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Feeders, Packers and Industry Leaders

Bob Josserand: Feeder, Association President and Mayor of Hereford

A Kansas-born animal scientist who moved to Hereford in 1971 and rose to lead the Texas and national cattle organizations.

Who Was Bob Josserand?

Robert Douglas Josserand, known as Bob, was born June 24, 1931, in Pratt, Kansas, and died at 89 in Hereford, Texas, on November 2, 2020, according to an obituary from Colorado State University's animal sciences department. The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame inducted him in 2015, and its biography of him describes him as the owner of AzTx Cattle Co., which operates two feedyards, one in Texas and one in Kansas.

Some listings still show him as living, but the Colorado State obituary gives the date of his death.

Education, Service and Early Career

Josserand earned a bachelor's degree in animal science at Colorado State University in 1953 and served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean conflict, stationed in the San Francisco Bay Area. He worked as a county agent in Springfield, Colorado, and later as a bank officer in Julesburg, Colorado. The governor asked him to serve as a Colorado State Highway Commissioner.

He also developed farmland and cattle feeding operations in southwest Kansas. That mix of extension work, banking and farm development gave him an unusual base of knowledge about both the credit side and the production side of feeding.

Moving to Hereford and Building AzTx

In 1971 Josserand became regional manager for Farr Better Feeds and moved to Hereford, Texas. From 1973 to 1983 he was president of Procor Cattle Company, later AZL Resources. Under that company the business owned feedyards in Texas, Nebraska and Arizona, along with ranches in several states.

In 1983 he bought the AZL Resources cattle division and formed what is now AzTx Cattle Co., the name combining Arizona and Texas. The obituary does not state his ownership stake or role at the company in later years. Beef magazine, writing around his induction, identified him as a consulting nutritionist at AzTx.

Leading the Texas and National Cattle Organizations

The Hall of Fame bio says Josserand served on the boards of the National Livestock and Meat Board in Chicago, the Beef Industry Council, the Texas Cattle Feeders Association and the National Cattlemen's Association. He served as president of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association in 1985 and as president of the national cattlemen's organization in 1989. Sources differ on the national group's name at the time, using both National Cattlemen's Association and National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

He was also a past member of the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board. In 1988, Governor Clements appointed him to the Texas Agriculture Task Force.

A View of Industry Change

In a Beef magazine piece on the 2015 inductees, Josserand recalled that in 1985 he and Texas Cattle Feeders executive vice president Charlie Ball spent several days discussing where the industry was headed and predicted consolidation. He said it consolidated much faster than he had expected.

He named the shift from cash-basis selling to formula pricing as the biggest change he had seen. That change moved risk and bargaining power between feeders and packers, a theme that runs through the careers of many Hall of Fame feeders.

The Key to Josserand's Success

The record shows a career built on moving across roles: extension, banking, feed sales, company management, ownership and association leadership. It also shows steady civic work in his adopted hometown.

The sources do not describe setbacks or controversies in detail.

  • Combined technical training in animal science with banking experience, giving him both production and credit knowledge.
  • Moved to Hereford in 1971 and led Procor Cattle Company for a decade before buying the cattle division in 1983.
  • Bought the AZL cattle division in 1983 and formed AzTx Cattle Co., turning a corporate division into his own company.
  • Took on association leadership, serving as Texas Cattle Feeders president in 1985 and national president in 1989.
  • Stayed active in local government as Hereford's mayor for 22 years, from May 1993 to May 2015.

Honors and Legacy

Josserand received Progressive Farmer's Man of the Year in Service to Southwest Agriculture in 1991, was inducted into the International Stockmen's Hall of Fame in 1993, and received the Ranching Heritage Association's National Golden Spur Award in 1998. The Amarillo Globe-News named him one of the History Makers of the High Plains in 2000, and Beef magazine named him to its BEEF Top 40 in 2004. Colorado State's animal sciences department named him its Livestock Leader in 2007. He was Hereford's Citizen of the Year in 1994.

With his wife, Nancy, he also received the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum's Pioneer Spirit Award in 2005 and the Summit Award in 2013. For stories about the people who shaped American beef, visit farm.FM's ranching section or read a farm.FM story about a cattle feeders group.

Timeline

  1. 1931Born June 24 in Pratt, Kansas.
  2. 1953Earns a B.S. in animal science at Colorado State University.
  3. 1971Becomes regional manager for Farr Better Feeds and moves to Hereford, Texas.
  4. 1973Becomes president of Procor Cattle Company, later AZL Resources, serving until 1983.
  5. 1983Buys the AZL cattle division and forms AzTx Cattle Co.
  6. 1985Serves as president of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
  7. 1989Serves as president of the national cattlemen's organization.
  8. 1993Becomes mayor of Hereford, serving until May 2015.
  9. 2015Inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame.
  10. 2020Dies November 2 in Hereford at age 89.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Robert Josserand?

Robert Douglas Josserand, known as Bob, was a Kansas-born cattle feeder who built AzTx Cattle Co. in Hereford, Texas, led the Texas Cattle Feeders Association and the national cattlemen's group, and served as Hereford's mayor for 22 years.

When did Bob Josserand join the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame?

Josserand was inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame in 2015. He had earlier been inducted into the International Stockmen's Hall of Fame in 1993 and received the National Golden Spur Award in 1998.

What is AzTx Cattle Co.?

AzTx Cattle Co. is the company Josserand formed in 1983 after buying the cattle division of AZL Resources. The Hall of Fame bio says it operates two feedyards, one in Texas and one in Kansas.

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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