Klug, Columbus Feed honored by Cattlemen Association

COLUMBUS -- The Platte Valley Cattlemen Association recently named its 2007 Cattleman of the Year, 2007 Business of the Year and two $500 scholarship winners.

“Each year the directors get together to determine the winners for our awards,” said Lucas Luckey, secretary/treasurer of the Platte Valley Cattlemen Association. “This year it came very easy and kind of took care of itself. Each of the winners this year were very deserving of the awards they received.”

Ed Klug, of rural Columbus, was named Platte Valley Cattlemen Association’s 2007 Cattleman of the Year for his years of service and leadership in the organization.

“I was completely surprised by this award and could not have received it without the support of my family and my parents who got me started with livestock,” Klug said.

Klug has been involved in the Platte Valley Cattlemen Association since the early 1970s when he attended meetings with his father and brothers.

He served as vice president of the organization in 1992, secretary/treasurer in 2001 and 2002 and president in 2004.

“Being the president of the Cattlemen was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Klug said. “I got to meet so many great people in the area and in Lincoln, and it really made me pay much more attention to things going on in the industry. I learned so much during my time as president, It was great.”

During Klug’s tenure as president of the organization he also took a personal interest in promoting the scholarship program in the area high schools, which resulted in many more students applying for the scholarship award. This increased interest has not waned since his time in the office.

Klug, an enthusiastic promoter of the organization, said the benefits of membership in the Platte Valley Cattlemen includes the opportunity to meet many people in the industry and enjoy its various educational opportunities through the year.

Recent topics at the association’s regular meetings have included the use of distillers’ byproducts, cow/calf-related information and each fall an estimate and outlook for the coming year in the cattle industry. Other activities enjoyed by the membership are the summer tour in June and the golf outing typically conducted in August of each year.

“A lot of people may think they have too small of an operation to be a member of the Cattlemen,” Klug said, “but if you have just one head you can be a member and benefit from all the things that can be learned at our regular meetings through the year.”

The Platte Valley Cattlemen Association is funded through it’s membership dues and a portion of state membership dues also are returned to the organization. The funds are used to pay for the annual banquet, educational materials and two scholarships that are awarded each year.

“If it were not for all the good people who sponsor the banquet, this would not be as good of an organization as it is,” Klug said. “There’s no way to thank our sponsors and members enough for all they do.”

Columbus Feed & Hatchery was named the association’s 2007 Agri-Business of the Year.

The initial news about the award was a surprise to the owners and operators of the 11th Street business.

“We’ve been going to the Cattlemen’s annual banquet for years and this was a big surprise,” said Tammy Lyon. “We were very excited and honored for the recognition.”

Lyon, along with her husband, Todd, and son, Westley, her mother, Joyce Runge, and her brother, Keith Runge, and his wife, Carol, are all involved in the daily operations of the business, which has been in continuous operation since 1924.

The family has been active with sponsorship and attendance at the annual banquet for at least the past 20 years and Allen (Doc) Runge was a charter member in the Platte Valley Cattlemen Association at the time it was established in the early 1960s.

Columbus Feed & Hatchery offers producers choice products from the Hubbard and Kent feed lines, crystlyx products and Apache Farm equipment.

In addition to his work at the hatchery, Keith Runge also operates a 2,000 head feedlot about six miles north of Columbus and manages a stock cow herd of about 400 head.

This year’s $500 scholarship winners were Kyle Luckey, son of William and Nancy Luckey, of Columbus and Shannon Goedeken, daughter of Robert and Denise Goedeken, of rural Platte Center.

The criteria for being considered for the scholarship award is the students or their parents must be involved in some agricultural organization, that they have a good knowledge of the beef industry and who may be active in some way in promoting the beef industry.