The Chandler family has been raising Herefords in eastern Oregon’s Baker Valley for 126 years. Currently the ranch is operated by Charles; his son, George; George’s wife, Janet; and their son, Duane, and daughter, Patti Hall, and her husband, Cliff.
“This honor means so much to us,” Duane says. “This has been our livelihood for 126 years and we plan on continuing it and raising the best cattle that we can raise and improve them every year. Hereford cattle have been very good to us and that’s the reason we’re still here.”
It was Charles’ great-grandfather who left Missouri in 1862 and headed to California to find gold but ended up in Oregon only three miles west of the ranch’s headquarters today. The family has been raising cattle there ever since.
Duane and Patti represent the sixth generation to operate the ranch. They sell registered Hereford bulls, replacement heifers and feeders. Chandler Herefords touts genetics that excel in efficiency while adding size with correct type and appealing conformation. Chandler cattle have natural depth and thickness, with consistency gained from more than a century in the business.
Two members of the Chandler family — Herbert and George — served as AHA president. In fact, during Herbert’s second term as president in 1953, he introduced President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who then officially dedicated the new AHA headquarters in Kansas City. And in 1989, the same year Chandler Herefords celebrated 100 years in the Hereford business, Charles was inducted into the Hereford Honor Gallery.
Chandler Herefords has been known for producing some of the top cattle in the country. Most notably, Herbert Chandler bred Mark Donald in the early 1940s. Mark Donald’s influence continues in the Hereford breed today.
Guy Colyer of Colyer Herefords in Bruneau, Idaho, says it is an honor for him to recommend the Chandler family for induction into the Hereford Hall of Fame.
“The Chandler family has continued to be very aggressive with their breeding program,” Colyer says. “Their cattle are known for their efficiency and doing ability. The Chandler family is rich in tradition but has kept up in the modern era and uses every modern convenience in today’s operation.”
