“There Is No Right Way to Do the Wrong Thing.”
This quote distinctly summarizes Bill Rishel’s mantra and his distinguished career in the beef industry.
Dedicated to science, industry service and empowering young people, Rishel has influenced pastures and boardrooms with integrity, ethical leadership and consistently doing what’s right, regardless of convenience or consequence.
He says true success, both in business and life, comes from principled decision-making and honesty, even if that means standing alone or making tough choices. For him integrity is a non-negotiable, applying this value to how he treated partners, made financial decisions and led within the beef industry.
For Rishel, doing what’s right is not about popularity or majority opinion but is instead about conscience. He was never afraid to be the only “no” in a vote if it matched his principles, and he encourages others to participate and lead in the same spirit.
Not many beef producers can claim to have successfully touched every segment of the industry during their careers. Even fewer can say they produced a groundbreaking registered Angus bull that today has more than 3 million registered descendants going 11 generations back. Rishel has done both.
Known as a thought leader and mentor to many in the cattle industry, Rishel was recently recognized as the 2025 inductee of the prestigious Saddle & Sirloin Portrait Gallery.
“One thing that makes Bill Rishel special to me is how he continually inspires and influences young people to be the best livestock producers possible,” says Donnell Brown, of R.A. Brown Ranch, Throckmorton, Texas. “Bill has a passion for helping young people get involved in the industry. Throughout the past 30 years, he has been, and continues to be, a steady encourager. I believe Bill Rishel continues to improve the livestock and food industries by encouraging research and continuing education.”
Family First
While Rishel’s list of achievements is long, family is his greatest source of pride. He enthusiastically declares family is his proudest achievement. He says his greatest joy and reward is watching his three daughters and grandchildren grow, succeed and embody the values instilled in them.
Rishel grew up on his family’s diversified crop and livestock farm near York, Pa. He learned early in life hard work and determination were attributes needed for success, and he passed those values on to his children and grandchildren.
Judging and showing cattle were influential in Rishel’s development. During his undergraduate career, Rishel was a member of the meat and livestock judging teams. After earning an animal husbandry degree from Pennsylvania State University, he worked as assistant herdsman at Penn State while earning a master’s degree in animal breeding.
During his time at Penn State, Rishel worked with and learned from Herman Purdy, who became a major driving force behind his pursuit of the purebred Angus cattle business. Rishel attributes much of his direction and inspiration to Purdy’s mentorship.
Purdy’s “most of the best” principle from judging livestock became a long-lasting guidepost for Rishel.
While at Penn State, he married Barb in 1966.
“After Bill finished his master’s, we left Penn State to work with his brother, Ed, at Sayre Farms in Phelps, N.Y., owned by Sayre and Eugenie McCleod,” Barb says. “We left there in 1972, and Bill became the manager of Topp Hill Farms, owned by Harold Toppel, in Hillsdale, N.Y. Topp Hill also ran cattle in Montana and, eventually, Bill moved those cattle to Dunning, Neb., and he traveled to Nebraska several times a year.”
Harold Toppel’s main business was supermarkets in New York City and he made the decision to shift to boxed beef instead of hanging carcasses. When he started having issues with butchers in his stores, he needed to devote his time to solving those challenges, so he decided to sell the cattle and the farm.
The Rishels made the decision to stay and help him get both sold. The couple agrees that was one of the best life decisions they’ve ever made.
“Bill told me before we got married that he was going to live in Nebraska or Montana someday,” Barb recalls. “After the dispersion of Topp Hill, we decided together that if we were going to move west then this was ‘someday.’”
In September 1975, the couple loaded their three young daughters — Jill, Joy and Judy — and headed west to North Platte, Neb., because Bill was familiar with the area from when he had gone to check on the Topp Hill cattle.
Barb says he soon had a job offer in sales management at National Livestock Brokers while they began developing Rishel Angus. Two years later, they decided to start their own sale management company, Rishel Livestock Services Inc. Also, during this time, he began a prestigious career of judging livestock shows.
“We worked for 10 years while putting together our Angus cow herd,” Barb recalls. “We got to the point where Bill needed to devote his attention and efforts full time to breeding cattle, and, as they say, the rest is history.”
Breeding Industry Legends
Rishel Angus is known in the seedstock industry as one of the first to substantially commit to identifying and improving carcass merit.
“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,” says Michael Bishop, MB Genetics Inc.
