Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame
Since it’s inception in 1992, a number of Wyoming citizens have been inducted into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. Each member, along with a brief biography, is listed below.
To nominate a Wyoming Citizen for the Hall of Fame, download a nomination form here. You may send nomination forms to P.O. Box 850, Casper, WY 82602. Nominations must be received by June 2, 2017. The winners will be recognized on Aug. 16.
1992
Dennis Sun
The first ever Wyoming Agriculture Citizen of the Year Award, presented by the Wyoming Livestock Roundup, goes to Dennis Sun of the Sun Ranch, Alcova, for his work in developing the Cooperative Resource Management. The Sun Ranch was the original ranch to become involved with this movement. Dennis Sun was very much aware of the need for cooperation, unity and understanding among the ranchers and the BLM for the multiple uses demanded of federal lands today.
Read the full article here!
1993
Ralph Urbigkeit
Ralph Urbigkeit of Crowheart, a veteran of 55 of cattle and sheep ranching, is the 1993 Ag Citizen of the Year. Ralph has been a member of the Farm Bureau and Farmers Union for many years. He is also a life member of the National Rile Association, the Lander and Dubois sportsmen association. He served as an Emergency Medical Technician for four years and has been a Notary Public for the Crowheart area for 20 some years. He is a member of the Fremont County Pioneer Association and Fremont County Hay Producers Association.
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1994
Truman Julian
Truman Julian, co-winner of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup’s 1994 Wyoming Ag Citizen of the Year award, is from every angle a citizen of the West. Even a casual conversation with the man reveals several levels of commitment, concern and courage. The list of Julian’s organizational activity is impressive. What becomes apparent is his interest in local control over the things that shape the future – for individuals, communities and agriculture.
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Don Rolston
Don Rolston, Cheyenne, is one of two recipients of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup’s 1994 Wyoming Agricultural Citizen of the Year award. Born and raised on a ranch near Sheridan, Don earned an ag degree from the University of Wyoming and taught vocational ag in Sundance for four years. He then became a county extension agent in Casper and was with the university extension systems in Wyoming and Nevada for 25 years. After serving as Executive Vice President for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, Rolston returned to Wyoming to serve as Agriculture Commissioner from 1987 until April 1994.
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1995
Hubert Haas
**Biography coming soon!!!**
Lloyd Snider
**Biography coming soon!!!**
1996
Robert McClurg
**Biography coming soon!!!**
George and Herschel Griffin
**Biography coming soon!!!**
1997
Dr. Stephen Miller
**Biography coming soon!!!**
Ron Micheli
**Biography coming soon!!!**
1998
Stan and Mary Flitner
Stan and Mary Flitner of Shell received the Wyoming Agriculture Citizen of the Year award in 1998. Stan and Mary were born, raised and educated n Wyoming, both attended the University of Wyoming. They have resided at the Diamond Tail Ranch as owners for the past 35 years. Stan and Mary were nominated for this award because they were and still are a team that has made a lasting impression on Wyoming agriculture. Their modesty and willingness to set personal gratification aside for the good of the industry and state is unsurpassed.
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U.S. Senator Craig Thomas
**Biography coming soon!!!**
1999
Lois Herbst
Lois Herbst is one of two recipients of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup’s 1999 Wyoming Ag Citizen of the Year award. Herbst and her son, Frank, co-manage the Herbst Lazy TY Cattle Company near Shoshoni. Lois is an outspoken advocate for agriculture and ranching. For a number of years, Herbst has divided her time between working on the ranch and focusing on western land management issues. She has been speaking to groups and attending forums, meeting and conferences ever since.
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Dr. Quentin Skinner
Quentin Skinner, professor of Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management in the Department of Renewable Resources at UW of Laramie is co-recipient of the 1999 Ag Citizen of the Year Award. While he has focused his efforts in watershed management for two decades, and he is equally recognized for his interests and accomplishments in grass taxonomy, rangeland plant ecology, grazing management, and water quality. The government and administrators of Turkey’s Eastern Anatolia Watershed Rehabilitation Project have consulted Dr. Skinner since 1993 for his expertise in watershed and riparian zone management in semiarid regions.
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2000
Bobbie Frank
At the Outstanding Agriculture Reception in 2000, Governor Jim Geringer introduced Bobbie Frank and thanked her for doing a phenomenal job as executive director of the Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts. Frank has been instrumental in fighting the Clinton Administration’s Clean Water Action Plan. She also organizes the activities of Wyoming’s 23 conservation districts and serves as a voice for the agriculture community.
