BISMARCK – A number of local area residents were honored during the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association’s 95th Annual Convention in Bismarck on Sept. 20.

According to NDNA information, the terms of several N.D. Stockmen’s Association leaders ended following the convention.

NDSA District 1 Director Justin Maddock, of Maddock, completed two terms and was no longer eligible for reelection. Maddock is an 18-year NDSA member and serves on the Brand Board. Maddock manages a cow-calf operation. His family backgrounds its own calves and develops heifers for their herd. He also has a small brood of Quarter Horse mares and manages a farming operation, raising hay and cover crops for the cattle enterprise and wheat and soybeans as cash crops. Maddock and his wife, Rachel, have six children.

NDSA District 5 Director Howdy Lawlar, of Watford City, completed two terms and was no longer eligible for reelection. Lawlar is a 17-year NDSA member. He serves as the Environmental Issues Committee chairman. He has previously served on the NDSA Nominating Committee and the North Dakota Stockmen’s Foundation Board of Directors. He raises registered and commercial Angus cattle, small grains and hay. Lawlar and his wife, Jodee, have three children.

NDSA District 6 Director Shane Anderson, of Towner, also completed two terms and was no longer eligible for reelection. Anderson is a 24-year NDSA member. He is currently serving as the Brand Board vice chairman and the Brand & Theft Committee chairman. He has previously served on the Budget Committee, Ag Policy Committee and Nominating Committee. Anderson was selected to attend the Young Cattlemen’s Legislative Conference and national-level Young Cattlemen’s Conference and has helped with the Tomorrow’s Top Hands Beef Leadership Summit. Anderson operates a cow-calf operation utilizing Angus and Lim-Flex genetics and raises his own replacement females. Additionally, he raises corn, oats and alfalfa for feed. Anderson and his wife, Joni , have one daughter.

NDSA Immediate Past President Jeff Schafer, of New Rockford, also completed his service on the NDSA Executive Committee. Schafer assumed the vice president and president positions following eight years of service on the NDSA Board of Directors. He is a 35-year NDSA member. He has chaired the NDSA Budget Committee, Resolutions Committee and Brand Board. He has hosted the NDSA Feedlot Tour and helped with the Tomorrow’s Top Hands Beef Leadership Summit. Schafer’s Rhein Valley Farm is a six-generation diversified farm and ranch. It consists of an Angus cow-calf operation and backgrounding and finishing feedlot. Schafer and his family also raise corn, soybeans, pinto beans and seed oats. Schafer and his wife, Leann, are full-service Purina dealers. They have three children and four grandchildren.

“Each of these leaders has made important contributions to our association and industry through their service,” said NDSA Immediate Past President Jason Leiseth, of Arnegard. “I’ve enjoyed serving alongside them over the years and am looking forward to their continued involvement.”

Willy Sevland, of Granville, was among NDSA employees acknowledged for longtime service to the state’s livestock industry. He was recognized for a quarter-century of service to the NDSA as a brand inspector. Sevland began his career at Northern Livestock in Minot and after its closure, was reassigned to Kist Livestock in Mandan and the Turtle Lake Scale in Turtle Lake. He has most recently worked at Jamestown Livestock in Jamestown and Lake Region Livestock in Devils Lake, Rugby Livestock in Rugby, and the Towner Scale in Towner, among other auction barns. Sevland is a third-generation rancher and has a cow-calf operation.

“The NDSA has a solid brand inspection team dedicated to the organization and the industry,” said NDSA President Randy Schmitt of Rugby. “We are grateful for these inspectors’ more than a century’s worth of full-time brand inspection efforts.”

The Dukart Ranch, of Manning, was the recipient of the 2024 Environmental Stewardship Award. A cow-calf and seedstock operation, it is located in Dunn County and was established in 1918. Derrick and Angie Dukart own and operate the ranch along with their children, Iris, Ian and Jud, and Derrick’s parents, Doug and Sandy.