Keeping performance records, Rishel focused on identifying outstanding seedstock and led the industry toward a more focused consumer product.
His vision propelled Rishel Angus to prominence, influencing major artificial breeding companies and revolutionizing Angus genetics within the industry.
Rishel had many industry firsts and achievements through the decades. In 1974, he led a group of breeders, Genetic Breed Improvers, in purchasing the first syndicated Angus bull in history, Northern Prospector 14. In 1981, Rishel Angus purchased the bull AAR New Trend. The commercial industry recognized the value of the bull, and in 1986, he embarked on a structured sire evaluation program beginning with New Trend to measure carcass merit, placing emphasis on quality and a satisfactory eating experience for consumers that continues today.
In 1990, a grandson of New Trend, B/R New Design 036, was born at Rishel Angus later became a leading sire of Angus Pathfinder females and the foundation sire of all New Design Angus cattle. He was the top sire for Angus registrations in 2001 and 2002. Today, 036 is recognized as one of the top carcass quality Angus sires with more than 3.2 million descendants in the American Angus Association pedigrees.
“Our mission was to make these cattle work for every segment of the industry and have every segment be profitable and able to continue to be a part of the industry,” Rishel summarizes.
In 1996, along with three of his bull customers, Rishel attended one of the first organizational meetings of U.S. Premium Beef in Hays, Kan. He became part of the first wave of producers to invest in the new model of the company as a value-added system in the beef value chain.
Servant Leadership
Rishel’s service to the beef cattle industry stands as testimony to his integrity and belief of giving back. He devoted numerous hours to serving the beef industry. A past American Angus Association and Certified Angus Beef (CAB) board member, he served as chairman of the CAB board in 1995.
He helped create the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Classic and served as chairman of that organization’s first Seedstock Council. He served as president of Nebraska Cattlemen in 2010. He has also held leadership roles with the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
Recognized for his leadership and innovation in beef improvement, in 2005 Rishel Angus was named the BIF Seedstock Producer of the Year, and in 2016 he was presented the BIF Pioneer Award. In 2006, the Rishels were recognized with the Honorary Angus Foundation Award and the Angus Leader Award. In 2007, he was presented the U.S. Livestock Leader of the Year Award at the National Western Stock Show. Rishel was named a Distinguished Animal Science Alumnus at Penn State in 2008, and he was inducted into the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Hall of Fame in 2013.
Bill’s Quotes to Live By:
Ranch Transition Wisdom
Rishel says successful ranch transition is about finding the right successors who understand the core mission.
In 2017, Rishel Angus became TD Angus at Rishel Ranch when the operation was sold to Trey and Dayna Wasserburger. The couples were introduced by a banker friend who thought they would be a good fit for the transition the Rishels had long considered, and deeply desired, to carry on their life’s work.
Trey explains the business succession: “In 2017, we purchased the entire Rishel Angus herd and ranch. From scoop shovels to herd bulls, we bought it all. There was never a negotiation or the involvement of attorneys, realtors or any kind of arbitration. An accomplished, well-respected cattleman turned over his life’s work to a very inexperienced cowboy with nothing more than frank conversations, fearless eye contact and a firm handshake.
“We knew for sure that we were going to need Bill’s knowledge, guidance and direction to get up to speed and make this work,” he continues. “But not once was there a need to discuss our dependence upon him. Bill was, and still is, there for us. They made it their business to help us succeed.
“As it turns out, I don’t think it was ever about the money for Bill and Barb,” he adds. “Their life together was about building the ultimate Angus breeding program, a unique herd of cows designed to provide their commercial customers with genetics that would help them produce better beef, make money and stay in business.
“Likewise, I don’t think our business deal was about the money. It was about the continuation of Bill and Barb’s legacy through helping a young couple learn new concepts, keep pace with the trajectory of Angus genetics, and carry on their mission in a changing, challenging industry,” he concludes.
Lessons for Successful Ranching
“Bill dedicated his entire life to breeding and raising great cattle, and he’s mentored the next generation of beef producers,” says Ronnie Green, University of Nebraska-Lincoln chancellor emeritus.
Through the years, Rishel significantly enhanced profitability for his customers, added value to the beef cattle industry and improved consumer experiences.
His four tips for success include:
- Constantly seek wisdom from people you respect.
- Do not be afraid to be in the minority vote.
- Learn how to accept change when it is predicated on real economic value.
- Always base breeding decisions on economically sound principles that will create success for all segments of the industry — with the consumer at the front of the line.