Dr. Doug Hixon
Dr. Doug Hixon of the University of Wyoming was honored for his impact on Wyoming’s cattle industry. Hixon was instrumental in starting the Wyoming Beef Cattle Improvement Association and has done a great deal to improve its activities since that time. Hixon has helped weight bulls, organize conferences and is always on hand to help Wyoming’s producers. He has judged livestock shows both nationally and internationally and is known worldwide for his knowledge about the livestock industry.
2001
Larry Bourret
Larry Bourret received the Outstanding Ag Citizen award on Aug. 17, 2001. Bourret, who serves as executive vice president of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, is a highly respected agriculture leader in the state. He has been with Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation for 20 years. In that time, he has been a voice for Wyoming agriculture on several issues affecting the industry. He has been extremely instrumental on endangered species issues and has strived to keep taxes low for rural Wyoming.
Frank Falen & Karen Budd-Falen
Frank Falen and Karen Budd-Falen, owners of Budd-Falen Law, were honored as Outstanding Ag Citizens on Aug. 17, 2001. Budd-Falen Law has been instrumental in protecting livestock permit renewals and made significant strides in protecting landowners from Endangered Species Act ramification. The firm, since inception has been instrumental in protecting the rights of ranchers in Wyoming and the West.
2002
Jim and Marion Hageman
Jim and Marion Hageman were honored on Aug. 14, 2002 as Outstanding Ag Citizen. The Hageman’s ranch near Fort Laramie, and Jim had served in the legislature for nearly 30 years at the time. Governor Jim Geringer noted that he and Hageman were first elected to the legislature in 1972. During Hageman’s 30-year tenure in the legislature, he’s been instrumental in passing pro-agriculture legislation. One such piece of legislation ensured that Wyoming agriculture would be taxed on productivity, a measure protecting ag from ever-increasing land values.
2003
Bill Taliaferro
**Biography coming soon!!!**
Dan Hansen
**Biography coming soon!!!**
2004
Jim Schwartz
It’s safe to say there are few, if any, who spend more time working on behalf of Wyoming Agriculture than Jim Schwartz. As Deputy Director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Jim can be seen at nearly any gathering where decisions are being made that might have an impact on Wyoming agriculture. It’s no surprise he’s been descried as “Wyoming ag’s biggest advocate.” That advocacy has earned Jim recognition as one of the people being honored as an “Outstanding Ag Citizen” at the 2004 State Fair.
Doug and Cindy Thompson
If you had to describe Doug and Cindy Thompson using only two words, “civic minded,” would be an obvious first choice. “The Thompsons are one of the most outstanding ranch families when it comes to their knowledge on federal grazing land,” says Wyoming State Grazing Board Grazing Consultant Dick Loper, who worked with Doug when he served as the Board’s chairman. “Doug provided outstanding leadership for the Grazing Board and the Thompsons are a role model of how ranches should participate in federal land issues that affect them.”
2005
State Senator Gerald Geis
Senator Gerald “Gerry” Geis of Worland was inducted into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2005. Wyoming Livestock Roundup publisher Del Tinsley said, “Senator Geis has demonstrated his commitment to Wyoming agriculture time and time again during his service in the Wyoming Legislature as Chairman of the Senate Ag Committee. He’s been a true friend to Wyoming agriculture.”
Earl & Jewell Reed
Earl and Jewell Reed of Douglas were announced as 2005 inductees into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. Of the Reeds, Wyoming Livestock Roundup publisher Del Tinsley said, “This is a couple that over the course of their lives has spent all day working on the ranch only stopping long enough to change clothes and run to town for a meeting or to help the local 4-H Club. They’ve been untiring in their service and are role models for the rest of us working to improve Wyoming agriculture.”
2006
Pat Litton
“It was a dream come true.” That’s how Campbell County rancher Pat Litton describes she and her late husband Bob Isenberger’s entry into ranching 50 years ago. It was a dream that met hard times and challenges, but has managed to grow. It’s also a dream that resulted in a history of volunteerism for Wyoming youth and the agricultural industry. That contribution to the industry was recognized Aug. 16 during the Wyoming State Fair when Pat was inducted into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame.
