Ridder Ranch Honored with Century Breeder Award

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. In celebration of 100 years in the Hereford business, Ridder Ranch was honored as a Century Hereford Breeder Nov. 2. Jack Ward, American Hereford Association (AHA) chief operating officer and director of breed improvement, presented the award to the third generation of Ridders, John and Mary, at the AHA Annual Meeting in Kansas City. Ridder Ranch, Callaway, Neb., was started in 1907 by John’s grandparents Theodore and Elizabeth Ridder. The couple moved from eastern Nebraska to the heart of cow country near Callaway. They raised their 12 children on the Hereford seedstock operation, one of which was John’s father, Paul. After returning from serving in World War II, Paul and one of his brothers took over the ranch. Paul started a production sale in 1960s, which John continued when he began managing the ranch after his father’s death in 1972. John and his wife, Mary, are the sole Ridder descendents continuing in the Hereford business, where they’ve raised six children who are active in the operation, when not in school. The Ridders host an annual production sale in the spring, and exhibit cattle in the carload show at the National Western Stock Show in Denver every year. “We’re proud that we’re able to stay in the business and we enjoy it,” John says. “Even more, we’re proud of our grandparents that they had the foresight to get started in a business that has been sustainable this long.”