alafarmnews

Glynn Debter of Horton was inducted into the Hereford Heritage Hall of Fame on October 24 at the American Hereford Association (AHA) Annual Meeting in Kansas City. For many years he has had a dynamic influence on the direction and advancement of the Hereford breed.

Debter is the third of five generations operating a family farm in north central Alabama. The Debter farm has evolved from its sole cash crop of cotton to a nationally recognized Hereford seedstock supplier.

"Since 1948, Glynn has committed himself and his sons to making the purebred Hereford herd a priority and positioning it to meet the changing needs of the industry," says Craig Huffhines, AHA Executive Vice President.

Early on, the family was involved in the Beef Cattle Improvement Association (BCIA) and Total Performance Records (TPR). Their search for higher performing and more functional cattle led to the introduction of Line Ones into their program in the early 1970s.

Artificial insemination was used to supplement their breeding program and Glynn was one

of the first to see the enormous potential of embryo transfer. He was honored in 1990 as the BIF seedstock producer of the year.

The Debters have hosted annual production sales on the farm for 33 years. They consistently rank among the top five Hereford bull sales in the U.S. in the 50-100-bull category.

Glynn has always made time to promote Herefords and the beef industry. He served as director and vice-president of the AHA and was elected president in 1987. During the merger of the AHA and the American Polled Hereford Association (APHA), he was selected to serve a three-year term as chairman of the merged board from 1995-1998.

The American Hereford Association in Kansas City, Mo., is the second largest beef breed association in the United States, serving 13,000 junior and adult members who register more than 71,000 head annually. For more information please visit www.hereford.org.