Klippenstein
Glen Klippenstein of Maysville, MO, was honored earlier this week with the Beef Checkoff Visionary Award during the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in Aurora, CO. Presented by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB), this award recognizes an individual in the beef industry who has demonstrated exemplary support of and commitment to the beef checkoff’s goals and vision.
Born on a diversified crop and livestock farm in Saskatchewan, CA, Klippenstein and his family moved to Pennsylvania in 1948. He attended Penn State University and, upon graduation, farmed for several years while also building a herd of high-quality Hereford cattle. In 1966, Klippenstein forged a partnership with Kirk Pendleton, prompting him and his wife, Linda, to move their family to Maysville, MO, to launch Glenkirk Farms.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Klippenstein saw beef demand declining and strongly believed the industry needed to act. He and other producers began to push for a $1-per-head national beef checkoff. Klippenstein served as one of the original members of the beef board, which held its first meeting in the fall of 1986.
As CBB chair in 1990-1991, he helped establish rigorous financial and auditing practices still employed today to ensure funds are used appropriately, including rules that checkoff contractors cannot make a profit from their work or use any funding for political purposes. Klippenstein also contributed to the development of checkoff programs that consistently provide consumers with high-quality beef.
The Klippensteins have four children and nine grandchildren. He and his son Brian continue to actively manage a small Hereford herd near Maysville.