Richard Gebhart, a fourth generation cattlemen from Claremore, Okla., and an Oklahoma and national beef industry leader, died May 30 after a short illness, reports the National Cattleman’s Beef Association. He was 58.
With his family Gebhart operated Beacon Hill Ranch, a Hereford operation established in northeastern Oklahoma in 1909. He was an active volunteer leader in the cattle industry for many years at all levels. Nationally he was named treasurer of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in 2014, and served as a member of the Beef Promotion Operating Committee, chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils and vice chair of the Joint Issues Management Subcommittee. He also served as an advisor on several sustainability efforts involving the beef supply chain, and participated in writing a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment of the U.S. beef supply chain.