Jim O’Haco of Winslow was recently honored by the Arizona Cattle Growers Association (ACGA) at their annual meeting with the “Cattleman of the Year” award. O’Haco and wife Jeanne have been married for 53 years and reside in Winslow, where he is a third generation rancher, working the ranch that has been in his family for over 100 years.
O’Haco has built a life dedicated to ranching and land conservation. Attending the University of Arizona, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science, O’Haco was accepted into the veterinary school at Colorado State University. However, due to family loyalty, he returned to manage the ranches and oversee the cattle operations for his father.
He has a residential and commercial contractors’ license and is the co-owner of OK Materials and the owner of O’Haco Tire & Auto.
O’Haco has served as president of the ACGA from 2015-2017 and was a State Land Committee chairman of ACGA. He is currently a member of the National Cattlemen’s Association, Navajo County Cattlemen’s Association, the Arizona Hereford Association and the Arizona National Livestock Show, judging bulls for both organizations.
He serves on the Natural Resource Conservation District Board for the past 25-plus years and was a member of the Arizona Game & Fish Sportsman Landowner Lessee Committee. He is heavily involved with the Rocky Mountain Elk Society, Elk Habitat Partnership Program and Arizona Elk Society, sponsoring workdays for the Adopt a Ranch Program since 1990 allowing ranch access to sportsmen and women.
He and his brother Mike have dedicated their lives to hard work for conservation, sustainability, and environmental improvements to the ranch. O’Haco worked diligently on the High Point Well Project to install a water system where water is scarce, providing year-around access to wildlife, livestock and critters of all species with 45 miles of underground water line, 35 drinkers and a 100,000-gallon storage tank that supplies water to 60,000 acres. Original troughs have been replaced with rubber tire troughs for longevity.
O’Haco believes in the philosophy: “Two things in life I have always wanted was to do: raise good quality cattle and improve the environment, leaving it better for the next generation. The job’s never done, we can always do better. We learn from the past and keep improving.”
O’Haco has received the following awards:
Arizona Game & Fish Habitat Steward of the Year – 2020, North America Environmental Respect Award, Corteva Agri Science -2018, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Regional Environmental Stewardship Award – 2018, Arizona Farm & Ranch Hall of Fame Award – 2017, Arizona Hereford Association Cattleman of the Year – 2016, Arizona Outdoor Hall of Fame – 2015, United States Fish & Wildlife Service – Recognition for Partners of Conservation, Southwest District Partners Day – 2014, National Wildlife Federation Private Land Stewardship Award -2012, Arizona Farm Bureau State Stewardship Award- 2010, and Arizona Game & Fish Wildlife Habitat Stewardship Award-2009.
