Saddle & Sirloin Portrait Gallery
Portrait of Clair E. Terrill

Artist: Thomas Embert (“Tom”) Phillips (1927–2005)

Clair E. Terrill

TERRILL, CLAIR ELMAN (1910–2001), inducted 1989

A world leader in research to increase the efficiency of lamb and wool production, Clair E. Terrill was raised in Iowa and began his studies at Iowa State University. In 1936, he completed his doctorate at the University of Missouri. He was an animal scientist at the Georgia Experiment Station, and then from 1953 to 1955, was director of the US Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho. Dr. Terrill became Chief of the Sheep and Fur Animal Research Branch of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Beltsville, Maryland, in 1955. From 1972 until his retirement in 1981, he was the ARS National Program leader for sheep and other animals. He served as president of the American Genetic Association and the American Society of Animal Science. Dr. Terrill’s honors include the ARS Science Hall of Fame and International Stockmen’s Hall of Fame designations, the Silver Ram Award from the American Sheep Producers Council, and the 1980 Animal Industry Service Award.

Source: Saddle & Sirloin Guidebook 2026, p. 186

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