Rules of Management: Joe and Lake Elliott on Foundational Traits and Fitting Cattle to Resources

Angus breeders only stay in business if their customers do, too. Joe and Lake Elliott, of Robert Elliott & Sons Angus near Adams, Tenn., make selection decisions with that end in mind. Their rules of management include one-line statements like, “No bad genes in = no bad genes out” and “realize trend is not destiny,” and they help guide their program. This episode covers Lake’s path back to the family operation and the evolution of their customer base with more focused, data-driven buyers looking for value-added marketing opportunities. To them, things like disposition and fertility aren’t just nice to have, they’re foundational traits.  

HOSTS: Mark McCully and Miranda Reiman 

GUESTS: Joe and Lake Elliott

Joe Elliott 

Tennessee cattleman Joe Elliott has been in the Angus business since age 9. An active 4-H member, Joe’s father put him in charge of the family herd performance records. Robert Elliott & Sons Angus hosts an annual production sale and were the first farm in the Southeast to take live online bids and to host an online auction.  

Joe and his wife, Anne, have two sons, Lake and Bennett. Today, the family farm is a partnership with Joe’s brother, William, and son Lake as Robert Elliott & Sons Angus near Adams.  

He served on the board of the Tennessee Angus Association and as president. Joe also served on the American Angus Association Board of Directors from 1996 to 2004 and as president in 2004. 

Lake Elliott 

Lake Elliott serves as herdsman for his family’s Tennessee Angus operation Robert Elliott & Sons Angus, managing the herd’s more than 250 head. 

He has a degree from the University of Tennessee–Knoxville (UTK) in animal science with emphasis in production and management. 

Lake has served the beef industry since his youth as a Tennessee Junior Angus Association director and as vice president. He was an advisor to the Tennessee Junior Angus Association and served as the adult chair of the education committee at the 2012 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS). He has also served six years on the Tennessee Angus Association board of directors, has been a delegate to the annual Angus Convention of Delegates and participated in the Beef Leaders Institute. 

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