BIF to Meet June 18-21 in Lincoln
Registration is open for 2014 symposium.
The 2014 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Annual Meeting and Research Symposium will be June 18-21 at the Cornhusker Marriot in Lincoln, Neb. The theme for this year’s program is “Novel Traits: Needed or Novelty.”
Co-hosted by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), Nebraska Cattlemen and the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC), the event will start at noon June 18 with registration. A welcome reception begins at 5 p.m., followed by a USMARC Symposium: 50 Years of Service to the Beef Industry.
It’s no coincidence that the meeting is in Nebraska in 2014, said Matt Spangler, associate professor in UNL’s animal science department. The USMARC is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2014. USMARC scientists have contributed to the annual BIF meeting since its beginning, he said.
Summaries, proceedings, PowerPoints and audio will be posted to the Newsroom page.
News releases for the award winners will be posted to the the Awards page.
The meeting will allow the research community and industry to meet and discuss issues surrounding the genetic improvement of beef cattle and for attendees to learn about technologies and management practices that can aid in the profitability of their operations.
On June 19, the meeting will start at 8 a.m. with a general session and welcome. Presentations and technical breakout sessions will follow through June 20. Attendees are invited to participate in a postconference tour June 21.
Some of the topics to be covered include economic considerations for profitable cow herds, heifer intake and feed efficiency, heifer development strategies, selection for novel traits, genetics of disease susceptibility, genetically changing the nutrient profile of beef, nutritionally changing the fatty acid profile of beef, improving feed efficiency in the feedlot, and the relationship between selection for feed efficiency and methane production.
Online registration for the conference is now available at http://go.unl.edu/bif2014. The cost to attend the full conference is $250. Day-only, student and media discount rates also are available. The meeting is approved for 14 CEUs for American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS) members in attendance. Members can request credit online at www.arpas.org or by emailing Jeremy Holzner.
The Beef Improvement Federation was formed more than 45 years ago to standardize beef cattle performance programs and evaluation methodology and to create greater awareness, acceptance and usage of these concepts for the genetic improvement of beef cattle. It represents more than 40 state and national beef cattle associations.
For more information about this year’s event, contact Matthew Spangler, associate professor, UNL at 402-472-3571.
The Angus Journal editorial team coordinates this online event coverage site for the BIF Symposium. www.BIFconference.com is sponsored by LiveAuctions.tv, which provides live streaming video of the meeting, as well as video and audio for archiving.
Visit the site’s Schedule page now to review the tentative agenda, the Travel page for information on travel and lodging, and the Awards page for past honorees. After the symposium visit the site’s Newsroom for summaries, PowerPoint presentations, proceedings papers, audio and additional references provided by speakers. Visit the Awards page for announcements and photos of winners of awards and scholarships presented during the event. The Travel page will be replaced by a Photos page featuring photo galleries from the meeting and post-symposium tours.
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