Dr. Randall Spare,
U.S. Premium Beef
Dr. Randall Spare has practiced in Clark County, Ashland, for more than 35 years. A graduate of K-State University School of Veterinary Medicine, Randall and five veterinarians at Ashland Veterinary Center provide large and small animal care to a diverse customer base in a four-state radius centered in southwest Kansas. Ashland Veterinary Center provides reproductive services, including synchronization, artificial insemination, genomic testing and semen sales on several thousand head of registered and
commercial cattle each year. Dr. Spare and his vet team manage the herd health for some of the largest registered Angus seedstock producers in the U.S. as well as providing comprehensive services to commercial cow-calf producers and feedyards. Randall is also a commercial cow-calf producer, cattle feeder and is involved in an extensive heifer development program.
The bottom line to having “skin in the game” in today’s beef marketing environment is understanding what cost money or provides a chance to make a profit. Randall’s focus on whole herd health, nutrition and genomic information as tools for adding quality and value is a result of collaborative relationships with his clients and his own commitment to understanding the many opportunities, regardless of end point.
Today, Dr. Spare serves on the U.S. Premium Beef board of directors. He finds, with 38 years of experience, the opportunity to come along side and encourage production of the greatest tasting, most nutritionally dense protein rewarding.
Growth has never been a primary goal. Listening to, and exceeding the expectation of each person that walks in the door or calls is the overarching priority. He has a passion for his community, his church and most of all, his family. Dr. Spare and Michelle have five grown children and 19 grandchildren.
Dr. Morgan Treadwell,
Texas A&M Agrilife Ext.
Morgan Treadwell, Ph.D. is an associate professor and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension range specialist. Her research and extension focuses on prescribed fire and grazing management to optimize native plant diversity, suppress brush, and maintain grassland and savanna systems. She ranches with her husband and 3-year old daughter in Schleicher and Menard Counties running Dorper sheep and a commercial angus cow calf operation. Treadwell Cattle Company was recognized as the 2020 Outstanding Rangeland Stewardship from Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association as well as the 2020 Excellence in Range Management from the Society of Range Management.
Dr. Jason Smith,
Texas A&M Agrilife Ext.
Jason Smith is an Associate Professor and Extension Beef Cattle Specialist for Texas A&M
AgriLife Extension and the Texas A&M University Department of Animal Science. He is based out of Amarillo, where his primary roles are to support county Extension agents, develop
educational programs focused on beef cattle in the Texas Panhandle and Rolling Plains, help
producers and industry stakeholders solve problems, and conduct applied, real-world, practically applicable research in beef cattle production. Jason received his B.S. and M.S. degrees focused in Animal Science, Ruminant Nutrition, and Feed Manufacturing from West Virginia University prior to receiving his Ph.D. in Ruminant Nutrition from Virginia Tech. He spent 5 years as an Extension Beef Cattle Specialist in Nutritional Management for the University of Tennessee prior to his current role within AgriLife, which began in 2019. Jason, his wife Anna, their daughter Taylor, and their son Carson live south of Canyon, TX where they have a small cow herd.
Tom Fanning,
Pratt Feeders Group
Tom Fanning, General Manager for the Pratt Feeders Group comprises Buffalo Feeders in Buffalo Oklahoma, Ashland Feeders in Ashland, Kansas, Ford Feeders in Ford, Kansas, and Pratt Feeders in Pratt, Kansas. Prior to his current roll, Tom was the manager of Buffalo Feeders in Buffalo, Oklahoma for the past 22 years.
Tom earned his BS in Agricultural Economics from Oklahoma State University in 1987 and served as an Infantry Captain in the U.S. Army from 1982 to 1992. He completed his MS in Management at Troy State University in 1992. From 1992 to 2001, Tom was employed by Cargill, where he managed cattle feeding operations across the Texas Panhandle. Tom & his wife Michele have a cow-calf, stocker cattle, and cattle feeding operation in northwest Oklahoma.
Throughout his career, Tom has held various leadership positions in cattlemen's organizations at local, state, and national levels, including serving as Chairman of the Oklahoma Beef Council.
Tom has recently completed his second three-year term as a Director of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association. Under his leadership, Buffalo Feeders has garnered numerous accolades, including the 2019 NCBA BQA Feedyard of the Year and the 2023 TCFA Feedyard Excellence in BQA.
Laura Burandt,
Local Rancher
Laura Burandt is the third generation of management on her family’s Texas Panhandle ranch located between Perryton and Canadian, where they run a commercial red & black angus cow-calf and stocker operation with various other enterprises. She currently works with her parents, each taking different roles in land, cattle, and business management responsibilities.
Laura graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture Communications & Animal Science from West Texas A&M University, and also from Texas Christian University’s Ranch Management Program. She has interned on the Four Sixes Ranch in Guthrie, TX and the Giles Ranch in Ashland, KS. She has worked in every segment of the industry from a Kansas Research Feedyard to Texas cutting horse trainers, and she has also assisted ranches with both day labor and ranch operations consultation.
