Speaker Bios

Barry Dunn, South Dakota State University

Barry Dunn’s family has been ranching and raising cattle in South Dakota since the 1880s. Educated at South Dakota State University, Barry received his bachelor's degree in 1975 and a master's degree in Animal Science in 1977. After two years managing a cow-calf research herd for North Dakota State University, Barry returned to South Dakota to manage his family’s ranch near Mission. He returned to academia in 1997 and received his doctoral degree in animal science in 2000. He served on the animal and range science faculty at SDSU from 2000 to 2003. In 2004, Barry became the first executive director and endowed chair of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. In May of 2010, he assumed the position of dean of the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences at SDSU.

Matt Spangler, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Matt Spangler grew up on a diversified crop and livestock farm in south-central Kansas where his family still farms and has a cow-calf operation. After receiving his bachelor's degree in animal science from Kansas State University (2001), he attended Iowa State University and received his master's degree in animal breeding and genetics in 2003. He received his doctoral degree at the University of Georgia in animal breeding and genetics (2006) and is currently an assistant professor and Extension beef genetics specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Matt focuses on developing and delivering Extension material related to the genetic improvement of beef cattle within Nebraska and nationwide. The majority of this effort is centered on the use of genomic tools. From a teaching perspective, he coordinates the Nebraska Beef Industry Scholars program and is responsible for the UNL teaching herd and annual bull sale. His research interests include the integration of molecular data into national cattle evaluations. He has served on the Ultrasound Guidelines Council, is a member of the National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium Producer Education Team, and serves as a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Animal Science.

Mike John, Huntsville, Mo.

Mike John currently serves as the director of MFA Health Track Operations. Health Track is a Vac 45 and ASV-certified preconditioning program that has enrolled nearly 400,000 head since 2001. In addition, Mike is actively involved in the management of his families commercial cow-calf and retained ownership operation near Huntsville, Mo. He is a 1980 graduate of Kansas State University and holds a bachelor's degree in animal science. Mike is known across the United States through his leadership roles in the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), where he has served as president, was chairman of the commission on animal ID, and was vice chairman of the NCBA Mark of Quality Commission. He has also served NCBA as membership committee chairman, group chair for the Industry and Member Services Division and served as a board member for the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Mike was chairman of the Missouri Beef Industry Council, is a past president of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, and former board member and scholarship chairman of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Foundation.

Imogene Latimer, Hunnewell, Mo.

Imogene Latimer helped organize the Northeast Missouri (NEMO) Premier Beef Marketers in 1999 with the help of members of the University of Missouri Extension Beef Team. She currently keeps the records and helps distribute the proceeds for sale of cattle for the group. She and her husband, Kenny, farm and raise cattle in Shelby County and are members of NEMO Premier Beef Marketers, participating from the beginning. Latimer is a bovine veterinarian, working part-time with the General Veterinary Clinic LLC in Monroe City since 1987.

Eric DeVuyst, Oklahoma State University

Eric DeVuyst was raised on a farm in central Michigan. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Michigan State University in agricultural economics. He earned a doctoral degree from Purdue University in agricultural economics. DeVuyst is on faculty at Oklahoma State University with a research/Extension appointment. He has held previous appointments at the University of Illinois and North Dakota State University. Among other topics, Eric has published scholarly articles on the influence of genetics on fed cattle profits and calf weaning weights. His Extension work is largely focused on developing farm decision tools. He lives with his wife, Cheryl, and daughter, Megan, on a small ranch north of Morrison, Okla.

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