Four Decades Devoted to Cattlemen
In 1980, Randy Blach put his Colorado State University animal science degree to work at CattleFax as a market analyst. It was a way to help bring value back to the family ranch near Yuma, Colo., where he would soon return.
“I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to spend a couple of years learning,” he says. But CattleFax became a channel for his career passion – which has now served the beef industry for more than 40 years. “Honestly, I just fell in love with my work and the rest is history.”
Always focused on the data and how it can deliver solutions, the decades of work earned Blach a second-nature understanding of the market and all that affects it. Intuition, experience and a growing database gave him the tools to show producers what the market demands. Their bottom line consistently guides his company and personal mission to help beef producers remain profitable, doing what they do best.
That kind of servant leadership earned Blach the 2022 Certified Angus Beef (CAB) Industry Achievement Award.
A product of his environment, mentors and board members guided him along the way.
Blach was an analyst for 21 years until the original CattleFax CEO (and 2014 Industry Achievement Award honoree) Topper Thorpe retired in 2001.
With the new role, Blach searched for ways to expand and improve CattleFax and the results it produced for clients.
The staff went from merely reporting to delivering decision-friendly data. After 26 years with CattleFax, Mike Murphy sees the difference in clientele relationships from then to now.
“Randy took us to another level in terms of the intimacy of how we work with our clientele,” says Murphy, chief operating officer. “Everything Randy does is more about the CattleFax brand than it is about him.”
“It was always about the work and being able to help people and support them,” Blach says. “It’s been a love to be able to do that, serve the customer. Hopefully, keep them on the land by helping them make one or two more good decisions on an annual basis.”
He gives much of the credit to his support system at home.
“What’s truly important about Randy is that he’s a teacher,” says his wife, Karen. “He’s able to share his knowledge and help future generations understand what it's going to take to be successful in the world they’re living in.”
“There’s always another challenge ahead,” Blach says. Always up for that, he recognizes a kindred team and looks toward the future. “I’ve been blessed to work with a very talented staff and the same company all these years. I feel like my tank’s still full.”
Blach was recognized at the 2022 Feeding Quality Forum in Kansas City, Aug. 23.
