06/27/2025
Pretty cool read on Dad and his story. We are thankful for him and his leadership!
Bob May’s journey was shaped with the help of many influential people, but he’s never lost sight of where it all started.
"My dad always told me to never forget where I came from. I’ve been lucky to get some breaks throughout my career that have led me to the life I have today, but I always make sure to remember where I started. No one is truly self-made; just because you are able to make yourself, there are influences in your life that helped you along the way. My dad was a farmer first, but he had what was considered the top herd of Registered Angus carcass-producing cattle in America...Growing up, I never spent Thanksgiving at home. We were always at the Chicago International. My dad was the eternal optimist. The cattle he raised were different—not focused on winning in the ring under the halter with the judge, but on winning when the carcass was hung up. A lot of times, we didn’t do well on the halter. I remember my dad going out to show a steer, and we placed 8th out of 9th. I was so disappointed. But when my dad came out of the ring, he always had a smile on his face no matter what place he took. I told him, “Dad, we didn’t do any good.” He looked at me, laughed, and said, “We beat the hell out of that guy in 9th.” At that young age, I learned that was a good way to look at things..."
While wrestling had always been Bob’s passion, he was ready to start a new chapter.
"...When I was about to be a graduating senior in high school, my dad sent me in the family car with a map showing me where Garnett, Kansas, was. There was an AI Breeding school there that I could attend for a week. Off I went in the family car, leaving my family of seven with the single cab truck. I had never been out of the state and practically never out of the county at that point...After high school, I didn’t go to college and worked in cattle sales. When I finished school, I knew I wanted to do cattle. I had a full ride to wrestle at the University of Wisconsin, but I was just so burnt out from wrestling. It was time to get on with my cattle life..."
Starting his cattle career, Bob wasted no time learning the ins and outs of the business.
"...Beyond my father teaching me about cattle, Paul Clapp was the man who taught me business. He showed me the ropes of running a successful operation. In 1978, I bought a steer for my brother for $500. On the way home, Paul asked if I wanted to sell that calf. But I couldn’t, as I had to keep him for my brother. Then he asked if I would sell it for any price. When I asked what that price would be, he told me he could have that steer sold for $5,000 in two weeks. I remember it as clear as day when I told him, “Paul, that is the most ignorant thing I’ve ever heard, and we will never live long enough to see a steer bring $5,000.” Sure enough, he sold him, and that calf won Kansas City the next fall. That steer ended up being a full brother to the bull Sugar Ray—the bull that later bought a farm for me..."
Little by little, Bob made the right moves—and with a bit of luck, things began to fall into place.
"...In 1974, I drove to Oklahoma City and got my feet wet at the Jim Norick Arena by buying a steer that came back and won the Wisconsin State Fair. It was a $500 steer. In 1975, I went back to the Oklahoma Youth Expo and took Bruce Ivey with me in the bumper trailer to pick the steer I wanted. He wouldn’t write the check because it was too much money. That steer was $575. I was mad, but I talked him into it, and that steer came back and won the state fair. That’s when my name started gaining notoriety with the success and luck I was having. By the mid to late ’70s, the ball really started rolling for me...In 1985, I bought the farm I still live on now. I put together a contract with Buddy Priestmeyer for part ownership of Sugar Ray, his mother, and some daughters, and wrote that his payment would pay off my farm. When he made his payment, I would make the farm payment. We raised our kids—Shea, Jacqueline, Brock, and Lauren—on that farm, and to this day, my wife Jodi and I still live there. Our grandchildren Hudson, Blayke, Brighton, and Bradli Jo enjoy the farm as well..."
He doesn’t just credit himself—Bob understands how much others contributed to his success.
"...There are a lot of important people in my life—I can’t name them all. I’ve buried some of them. There have been so many people that have been instrumental in my life, too many to mention for fear of leaving someone out. One thing I’ve learned is that you will have many friends along the way, but your older friends become your treasured friends. I have many old friends I would step in front of a bullet for, and many would do the same for me. It’s important to protect those friendships. One of my biggest regrets was when I got out of high school and started doing the things we call life—traveling, working sales, and making a name for myself. I got invited to a few baseball games with friends and never went because I was too busy. It didn’t cost me friendships, but if I could do it over, I would take the time to go and do that with my friends..."
Bob has witnessed the industry evolve tremendously since the early days of his career.
"...The industry as a whole has changed drastically since I started. I was raised with pickup trucks that had stock racks, and we would have to back into a ditch to get our cattle to jump up into them. There was no such thing as a gooseneck trailer. You were really big if you had a bumper trailer. I remember sitting on a straw bale at the fair with my cousin when my neighbor pulled in with the first bumper trailer I had ever seen. I said I was going to have one someday, and my cousin told me I was dreaming. I’m not a tall guy—only 5’6”—and back in the day I could never clip a steer without standing on a bucket or feed bin because they were so tall. They were at least seven inches taller than the average cattle now and had no butt. Back when I started, we used wax on their legs to get their hair up. You had to pray it wasn’t a hot, humid day on show day. It wouldn’t melt, but it also wouldn’t hold like adhesive nowadays. They just didn’t have a lot of hair in general to work with..."
From past to future, cattle remain part of Bob’s life—because the lessons this industry teaches never fade.
"...I’m 70 years old, and my wife recently asked me if I’ve been thinking about retiring. My response was that I’ll retire when God takes me. I have one fear in life—it’s that I don’t want to be in a care center with Alzheimer’s like my father. When it’s my time to go, I want to be doing something with cattle. I love getting up in the morning and getting after it. I may not be as fast as I was 20 years ago, but I can’t see myself doing anything else until the good Lord says it’s time to go. Through it all, I’ve never forgotten where I came from. I always keep in mind when judging that every kid leading a calf in front of me, no matter how average or below average they are, deserves positive comments because you never know what situation that kid is in..."
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