Frank Kubik Jr.

Modern-era Ranching

Inducted 2001

Frank Kubik Jr. was born near Dickinson on June 8, 1917, a son of Frank Sr. and Anna (Kralicek) Kubik attending rural school in Dunn County and Dickinson. After receiving a teaching certificate from Dickinson State Teacher’s College, he taught in Slope and Dunn counties.

On September 22, 1939, Frank married Doris Zander of Dickinson, they had three children. In 1942, he purchased a ranch northwest of Dickinson. Through the years, his holdings grew to 3,259 acres.

Frank bought his first registered polled Hereford cattle from his father, eventually increasing his herd to 300 head. He hosted the first performance-tested Polled Hereford bull sale in the U.S. on March 13, 1958. During his career, Frank sold more than 2,000 registered, performance-tested bulls and 2,000 performance-tested heifers across the U.S., as well as in Canada, South Africa and South America.

In 1972, the Kubiks bought a majority of the Havre Line 1 Polled King Domino cattle sold at the North Montana Agricultural Research Center dispersion. Thus, Kubik Polled Herefords became the largest source of ‘Line-bred Polled Herefords’ in the U.S.

Under the supervision of the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement Association (NDBCIA), Frank produced two certified meat sires. In 1978, he had an American Polled Hereford Association Gold Seal Sire.

Frank served his community and industry as a 4-H leader, NDBCIA president and Dunn County Agriculture Association president. He received conservation awards in 1950, ‘60 and ‘70. He was the 1974 NDBCIA Seed-stock Producer of the Year and the outstanding seed-stock producer in the nation in 1975. Dickinson State University recognized Frank with the Alumni Chief Award in 1981 for “distinguished professional and unselfish services.”
The Kubiks sold their ranch to the state of North Dakota in 1980, and the NDSU experiment station uses it as a livestock research center. Frank passed away in 2017.