James Herring

James’ career began on a solid academic footing. After earning his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Mr. Herring graduated with an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

James was a Founding Shareholder of First National Bank of Park Cities in Dallas, Texas and served as a Director from 1985 until 1991.

On July 1, 2016, Mr. Herring retired after a 25-year career as President and CEO of Friona Industries, L.P. in Amarillo, Texas. During that time, Friona became the third largest cattle feeding operation in the United States with six commercial feedlots in the Texas Panhandle boasting a one-time capacity of 440,000 head.

In 1989, Herring took the pioneer cattle feeding company with a colorful past toward an incredibly bright future. His instincts told him the industry needed to move toward a more vertically aligned model that capitalized on product branding for beef. Herring recognized the need and opportunity to apply the model to the beef industry to produce a more consistent, tender, high quality product. Taking the bold initiative, he proved the concept successful.

Today, Friona Industries serves as a facilitator ensuring the promise of high quality beef is delivered upon. Ranchers Registry, a branded beef program is distributed to seven different retailers in almost 3,000 stores nationwide.

His influence has been felt on multiple boards and organizations, and his accomplishments have been recognized with numerous industry awards.

Please join us as we recognize and celebrate James E. Herring, a true visionary in our field.