Holbert was a leader in the beef industry and an outspoken advocate for beef quality.
Circa1901-19?? | Artist: Eugene Alexander Montgomery (1905-2001)
Impact & Accomplishments
Born in Missouri, J. C. Holbert received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Iowa State College, where he was on the first place Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Team at the 1922 International Live Stock Exposition. Holbert was named high individual that year as well.
He taught at Iowa State from 1923-1943 and coached the judging teams for several of those years. He returned to his farm near Bettendorf, Iowa, in 1933, to breed Angus cattle. Holbert was president of the Iowa Beef Producers’ Association and chairman of the Iowa Livestock Council; director of the National Livestock and Meat Board, the National Beef Council, and the National Cattlemen’s Association; and in 1970, president of the American Angus Association.
An outspoken advocate for beef quality, he fought the trend to lower marbling standards for top grades of beef. Holbert was named to the Angus Heritage Foundation Hall of Fame in 1984.
Did You Know?
Built-Rite Toys were developed in the 1920’s by the Warren Paper Company of Lafayette, Indiana. Many of the farm buildings, tools, equipment and animals were developed from 1936 to 1948 and marketed and sold by Montgomery Wards through catalog orders. The farms are often referred to as the Built-Rite Stock Farms or Wards Stock Farm. The Built-Rite Stock Farms came with all the modern breeds of animals and poultry of the 1930’s. An animal booklet was written expressly for Montgomery Ward by J. C. Holbert, Assistant professor of Animal Husbandry, Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Ames, Iowa. The books are called “Stories and Pictures of Living Blue Ribbon Winners,” with one book adds the words, “and Modern Buildings”.
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