<p>RELEASE: Immediate CONTACT: H. Wine DATE: December 4, 2015 PHONE: 406.587.4531 [email protected]</p><p>HAEFNER HONORED AS SIMMENTAL HERDSMAN OF THE YEAR </p><p>Bozeman, MT—Ryan Haefner of Sleepy Hollow, New York, was selected as the 2015 Progress Through Performance Herdsman of the Year at the National Simmental Show during the North American International Livestock Expo in Louisville. Haefner was selected for the award by his peers — other Simmental herdsmen and breeders — and was honored prior to the selection of the champion Simmental Heifer on November 18.</p><p>The Herdsman of the Year award was created by the American Simmental Association to recognize a person who supports and promotes the SimGenetics industry while upholding the honor and dignity of a respectable cattleman. The annual award was first given during the 2014-2015 show season, Haefner is the second recipient of the Herdsman of The Year honor.</p><p>Haefner's passion for cattle began at a young age from the influence of his late father, Rick and their small herd of purebred Simmentals. Quickly recognizing that Ryan had an instinct for the cattle business, Rick let Ryan take over management of their herd while in high school. Ryan’s interest in showing started with 4-H and county fairs, and quickly moved to a more competitive level at state and national shows with the mentorship and guidance of Luke and Chuck Lemenager of Lemenager Cattle of Hudson, Illinois.</p><p>After college, Ryan built upon the herd he began with his father and started to market both Simmental and SimAngus cattle more aggressively, while continuing to compete in the show ring. In 2007 Ryan was offered the opportunity to work as the Show Barn Manager at Hudson Pines Farm, and he and his wife, Megan, made the move to New York that year. In 2008,Ryan was promoted to Farm Manager and continues in that role today.</p><p>Miranda Kaiser owner, and director of Hudson Pines, says, “"No one deserves this award more than Ryan. Unfailingly honest, endlessly hardworking and ruthlessly fair, Ryan sets an example we should all aspire to. He excels in his instinct for breeding superior Simmental genetics, in animal husbandry, in managing a complex organization and in leading his team. Hudson Pines is incredibly lucky to have him. Now that Ryan is a father, we know that he will care for his daughter with the same devotion he gives his cattle, his colleagues, and his customers, and she will be the luckiest girl in the world!"</p>