For More Information Contact:
Judy Malone (303) 771-3500, ext. 35, or judym@sheepusa.org
Amy Trinidad (303) 771-3500, ext. 55, or amy@sheepusas.org
Denver, Colo. – Joining the American Sheep Industry Association’s (ASI) Executive Board during the ASI/National Lamb Feeders Convention in San Antonio, Texas, in January is Benny Cox of San Angelo, Texas. He will be representing the association’s Region V, which consists of Texas.
Cox started his career in the livestock industry in the late 1960s with his employment at Producers Livestock Co., the largest sheep auction in the nation, while attending high school in San Angelo and then earning his bachelor’s degree in agriculture economics in 1975 at Angelo State University. Today, he remains employed at Producers as the sheep and goat sales manager. His personal involvement in sheep, whether it be in production, feeding or trading, has lasted more than 35 years. He now has both a sheep flock and a goat herd.
For many years, Cox managed the sale of anywhere between 600,000 and 800,000 head of sheep that moved through Producers; however, due to the recent drought, predation pressures, labor issues and income from hunting options, he has seen a reduction in sheep production in the area. As in the case of the 2011 drought that affected the Southwest, Cox facilitated, through both the doors of Producers and private treaty sales, the movement of breeding ewes to northern states where feed conditions were better.
Cox is a past president of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers’ Association and has been a member of ASI’s Lamb Council.
“I feel like I am well rounded within the industry due to my experience in both the commercial and feeding side of the industry, and knowledgeable about the issues the industry is facing,” says Cox, who is looking forward to using the experience he has gained on the state and national level to give back to the industry.
ASI is a national organization supported by 46 state sheep associations, benefiting the interests of more than 81,000 sheep producers.
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