The North Dakota Agriculture Hall of Fame is a collaboration by agriculture groups to honor the men and women dedicating their lives to the state’s agriculture industry. Housed at the North Dakota Winter Show venue in Valley City, Nancy Jo Bateman and Jerry Doan are the 2023 inductees.

To be inducted into the hall of fame, individuals must be at least 45 years old, be retired and have accumulated at least 20 years of service to the state’s agriculture industry.

Bateman served for nearly 40 years as the executive director of the North Dakota Beef Commission and retired in December. A native of Kindred, she now farms and ranches with her husband, Rocky, near New Salem.

Dedicating her career to the beef industry and its producers, Bateman is considered the longest-serving beef council director. During her work with the beef commission, she was active with beef advocacy and education events across the state and served as an adviser to the Federation of State Beef Councils.

Doan family’s contributions

Jerry Doan and his family’s Black Leg Ranch in Sterling are often honored for their conservation work and holistic management practices. Black Leg Ranch received the inaugural Leopold Award in North Dakota in 2016 and was inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2020.

Related:Leaving her legacy

CONSERVATION-FOCUSED: Rancher Jerry Doan is an inductee into the North Dakota Agriculture Hall of Fame and recognized for his holistic management of Black Leg Ranch. He is involved with the North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition, is a past North Dakota State University Harvest Bowl winner and is active in promoting land stewardship in agriculture.

Doan and his wife, Renae, have four children, all of whom are involved in the management of the ranch and its agritourism ventures. Their family ranch is home to a brewery, event venue and a hunting outfit.

The ranch is home to cattle and buffalo, and directly markets its grass-finished meat across the region. Their operation was homesteaded in 1882, and the sixth generation still ranches there today.

Bateman and Doan will be officially inducted during the North Dakota Winter Show on March 8.

The North Dakota Winter Show contributed to this article.