HILLSBORO, Ind. – Dale Grubbs, a recent recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Indiana Beef Cattle Association (IBCA), said it was humbling to receive an honor named after someone he considered a friend.

Grubbs, who has bred Angus cattle for more than 30 years, received the 2020 Robert C. Peterson award during the IBCA banquet in late January. Last year’s banquet was canceled due to COVID-19, so his award was handed out this year.

“I was shocked, surprised and humbled (when IBCA told him of the honor),” Grubbs said. “Bob Peterson was a friend of mine and a good friend of my dad. He was quite a man. Everybody liked Bob. He was a great cattleman and a friend to many people.”

Grubbs is a third-generation beef producer in Fountain County, Ind. His grandfather started an Angus herd in 1933. In those days, Grubbs said there were only three breed options for producers wanting to raise beef cattle – Angus, Hereford and Shorthorn.

“Grandpa started the herd for my dad to show in 4-H,” he explained. “Dad wanted to show Angus so grandpa bought Angus.”

Grubbs has had cattle registered in his name for 58 years, starting when he was 9.

“I’ve always been happy with Angus, I’ve been very successful,” he stated. “I haven’t really thought about raising anything else.”

His operation, Grubbs Angus, had about 150 head of cattle until about two years ago, when he cut back to 50. He now has 45 brood cows. He also has 20 replacement heifers and 10 bulls he plans to sell in the spring.

Before he trimmed his herd, Grubbs registered at least 100 head of cattle yearly with the American Angus Association.

“I’ve retired and kind of slowed down,” Grubbs said. “(Raising cattle) gives you a reason to get up in the morning. Cattle have been my life.”

Over the years, Grubbs has raised several national and state beef cattle champions. 

He has also participated in performance testing of livestock. Grubbs has tested more than 320 bulls in 58 Indiana Beef Evaluation Program (IBEP) tests. He has had several performance winners and top-selling bulls through IBEP sales.

Grubbs was a member of the Purdue University Livestock Judging Team and has served as a judge at national and state shows.

“I love working with youth,” he noted. “When I give remarks after a contest, I remind the contestants to tell their mom and dad thanks, and to thank the people who helped them. Showing beef is work. Everybody has someone helping them.”

In his early 50s, Grubbs received the Indiana Livestock Breeders Hall of Fame Award. “I was very honored, and very surprised when they called and said I’d won it. It’s a big honor. To get the award, I assume they were happy with the work I’ve done with Indiana Beef and Indiana Angus.”

The Robert C. Peterson Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 1996, said Joe Moore, IBCA executive vice president. Peterson was the award’s first recipient.

“The criteria the board considered (in choosing recipients) was a lifetime of service and success in the beef industry,” Moore explained. “Somebody who has made an impact in breeding or in seed stock. It was established to honor Bob’s commitment to the industry.”

Peterson, who died in 2017, was a long-time manager/superintendent of Purdue University’s Lynnwood Farms. The farm was a leader in no-till and artificial insemination, Moore added.

Grubbs said he’s seen quite a few changes in the beef industry over the years. He said it’s often hard to find pasture in the state.

“The cattle industry will never go away,” he said. “The quality of the cattle has improved. The quality of the meat is so much better.”

Technology has given producers so much more information, he said, on such things as the parentage of the animals and how tender the meat will be.