Welcome
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2014
For more information contact:
Joe Cassady, executive director, Beef Improvement Federation, South Dakota State University; 605-688-5165; www.BIFconference.com; www.beefimprovement.org
For a high-resolution photo of the winner, click here.
Heather Bradford Awarded BIF
Roy A. Wallace Memorial Scholarship and Frank Baker Award
LINCOLN, Neb. (June 20, 2014) — The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) awarded Heather Bradford with a Roy A. Wallace Memorial Scholarship and the Frank Baker award during the organization’s 46th annual meeting and research symposium in Lincoln, Neb., June 18-21. Each of the awards recognizes two students who have made a significant commitment to and have a passion for the industry.
Heather Bradford (center), Kansas State University, receives the Frank Baker Memorial Scholarship from Robert Williams, breed improvement and foreign marketing director for the American International Charolais Association, and Steve Whitmire, 2013-2014 Beef Improvement Federation president. Bradford received the honor during an awards luncheon at the organization’s 46th symposium hosted June 18-21 in Lincoln, Neb.
An Ohio native, Bradford is working on her doctorate at Kansas State University (K-State). Her master’s research project at K-State calculated genetic parameters for udder quality in Hereford cattle. She earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Purdue University.
Bradford’s passion for the beef industry stems from her family’s involvement with seedstock cattle. Her industry involvement is extensive. She interned with Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI) in 2013 and has been a research assistant at the Indiana Beef Evaluation Program.
While at K-State, she contributed to graduate school 2015 strategic planning, was the secretary-treasurer of the Animal Sciences & Industry Graduate Student Association. She was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and was an active member in the National Junior Hereford Association.
The Roy A. Wallace Memorial scholarship was awarded to Heather Bradford, Kansas State University, and Maci Lienemann, University of Nebraska. Pictured are (from left) Joe Cassady, executive director of the Beef Improvement Federation; Brian House, Select Sires; Trevor, Torri and Maci Lienemann; Bradford; and Aaron Arnett, Select Sires.
The Roy A. Wallace Beef Improvement Federation Memorial Fund was established to honor the life and career of Roy Wallace. Wallace, who worked for Select Sires for 40 years, served as vice president of beef programs and devoted his life to the improvement of beef cattle. He became involved with BIF in its infancy and attended each of the first 40 BIF conventions. Two $1,250 scholarships are offered annually, one to an undergraduate and the other to a graduate student.
The Frank Baker Memorial Scholarship Award Essay competition for graduate students provides an opportunity to recognize outstanding student research and competitive writing in honor of Frank Baker (click here to read Bradford's research paper earning her the award). Baker is widely recognized as the “Founding Father” of the Beef Improvement Federation. Frank played a key leadership role in helping establish BIF in 1968, while he was Animal Science Department chairman at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
For more information about this year’s symposium, including additional award winners and coverage of the meeting and tours, visit www.BIFconference.com. For more information about the BIF organization, visit www.beefimprovement.org.
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About BIF:
The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) is an organization dedicated to coordinating all segments of the beef industry — from researchers and producers to retailers — in an effort to improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of beef production. The organization was initiated almost 70 years ago to encourage the use of objective measurements to evaluate beef cattle. Continuing the tradition, BIF is now the clearinghouse for developing standardized programs and methodologies for recording of performance data for all traits, from birth weights to carcass traits. Its three-leaf-clover logo symbolizes the link between industry, extension and research.
About www.BIFconference.com:
The www.BIFconference.com website is an event coverage site compiled by the Angus Journal staff as a service to its subscribers and the beef industry at large. The Angus Journal’s coverage of this event is made possible through the collaboration of BIF; host organizations including the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center at Clay Center, and the Nebraska Cattlemen; and LiveAuctions.tv, which provided live-streaming video during the event and video for archival purposes. The Angus Journal encourages reprinting of the articles by those who adhere to the reprint guidelines available on the site.
About Angus Journal:
The Angus Journal is the flagship publication of the American Angus Association and a primary means of communication with its membership. Published 12 times each year, the magazine communicates important information about Association programs and services; reports news from shows, events and sales; and provides production, marketing and management information that seedstock breeders need to be successful. The publication also serves an effective vehicle for producers to use in marketing their herds to other members around the country. Advertisements are offered in a variety of sizes at rates to match most budgets, and a creative staff is available to help design an eye-catching layout.
