Livestock Men of the Year awards announced
Julia
Hollister
Freelance Writer
April 7, 2006
An
agricultural science teacher and a fourth generation rancher each received
the prestigious Livestock Man of the Year award at the Grand National Rodeo
in San Francisco this week.
Jim Coelho of Fremont received the 2005 award and Mike Byrne of Tulelake
(Siskiyou County) received the 2006 honor.
“The award began in 1952,” said Walter Haub, CEO of the Cow Palace in
San Francisco. “The selection committee is made up of past recipients and
candidates are nominated by former Livestock Man of the Year winners.”
The two years’ awards were combined because there was no Grand National
Rodeo last year.
Coelho and Byrne will each receive a silver tray and their pictures will be
placed in the Cow Palace’s Hall of Fame. The 61st annual Grand National
Rodeo runs through April 15.
Born in San Jose, Coelho was raised on a small, diversified crop and
livestock ranch. He later attended the University of California-Davis, Cal
Poly in San Luis Obispo and Cal State Hayward. He taught agricultural
sciences and agricultural business management at Livermore High School and
Chabot College for more than 25 years before retiring from teaching in the
1908s.
His entry into the beef cattle business began in the 1960s and the operation
expanded into commercial cow-calf and stocker operations in the 70s. He
purchased irrigated pasture and cow-crop ranches in the Dixon-Davis areas as
his operation continued to grow.
Coelho is a member of the Alameda County Fair board of directors and has had
leadership roles in the Alameda County Farm Bureau, the Sierra Bay Credit
Union and the Alameda-Contra Costa County Cattlemen’s Association.
He is also the past chairman of Cattle-Fax, the national market organization
for cattlemen.
“It is his years of dedication to the teaching profession that has the
most affect on so many young people who have shown in junior livestock shows
and went on to career in this vital industry,” the award stated.
Byrne is a fourth generation cattle rancher who manages a family commercial
cow-calf operation in the Klamath Basin of Northern California and Southern
Oregon on the same lands the family has grazed for over 175 years.
He has been recognized for his significant communication, outreach and
leadership effort to conserving the basin area.
He lobbies in Washington D.C. and on state and local levels on issues that
he feels are critical to the livestock industry and western lifestyle.
For his work in resolving water and endangered species issues in the Klamath
Basin, Byrne received the “2004 Excellence in Conservation Award” by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Service.