While Laura has always had a heart for the industry, her passion was given direction upon returning home to the family operation. Her experiences have provided a foundation to grow from, but it’s been her interest in land stewardship and healthy business that have prompted her pursuits in regenerative grazing and cattle management practices, as she strives to live and voice the ideals of stewardship - which she believes are as old and genuine as the earth upon which we live and purpose to make a living.
Clint Cryer,
Capital Farm Credit
Clint Cryer currently serves as Senior Vice President, Director of Retail Lending at Capital Farm Credit. In this role, he is responsible for the direction of retail lending and the Association’s regional leadership teams. He has been in ag lending for 24 years. Prior to joining Capital Farm Credit, Cryer served as the Director of Ag Lending at PlainsCapital Bank, supervising production ag and commercial ag customer portfolios. Cryer is a graduate of Texas Tech University, with both a bachelor in Agricultural Economics and Business with a Finance emphasis.
Before his career at Plains Capital Bank, he served as Texas’ regional agribusiness manager for CoBank. Cryer grew up in Wolfforth, Texas, where his family owned a wholesale fertilizer and micronutrient business, as well as a small alfalfa hay farm to help “build character.” Cryer is an alumni of Texas Ag Lifetime Leadership (TALL), maintains memberships/board positions at numerous agricultural organizations and also remains involved at Texas Tech University, and within the Lubbock community.
Brian Cain,
ENVU
Brian Cain is a seasoned agricultural professional with nearly 40 years of experience in the industry. He serves as the Southern U.S. account manager for Envu Range & Pasture, where he focuses on helping ranchers improve forage quality, control invasive species and achieve long-term success in range and pasture management.
Brian’s extensive career has included leadership roles at some of the most prominent agrochemical companies, including Bayer, Sandoz, Novartis, BASF and DuPont. His deep knowledge of weed and brush control stems from decades of hands-on experience in retail and distribution, as well as navigating industry-shaping mergers and acquisitions. In 2017, Brian joined Bayer Range & Pasture as Southern Segment Manager and later transitioned to Envu after Bayer sold its Environmental Science business in 2022.
Brian has played an instrumental role in the development and launch of Invora ® herbicide, a groundbreaking solution for controlling challenging brush species such as mesquite and huisache. His involvement with Invora began at DuPont, where its chemistry was initially developed. Brian supported the registration process with the EPA, and in 2020, he helped Bayer introduce Invora to the market. Since then, he has worked closely with ranchers to showcase the product’s effectiveness, emphasizing its role as a powerful tool for rangeland restoration when used correctly.
A native Texan, Brian is deeply connected to the ranching community. He remains actively involved in his family’s ranch in North Texas and plans to return to full-time ranching after his retirement from the chemical industry. His firsthand experience with the challenges of ranching—such as managing invasive species and maintaining profitability—has shaped his passion for providing practical, science- based solutions to fellow ranchers, ensuring they have the tools and knowledge needed to maximize the potential of their land. Brian’s nearly four decades of expertise, combined with his passion for ranching and stewardship, make him a trusted advisor and valuable resource for the agricultural community.
Kathy Price,
Hemphill Co. Rancher
Kathy Price is a cattle rancher in Lipscomb County, Texas. She grew up on a cattle ranch in Ellis County, Oklahoma, graduating from Arnett High School, attending Clarendon College, and reading and learning as much as she can about grazing and livestock management. She has spent her life in the cattle business running yearlings and operating a cow/calf operation, as well as other endeavors, including serving as Lipscomb County Tax Assessor/Collector from 2005 into 2015. She has served in many organizations and on several committees through the years from 4-H, FFA, and Calico Cowbell's in her youth to Higgins-Lipscomb Hospital District Board and Hemphill County Ag Committee, as well as volunteering for various community projects and needs. She is married to Ray Lee Price. They attend Holy Name Catholic Church.
Mike Turner,
Blue Ranch
Mike Turner, Blue Ranch manager and former soil
conservation within NRCS in Gainesville Texas, came on the operations as ranch manager in 2015 with over 20 years in the ranching business, and five years’ experience with NRCS working on one of one on one with producers sharing ideas and trying new techniques, such as “High Density Low Frequency Rotational Grazing Operations”. He accepted the
position as manager of Blue Ranch because he felt it would be a great opportunity for him to apply his practical and scientific range management techniques, as well as a good place to raise his family, with his wife Shani and son Ethan.
Mike Turner is currently on the Board of Directors of the Texas High Plains Grazing Land Coalition, secretary/treasurer 2019-Present.
Currently on the nomination committee for Rangeland Stewardship Award for Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association 2024-2026. Moore County Beef Improvement Committee 2019-Present. Recipient of the; 2023 Texas Section for Society Range Management Outstanding Rangeland Stewardship Award, 2024 Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Environmental Stewardship award. 2024 National Cattleman Beef Association Region Four Environmental Stewardship Award winner.
Adam Isaacs,
Isaac Ranch
Adam is a native to Hemphill County who currently leases his family’s ranch with his wife, Aubrie Isaacs. The ranch has been owned and operated by his family since the 1890’s. He received a Ranch Management degree from Texas Tech University and is using innovative technologies and management practices that featured him in the New York Times.