Jan Lyons to Receive 2025 National Golden Spur Award Oct. 4

Ranching and Livestock Industries Present Top Award to Kansas Rancher

Frank and Jan Lyons

Jan Lyons of Manhattan, Kansas, has been selected as the 2025 National Golden Spur Award recipient for her contributions to the ranching and livestock industries. Lyons will receive the National Golden Spur Award at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center in Lubbock, Texas, during the annual National Golden Spur Award Honors on Saturday, October 4.

“The National Golden Spur Award is the most prestigious national honor given by the ranching and livestock industries to one person,” explained Jim Bret Campbell, executive director of the Ranching Heritage Association and National Ranching Heritage Center. “As the 47th recipient, Jan Lyons continues the tradition of excellence that characterizes National Golden Spur Award honorees.”

Presentation of the National Golden Spur Award is a joint annual recognition given by six of the leading state and national ranching and livestock organizations: the American Quarter Horse Association, National Cattlemen’s Foundation, Ranching Heritage Association, Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Texas Farm Bureau, and Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. 

A lifelong rancher and co-owner of Lyons Angus Ranch in Manhattan, Kansas, Lyons has dedicated decades to advancing the beef industry with integrity, vision, and resilience. Her leadership has spanned some of the most challenging and transformative periods in modern ranching.

"It is not an exaggeration to say she is the ‘Gold Standard’ of selfless service to the

ranching industry,” said Dee Likes, chief executive emeritus of the Kansas Livestock Association. “She has been one of the tallest oaks in the forest of iconic industry leaders and is deserving of the National Golden Spur Award.”

Lyons rose through the ranks of ranching organizations, becoming the first woman president of both the Kansas Livestock Association and the Kansas Angus Association. She later chaired the Cattlemen’s Beef Board in 1996 and served as president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) in 2004. Her leadership during the 2003 Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) crisis was widely praised for its calm, science-based reassurance to consumers and producers alike.

A steadfast advocate for beef promotion and genetic improvement, Lyons played a critical role in advancing consumer confidence, guiding public communications, and supporting groundbreaking industry initiatives like the national checkoff program.

Throughout her career, Lyons has been recognized with numerous awards, including the BEEF Magazine Trailblazer of the Year (2004), Kansas State University's Stockman of the Year (2008), and the Jay B. Dillingham Award for Agricultural Leadership and Excellence (2022). In 2024, she received the Visionary Award from the Cattlemen’s Beef Board for her enduring impact on beef marketing and promotion.

Beyond her accolades, Lyons is celebrated for her mentorship, consensus-building, and unwavering dedication to the ranching way of life.

"Jan built a worldwide trust in American ranchers and beef, which helped lead us to the great market we have today," said Jay O’Brien, fellow cattle industry leader and supporter of her nomination.

Lyons’ proudest achievement is to have passed to her children and grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren, her love of ranching and the respect and caring for the land and the cattle in the Flint Hills of Kansas.

Lyons family at Lyons Ranch, 2025