There are many great herdsmen in the livestock industry, and one of the greatest accomplishments is to be named as herdsman of the year by the people of the industry. One of those great herdsmen that we would like to recognize is the 2018 Best of the Barns Herdsman of the Year, Craig Sand. Craig is the Herdsman at Griswold Cattle in Stillwater, Oklahoma where he oversees the show and sale cattle and checks on the 700 cows that make up the Griswold herd on a daily basis.
Craig Sand grew up in Southern Wisconsin raising and showing Limousin cattle. Growing up, his main focus was Limousins, steers, and crossbred heifers. After his junior show career was over, he continued on to Engineering School, but he realized his passion was in the livestock industry. With the help of some of Sand’s biggest influences, Bob May and Shane Lindsey, Craig started to help at Carrousel Farms in Mineral Point, Wisconsin and then was hired on as their Herdsman in 1999. During his time at Carrousel, Craig was named the 2013 Limousin Herdsman of the Year, one of his most prized accomplishments. After the Carrousel Farms dispersal in 2005, Sand moved around and helped several breeders until he was hired as s the herdsman by Mike Marlow at Limestone LLC Angus Ranch in 2008. At Limestone, Craig’s main role was managing the show and sale cattle, until their dispersal in 2012. He stayed on with them managing their commercial herd for a few more years after the dispersal. Sand then began helping several breeders clip cattle, one of which was Griswold Cattle. He helped out for about a year until he was officially hired on as Herdsman in 2015.
With the values Craig learned from Shane Lindsey and Bob May he has molded himself into one of the best Herdsman and cattlemen in the country. They taught him the value of a good work ethic, how to clip one, and how to feed one. Using these lessons Craig has built a name for himself and helped Griswold Cattle maintain their long-standing success in the show cattle industry. Jon Griswold, owner of Griswold Cattle has become another one of Sand’s biggest influence in life with his biggest takeaway being how to stay humble through all the highs and the lows. “This industry has gotten tough” states Sand, “I work towards trying to make the cattle look as ready, or better, as anything else at the and even making the stalls as good as they can look.” Craig’s hard work certainly does not go unnoticed with the continued success of Griswold Cattle amongst several breeds – including one of their most memorable accomplishments the Triple Crown winner and Junior National Champion JS Black Satin 9B or better known as “Boots” owned with Griswold Cattle, Jake Bloomberg & Campbell Land & Cattle.
At Griswold’s Craig prides himself in working to continue to stay at the top as one of the elite breeders in the industry. The bread and butter of Griswold Cattle is raising good cattle from the ground up and staying true to their beliefs – breeding for phenotype strictly. “Good cattle always sell” states Craig, “We have a good clientele and a good following, and we wouldn’t be where we are without them.”