Hometown: Elkland, Mo.
Family: Husband Mark Friend; daughter Dr. Lauren Elder; son Dakota Gay; and stepchildren Brandon, Kaila, Holly, and Cody
In Town: Debbie Elder-Friend as been with US Bank Home Mortgage for 10 years in the final documents department.
In the Country: Debbie said her town job pays for her cattle-showing hobby.
She and her husband Mark Friend have a small, registered Beefmaster operation in Webster County, Mo.
“Mark works in town as well as a welder, and we have about 13 head of momma cows,” Debbie said. “We both like cattle and raising them. We like to handle our cattle with low stress; the way we move cattle, wean calves, it’s all low stress. It’s just him and I, and the majority of the Beefmaster cattle are all halter broke because they are old show heifers.”
Debbie grew up on an Oklahoma Angus operation and began showing cattle when she was 11. When her children were young, Debbie said they showed ever species, with the exception of swine.
“Now, we’re on to other people’s kids,” Debbie said. “I just have a love for showing, and even when my kids where showing, I wanted to help others.”
Debbie said she became involved with Beefmasters after meeting breeders Craig and Karen Johnson, and her son worked with them and showed a Beefmaster heifer.“When I met my husband, he had a Beefmaster cow he had bought from his nephew, who had won her at a field day,” Debbie said. “When me and Mark started dating, he showed me the cow and I asked to look at the registration papers. I told him this was a cow he could build a program around.”
Debbie is active in the Cedar County, Mo., 4-H. In 2021, she was honored with the Frank Graham 4-H Volunteer Leadership Award “I just love interacting with the kids and helping them with their livestock projects,” Debbie said. “I love the cattle. I still help some goat kids, but not as much.”
Debbie serves as the Midwest Junior Beefmaster Association advisor and works with young exhibitors and families to get ready for the show ring.
“Beefmasters aren’t heavily shown in this area, but there are a lot of registered Beefmaster breeders,” Debbie said. “There’s a big group of kids in the Ozarks who show Beefmasters,” she said. “It’s like, ‘Where have you guys been?’ Some are new kids who show, others are kids who have been showing for a while. I want the kids to get recognition for these cattle, because they are showing really good cattle, but they are getting overlooked because they are going in an AOB or commercial class. I wanted to change that and get some promotion or the breed.”
