Jim Jacobs deemed great 'ambassador' for NETBIO

By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

Jim Jacobs April 18, 1923 - Oct. 11, 2001

October 10, 2001 -- Jim Jacobs' above-the-board willingness and effort to promote the Northeast Texas Beef Improvement Organization, and share his expert knowledge on feeding and marketing feeder cattle, spurred the organization's board members' decision to honor him.

Jacobs, 78, of Saltillo was announced as NETBIO's first "Ambassador" for the organization during its annual meeting held Oct. 9.

About six months ago, NETBIO leaders decided Jacobs should be recognized for his efforts.

"Deciding to give him a (belt) buckle was easy," said Hopkins County Extension Agent Larry Spradlin upon presenting the award. "But what to put on the buckle was the hard part."

Several suggestions were made, but when the distinction of "Ambassador" was put on the table, because it meant "voice for the cause," all agreed "that's him," Spradlin added.

Although Jacobs and his wife of 29 years, Joan, came to Northeast Texas to retire in January 1998, he served as a beef consultant and feedlot manager for Northeast Texas Farmers Co-op. He talked with anyone interested in NETBIO's special feeder and stocker calf sale; mainly about feed which could be purchased from the co-op, but also about how valuable the sale could be to the beef producer.

"Jim's journey to Northeast Texas was very timely and fitting for NETBIO," said Dwyatt Bell, a NETBIO agribusiness board member. "He spent 35 years working in and managing feed yards, including Perryton Feeders, a small yard at Yukon, Oklahoma, a feedyard on B.K. Johnson's Chaparosa Ranch and Ed Barrett's feedyard west of Hereford."

Spradlin added that "there is no rhyme or reason I can understand why a man with his great experience would come here to East Texas just as we were developing the NETBIO sale. It was a blessing to us because we didn't have that expertise."

"His vast experience in that segment was something the NETBIO group really needed to round out our expertise on the board," Bell added.

Co-op Manager Brad Johnson related that Jacob's feedlot experience began in 1968 in the Texas Panhandle after about 16 years in the banking industry.

"In 1968, Jim moved to the Texas Panhandle where he participated in the management, building, or rebuilding of several feedlots including Moody Farms, Morton, National Feedyard, ...."

Johnson added that Jacobs managed Chaparosa Ranch in LaPryor, Texas, until his retirement in 1994. But even after that "first" retirement, "Jim responded to calls for his expertise with Moody Farms and Smith Cattle Co. in Easter (Texas)," he said.

"Then it wasn't five days after he moved to Saltillo (in 1998) that he applied at Northeast Texas Farmers Co-op to help producers of the area understand what the feedlots and consumers were needing from the cow/calf and stocker infrastructure," Johnson added.

"Mr. Jim knew the importance of a preconditioned calf in the feedyard and how that would be attractive to buyers," said David Fowler, co-owner of Sulphur Springs Livestock Commission where the NETBIO sales are held.

"He knew how hard it was to find and keep the labor needed in a feedyard when you have a bunch of fresh (weaned) cattle," Fowler continued.

"Jim pointed out the difficulty in finding good, reliable labor with the expertise needed to ride pens, spot calves in the early stages of sickness and doctor the calves effectively," added Bell.

"He knew and understood the savings to the industry and improved final product for the consumer that could be realized if every producer implemented the (preconditioning) practices. ... Jim often said, 'I spent many years trying to straighten out sick cattle. That (sickness) could have been prevented with good management practices and retained ownership on the ranch through the preconditioning period.'"

Drawing on this knowledge, Jacobs was a big promoter of NETBIO's special preconditioned calf sale.

"He knew how to grow them and he knew how to sell them," Spradlin shared.

Fowler remembers several instances where Jacobs would travel a great distance to talk to someone interested in the sale, or to deliver the special ear tags the calves' must wear.

"One instance I remember is that some fellow called him from Lufkin," Fowler said. "Jim got in his pickup that afternoon and drove down there. Of course he was promoting (the co-op's) feed program, and he was promoting the sale. Now he knew good and well that the co-op wasn't going to sell feed down (south) that far, but he went anyway. I don't know if any of us would have done that."

To acknowledge his outstanding efforts in promoting NETBIO and his willingness to share his knowledge, Spradlin presented Jacobs' son, Jimmy, with the special honor at the Oct. 9 meeting.

Jacobs died Oct. 11 at his home in Saltillo, following a fight against cancer.

"He may have been our staunchest supporter and truly a 'Voice for the Cause,'" Bell concluded.