Olin Sims
Standing at the edge of a meadow with windrows of native grass hay in the lines behind him, McFadden’s Olin Sims says one of the things he likes best about ranching is looking back at the end of the day and seeing what he’s accomplished. To really see the full scope of Olin’s accomplishments one would need t see beyond the hayfield to Cheyenne, to D.C. and back to the family farms and ranches where his work has made a difference. Olin’s efforts have earned him entrance into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame.
2007
U.S. Senator Mike Enzi
Wyoming’s agricultural community honored U.S. Senator Mike Enzi Aug. 15 in Douglas. At a picnic sponsored by Farm Credit Services of America, EnCana Oil and Gas and the Roundup, Enzi was thanked for his work to improve Wyoming agriculture. Enzi is the only accountant in the U.S. Senate. His background comes as no surprise when one considers the business-minded approach he’s brought to the nation’s capitol. It’s an approach Wyoming and the nation have benefitted from.
State Representative Frank Philp
“I have a hard time saying no,” says Frank Philp. Laughing, the Shoshoni rancher and chairman of the Wyoming Legislature’s House Appropriations Committee adds, “Lots of people wouldn’t believe that, but it’s true.” Philp was first elected to the Wyoming Legislature in 1993 and is also a member of the Legislature’s Select Water Committee, the Rules and Procedures Committee, and the Select Committee on Legislative Process and the Select Committee on Tribal Relations. On Aug. 15, members of Wyoming’s agriculture community gathered at the Wyoming State Fair to honor Philp.
2008
Jim Magagna
Jim Magagna was selected in 2008 to join the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. Magagna, whose family has been ranching in western Wyoming for around 100 years, serves as executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. He’s served as president of the Wyoming Wool Growers Association, the National Public Lands Council and the American Sheep Industry Association.
“It’s great to see two individuals I consider friends and respect for their service to the industry join the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame,” says Roundup Publisher Dennis Sun.
Read the full article here!
Del Tinsley
Long-time Wyoming Livestock Roundup publisher Del Tinsley was inducted into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame this year and has long been known for his willingness to take a stand on behalf of the state’s agricultural industry. Now serving as state director for USDA Rural Development in Wyoming, Tinsley has brought increased awareness to opportunities for the state’s agricultural industry to grow and prosper.
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2009
George Salisbury
Ladder Livestock is one of Wyoming and America’s premier sheep operations. Its founding tale, a story shared by ranch patriarch George Salisbury, is laced with work ethic and a commitment to remain on the land. Running horses and milking a half dozen milk cows, Salisbury says they worked their way through the Great Depression. He and his older brother, five years his senior, began picking up bum lambs from area sheepherders who historically trailed 30,000 sheep a year through the mountain country around Ladder Livestock.
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Rob & Leslie Hendry
Robert, “Rob,” and Leslie Hendry live about as far from Casper as is possible while still living within Natrona County. Distance, however, hasn’t deterred this ranching couple from volunteering their time to improve their community and the agricultural industry. “It’s 76.2 miles from our house to the courthouse steps,” says Rob. He and Leslie know the trip well after nearly 30 years traveling the route, often to attend meetings or volunteer their time. The Hendrys’ efforts on behalf of their community resulted in their nomination and subsequent selection for the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame.
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2010
Don & Peto Meike
Peto and Don reside on the Meike Ranch south of Kaycee, where they run cattle and sheep both on the ranch and on the south end of the Bighorn Mountains during the summer months. Don has been the Wyoming and National Wool Growers President. Peto spent 42 years with the Kaycee Conservation District in addition to serving as the county Farm Bureau president. Between the two of them, Don and Peto have served every position available in the Johnson County Cattlemen’s, Wool Growers and Farm Bureau in addition to a number of other local and state positions.
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Grant Stumbough
Wheatland native Grant Stumbough has spent most of his time working with Wyoming State Government, helping in the areas of drought, watershed improvement, public grazing issues, water quality, mediation, local empowerment, wild horse issues, endangered species issues, range management, carbon sequestration, wind energy development, to name a few.
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2011
Harriet Hageman
In her nomination for the 2011 Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame, Harriet Hageman’s list of accomplishments on behalf of agriculture include such notable court cases as Nebraska v. Wyoming, State of Wyoming v. USDA and USES and Anderson v. Two Dot Ranch. Harriet is committed to education and is always willing to share her knowledge with producers, students and the public. A few of her educational efforts include The ABCs of Water, Wyoming Water Law 101 for Landowners, the Wyoming Association of Rural Water Systems and small acreage workshops.
