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Glenn Brinkman receives first Brangus Pioneer Award

published: March 24th 2006

Glenn Brinkman of Athens, Texas was the recipient of the first Pioneer Award, an award recognizing one who contributed the most to the success and development of the Brangus® breed and the International Brangus Breeders Association.  Mr. Brinkman has set the stage for many generations to further contribute to the foundation built by the Brangus forefathers. The award was given during Annual Convention activities in Houston.

Brinkman’s mark on the Brangus breed is unprecedented and the mere name of Brinks dominates the pedigrees of the breed. He was recognized as a breeder with vision from the beginning, but he also had vision for the association.   His years as a leader laid an important foundation and provided the catalyst in many areas for the breed to gain respect within the industry.

He has enjoyed an impressive career as a cattleman beginning with the establishment of Brinks Brangus in 1968. His brother, Lloyd purchased the Riverby herd and he became manager of their cattle operation.  From their first sale in 1970, Brinks Brangus achieved unprecedented records. Brinkman devoted himself to the endeavor of making Brinks Brangus the best in the industry.  In a relatively short period of time, Brinkman was recognized as an innovator and one who understood both the cattle business and genetics.

Brinks sales secured Mr. Brinkman a place in the history of beef cattle, but it is the development of a superior animal that has always been his motivation. His greatest excitement still comes from seeing the new calf crop. This single mindedness has led to many rewards and achievements.  In 1970 he was chairman of the committee that formed the Hill Country Brangus Breeders and produced the first Top of the Crop Sale in Kerrville. In the early years, he was on the board of the Performance Registry International (which preceded the Beef Improvement Federation). His belief that the primary purpose of the registered breeder was to produce a superior animal led to Brinks producing the first two certified meat sires in the Brangus breed.

Brinkman’s interest in genetics led to his studying different Zebu breeds and their contribution to Brangus.  He visited every major Brahman breeder in the U.S. and many Nelore herds in Brazil. As a result of this study, he started a breeding-up program from Angus and Zebu.

In 1977, he was the first Brangus breeder to utilize embryo transfers. He started in-depth carcass evaluation with Kansas State University using ultrasound technology. A Kansas neighbor, Albert Wiggins, was a partner in this endeavor.  Brinks Brangus donated an ultrasound machine to Kansas State and combined their data with data being developed at Auburn University to establish EPDs for rib eye for the Brangus breed.

Because he is a perfectionist where keeping records are concerned, he developed a tagging system with a year code to identify all embryo transfer progeny. This system is known as the GB International Measuring System and is used by all Brangus breeders.

Brinkman was born in Minnesota, raised in Mississippi, and graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree in forestry.  While at LSU, he earned the Xi Sigma Pi Outstanding Sophomore Award and the forestry Department’s Outstanding Senior Award.  He worked for five years with Gulf States Paper Corporation as a forester, then moved to Dallas to manage a plastics manufacturing plant.  When his brother, Lloyd bought his first Brangus females in 1968, Brinkman became involved in the purebred cattle business.

Brinkman is a past president of the Texas Brangus Breeders Association, the International Brangus Breeders Association, and the Beef Improvement Federation. He was the first to be named Brangus Breeder of the Year by IBBA, proof of his peers’ respect for him. In 1983, he was elected to the Heart of America Hall of Fame.  In 1997, the BIF honored him with the Continuing Service Award. He also served as chairman of the Brangus Publications Inc. Board and again provided invaluable leadership for the publication.

Brinks Brangus garnered many national and international champions, established sales records, and achieved an enviable reputation for merchandising a superior animal.  But his chief motivation has always been to use his gifts wisely and diligently-he is a perfectionist with vision. Perhaps the achievement of which he is most proud was the formation of the Brangus Inspection Committee. He was able to get an eclectic group of people to serve on this committee.  They were not always in agreement, but all of them had exceptional leadership qualities. Many of them later served as presidents of IBBA. Because of their work, Brangus became a better breed.

Brinkman and his wife of forty-six years, Carolyn now live in Athens, Texas and are in cattle partnership with Mike and Debbie Etter. The family includes their three children, their spouses, and five grandchildren:  Dr. Leslie Brinkman George, her husband Tony, and sons Sam and Aaron; Katherine Brinkman Sutherlin, her husband Brad, and children Kasey and Josh; and Paul Brinkman, his wife Colleen, and their son Tucker.