He developed the Graham Angus herd in the early 1950s in Albany, Ga., to produce performance-tested bulls that could improve commercial herds in the severe environment of the extreme southeast. Born on a sugar plantation in the Florida everglades, he fell in love with Angus cattle when at age 16, his father let him breed some native Florida cattle to Angus bulls. He used the Angus Herd Improvement Record (AHIR) program and strict culling to create a herd that is recognized for its maternal trait cows and growth bulls.