
  6. 2008Named board chairman; receives NCBA Foundation Vision Award
  7. 2014Receives the Golden Spur Award
  8. 2019Inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame

Frequently asked questions

Who is James Herring?

James Herring is a Texas cattle feeder who served as president and CEO of Friona Industries from 1989 for about 25 years and was inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame in 2019.

How big is Friona Industries?

Under Herring, Friona became the third-largest U.S. cattle feeding company with six Texas Panhandle feedlots and 440,000-head capacity, according to the Drovers profile.

What is vertical alignment in the beef industry?

Herring championed vertical alignment across cow-calf, stocker, feeding, packing and retail segments to produce a more consistent product, per the Drovers profile of his 2019 induction.

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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