William H. (Bill) Rishel of North Platte, Neb., has been named the 2025 inductee of the prestigious Saddle & Sirloin Portrait Gallery. Rishel will become the 380th member of this historic gallery and his portrait will be unveiled at an induction banquet to be hosted Nov. 16 during the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky.
“Since 1966, the year I was privileged to be on the Penn State national champion livestock judging team in Chicago, l have admired the stories and lifetime contributions of previous honorees of the Saddle & Sirloin Club,” Rishel says. “I believe that early exposure to this special place was my driving force to not only breed a great herd of purebred Angus but also to become actively involved in cattle industry organizations, contributing my ideas and time to help make all beef producers more successful.”
Not many Angus producers can claim to have successfully touched every segment of the beef industry during their lives. Even fewer can say they produced a groundbreaking purebred bull that today has more than 3 million registered descendants going 11 generations back. Rishel can make both of those assertions.
From his childhood days managing successful 4-H beef projects to his animal science degrees and impressive livestock judging record at Penn State, Rishel was well prepared for a career in the beef industry.
In 1975, with limited resources, Rishel and his wife, Barb, made the decision to leave New York and move to Nebraska to establish themselves within the western cattle industry. With their three young daughters — Jill, Joy and Judy — the bull New Criterion, 12 purebred Angus females and a shared passion for good cattle and a vision of excellence, they began developing Rishel Angus at North Platte.
Rishel’s distinguished service to the beef cattle industry stands as testimony to the roots from which he originated in Pennsylvania. Early in life, he realized that hard work and determination were attributes needed for success in any endeavor. Always with an eye to the value of maternal inheritance, he crafted his own brand of genetic selection to produce game-changing Angus cattle that led the worldwide industry toward a more focused consumer product.
“It is a privilege to know that my contributions of time, effort and ideas were vital to improving the lives of my family, community and, most importantly, the beef cattle industry for all producers across the globe,” Rishel says. “I view this honor as a lifetime achievement award at the highest level of the agricultural industry.”
An original oil portrait of Rishel, painted by renowned artist Richard Halstead, has been commissioned and will be framed and hung when the award is presented at the North American International Livestock Exposition in November.
Visit rishelportrait.com to learn more about the Saddle & Sirloin Gallery, read Rishel’s story in its entirety and make a contribution to help underwrite the cost of portrait and the event in Louisville and to establish a fund to provide perpetual support of beef industry research and development.
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