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Neils Hansen
Credited with continuously challenging government agencies’ policies and collaborating to find practical solutions, this summer Rawlins area rancher Niels Hansen joins the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame as a 2011 inductee. Hansen is also known for working with the energy industry on issues including reclamation, noxious weed control, dust control and roads. Hansen is also a state leader on working to craft a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) program for sage grouse, which includes working with the BLM, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the Wyoming State Grazing Board and oil and gas developers.
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2012
Joel Bousman
Since he started his journey in agriculture, Joel Bousman has been an integral part of the Wyoming agriculture industry and, as a result, has been selected to join the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. Bousman operates Eastfork Livestock in Boulder and is actively involved in the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. Joel has spent his entire life dedicated to furthering the interests of maintaining multiple use practices on public lands, not only as a fourth generation rancher, but also as an elected official. He is very passionate about this topic and wants to ensure that our custom and culture remains for future generations.
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Gene Hardy
Gene Hardy is no stranger to the agriculture industry. The rancher runs sheep and cattle in northern Converse County, continuing the traditions of his family. Hardy’s involvement in Wyoming’s agriculture industry extends beyond his own operation, and he has taken an active role in a number of state organizations.
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2013
Jw and Thea Nuckolls
Since the 1950s, Jw and Thea Nuckolls have influenced agriculture in Crook County, across Wyoming, throughout the United States and around the world through their leadership and dedication to the industry. As a result of their continued support, they have been elected for induction into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame for 2013. Jw and Thea Nuckolls have long been associated with agriculture in Crook County and are well respected throughout the region and state for their many and varied contributions.
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Dick Loper
With a focus on rangeland management, public lands planning and policy analysis, Dick Loper has been committed to Wyoming agriculture for his entire life. This year as a result of his continued dedication, Loper will be inducted into the 2013 Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. Dick has dedicated his time to the ranch families of Wyoming to meet their goals in ranching cooperatively with the BLM and Wyoming State Lands.
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2014
Frank Moore
Converse County rancher Frank Moore’s continuing responsiveness to the needs of the agriculture industry have allowed him to make a lasting impact in Wyoming. Throughout his working life, Frank Moore has made substantial contributions to agriculture through his entrepreneurial spirit as a sheep and cattle rancher and in the successful outfitting business he and his wife Elaine started while raising their three sons on the Spearhead Ranch north of Douglas.
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Mary A. “Mickey” Thoman
A role model, mentor and a genuine leader, Mary A. ‘Mickey’ Thoman is a Wyoming gal straight out of Western folklore,” says Mickey’s daughter Laurie Thoman. While life has not always been easy, agriculture is in her blood, and she has faced tough elements produced by both Mother Nature and Uncle Sam. Mickey was selected as an inductee for the 2014 Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame as a result of her continued dedication to the agriculture world and service to the cattle industry through the years.
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2015
Shaun and Lacee Sims
Shaun and Lacee Sims are no strangers to the agriculture industry in the state of Wyoming. The couple has served in a wide array of capacities in the organizations that support Wyoming production agriculture, and they are also active in their community. Shaun and Lacee have a true commitment to Wyoming’s agriculture that exemplifies the requirements and expectations of the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. They have served as educators, mentors and leaders on a variety of important issues affecting Wyoming’s agriculture industry, and their example of true leadership serves as a model for others.
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Wayne and Kathy Tatman
Wayne and Kathy Tatman have a long history of service in the Wyoming agriculture industry and in their community of Lingle. Working as a team within their faith, raising a family, working with others within their respective professions – both in-state and out – Wayne and Kathy are a unique pair of individuals that the state of Wyoming can be proud of.
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2016
U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis
With a long career in the Wyoming Legislature and U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Cynthia Lummis finds her deepest roots in the Wyoming agriculture industry, and in recognition of her history of supporting the industry, she was inducted into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. Lummis was raised on her family’s cattle ranch outside Cheyenne, where she developed an outstanding work ethic and a love for the agriculture industry. Later, she jumped into the civic arena as she began to help her mother prepare for Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD).
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Dennis Thaler
Dennis Thaler’s family started ranching in southeast Wyoming in 1916. Thaler, his wife Sandy and his daughter and son-in-law Brandy and Kevin Evans, run the ranch, which will celebrate its centennial this year. The ranch runs a cow/calf/yearling operation, along with a backgrounding feedlot. They also raise small grains, oats, millet, wheat and alfalfa-grass hay.
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