OSU’s first female animal science student honored with award

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University recently celebrated the selection of its 2015 Distinguished Alumni at the first-ever DASNR Honors night.

Minnie Lou Bradley, resident of Memphis, Texas, a 1953 graduate of then Oklahoma A&M, was recognized as one of the recipients of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources’ highest honor.

“She's been involved with livestock production, she's been involved with meat processing, she's been involved in organizational leadership through the Angus Association and became the first woman to be president,” said Tom Coon, vice president, dean and director of DASNR. “In so in many ways she's really influenced the industry, certainly for Oklahomans but also across the nation.”

Native of Hydro, Oklahoma, Bradley earned her degree after becoming the first female to enroll in animal husbandry at then Oklahoma A&M in 1949.

It was her success as a member, and first female, of the livestock judging team at OSU that launched her onto a path of success. She won the Top Beef Cattle Collegiate Judge title at the 1952 American Royal livestock judging competition in Kansas City, Missouri, and was first in sheep judging, second in horse judging and top overall collegiate judge at the Chicago International competition in 1952.

Starting with 20 cows and 3,300 acres, Bradley and her husband Bill started the Bradley 3 Ranch near Childress, Texas. Operated by Bradley, her daughter and son-in-law, Mary Lou and James Henderson, the ranch now runs about 400 registered Angus cows on a 10,000-acre spread as one of the nation’s most renowned seedstock and commercial Angus operations.

“Minnie Lou has done a lot of things,” said Clint Rusk, head of OSU’s Department of Animal Science. “She's had an incredible influence here at OSU, particularly now that our department is a little over 70 percent female. To think back that we're now able to honor the lady, the first lady, to come into the department, I think is quite a tribute to her.”

She was named a Graduate of Distinction from the OSU Department of Animal Science in 1988 and presented the Master Breeder Award from the department in 2010. Bradley was listed in Beef Magazine in both 2004 and 2014 amongst its Top 40 Cattlemen. In 2014, she was inducted into the Saddle and Sirloin Portrait Gallery, a national collection of portraits of distinguished livestock industry leaders.

After spending a lifetime working to create profitable bulls for commercial producers and quality end-products for consumers, she was awarded the Pioneer Award in 2001 and the Seedstock Producer of the Year in 2013 from the Beef Improvement Federation.

“She's an outstanding person,” Coon said. “When you meet Minnie Lou, you can't help but be overcome by her confidence, but also her will. She is determined to see that things change, whether it's livestock production practices or the markets or whatever, she has a very strong will and she just exudes that.”

Also recognized as DASNR 2015 Distinguished Alumni were James Kennamer and Robert Westerman.