Colorado State University Announces 2007 Livestock Leader at National Western Stock Show

Robert D. Josserand, a longtime and influential member of the cattle and beef industries, has been selected by faculty members of Colorado State University’s Department of Animal Sciences as the 2007 Livestock Leader. Josserand recently was recognized for the prestigious honor during Colorado State University day at the National Western Stock Show in Denver.

The person or people selected each year for the Livestock Leader award are dedicated to the livestock industry and have demonstrated leadership and furthered their field. The Department of Animal Sciences recognizes each of the recipients for their work with the prestige of the award and an oil painting prominently displayed in the department.

Josserand was born in Pratt, Kan., and graduated from Colorado State in 1953 with a bachelor’s in animal science. He served as president of Pro Cattle Company from September 1973 to December 1979, when the company was acquired by AZL Resources, Inc. From 1980 to 1983, he was president of the AZL Cattle Group, which consisted at various times with as many as five cattle feed lots in Texas, Nebraska and Arizona, with a combined one-time capacity of about 200,000 head. AZL Resources was acquired in 1983 by AzTx Cattle Co. Josserand now is the chairman and owner of AzTx Cattle Co., which owns five cattle feed lots in Texas, Colorado and Kansas, with a combined one-time capacity of about 232,000 head.

Josserand has been active in industry organizations, serving on the boards of directors of the National Live Stock and Meat Board in Chicago (also serving on that board’s Beef Industry Council), the Texas Cattle Feeders Association and the National Cattlemen’s Association. He is a past president of Texas Cattle Feeders Association (1985) and National Cattlemen’s Association (1989), and is a past member of the NCA’s Beef Promotion and Research Board and the Operating Committee. "Progressive Farmer" magazine named Josserand "Man of the Year in Service to Southwest Agriculture" in 1991; he was inducted into the International Stockmen’s Hall of Fame by the International Livestock Congress in February 1993; and in September of 1998, Josserand received the National Golden Spur Award sponsored by the Ranching Heritage Association. In September 2005, Josserand and his wife, Nancy, received the Pioneer Spirit Award sponsored by the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas.

Josserand has been a resident of Hereford, Texas, since 1971 and has served as mayor of Hereford since his first election on May 1, 1993. He was named Hereford’s "1994 Citizen of the Year." Josserand and his wife have four children and eight grandchildren.

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