The Alabama Livestock Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the state’s livestock industry. The Hall of Fame was established in 1984 by the Southeastern Livestock Exposition and Alabama Cattlemen’s Association and is housed in the Cattlemen’s Building in historic downtown Montgomery. View our newest Alabama Livestock Hall of Fame inductees below.
John Downs
John Downs of Dothan began Southern Cattle Company (SCC) 25 years ago. With several successful steel business ventures under his belt, he fulfilled a lifelong dream and purchased his first cattle and original 400 acres of SCC, where the headquarters now stand today. What was meant to be just a hobby farm, has developed into one of the largest and most respected purebred operations in the south. Downs has farms in Alabama and Florida and has run up to 6,000 head of cattle.
The youngest of nine children, John was born in central Alabama to tenant farmers. At 18, Downs got his first public job with Gamble Steel Co. in Montgomery. The ethics of hard work learned in that cotton field began paying off. In 1976, with a wife and three children to support, he took the leap and purchased a red barn in Webb, Alabama, and with $10,000, he began what is now Qualico Steel Company. With the help of family and other partners, Downs’ steel business has expanded to seven steel-related companies in three states employing over 500 team members.
Read more about John in the March issue of the Alabama Cattleman magazine.
Jimmy Holliman
Jimmy Holliman of Marion Junction was raised on a cotton farm in the Mississippi Delta. He received a B.S. in Animal Science and a Master’s Degree in Animal Nutrition from Mississippi State University. Holliman was employed by Auburn University for 42 at the Black Belt Research and Extension Center in Marion Junction where he was named director of the station in 1989. Jimmy started Circle H Cattle Farm in 1982 where he raises black Simmental cattle. He is a member of the First Step Bull Sale Group.Read more about Jimmy in the March issue of the Alabama Cattleman magazine.
Jimmy Parnell
Parnell is a native of Stanton where he is a fifth-generation farmer and a partner in his family’s beef cattle and timber operations. He is a graduate of Auburn University in agricultural business and economics. Parnell has been an outstanding leader with agricultural organizations including Alabama Farmers Federation, Alabama Cattlemen’s Association and the Alabama Forestry Association.