Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame Recognizes 2026 Award Winners
Winners include Bob Foote and Kent Bamford, this year’s Hall of Fame inductees.
KANSAS CITY (Oct. 22, 2025) — The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame is pleased to announce its 2026 inductees and award recipients to be recognized at the 17th Annual Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame Banquet.
Bob Foote of Foote Cattle Company in Bucyrus, Kansas, and Kent Bamford of Bamford Feedyard in Haxtun, Colorado, are the 2026 Hall of Fame inductees.
Bob and his wife, Gail, founded Foote Cattle Company in 1985, which encompassed farming, order buying and cattle feeding. Today, Foote Cattle has grown to a multilocation, family-owned cattle operation with 285,000-head feeding capacity as well as land, farming, ranching, banking and other investments across Kansas and Nebraska. Bob passed away in 2022, and his legacy at Foote Cattle continues on with his three sons: Scott, Brad and Greg.
Kent has been involved in the cattle industry his whole life. However, he and his wife, Naida, got their formal start in the business when they returned to the family operation upon his graduation from college in 1974. Bamford Feedyard was started as a small yard, growing to 15,000-head capacity. The company’s growth included utilizing additional feedyards, stocker operations in Colorado and Wyoming, a diversified farming and trucking operation, and a feed additive company. Their two sons, Chad and Cody, are both now involved in the family businesses.
In addition to the Hall of Fame inductees, the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame also recognizes individuals for leadership and service in the cattle feeding industry.
The 2026 Industry Leadership Award honoree is Greg Henderson. Before unexpectedly passing away in August 2024, Greg was a writer and editor for Drovers, a beef industry news outlet, for nearly 40 years, providing in-depth industry analysis and covering all aspects of beef production. An award-winning journalist and a revered voice for the beef industry, Greg provided timely information and in-depth analysis on all segments of the business, helping farmers and ranchers understand current trends and challenges.
The 2026 Arturo Armendariz Distinguished Service Award recipient is Rick Hibler, assistant manager at Irsik & Doll Beefland Feedyard in Garden City, Kansas. Rick started working in cattle operations in 1971 at Masters Feeders in Garden City as a pen rider. He began working for Irsik & Doll in 1995 as a pen rider and has worked his way to his current role as assistant manager.
“It is an honor to recognize these men who have each contributed to our industry in such impactful ways. Their years of service, innovations and achievements have made us better as a whole,” said Dustin Johansen, senior vice president of the livestock division at Farm Journal. “Though Bob and Greg are no longer with us, we honor and celebrate their memory and legacy.”
About Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame
Established in 2009, the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame was created to honor the visionary men and women who have made lasting contributions to the cattle feeding industry, including helping to improve production practices and celebrate the industry’s rich traditions. To learn more about the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame, visit cattlefeeders.org.
Source: Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame