Rankin Presented BIF Pioneer Award
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Bobby Rankin, Las Cruces, New Mexico, received the BIF Pioneer Award June 3 at the organization’s 54th Annual Symposium and Convention in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Pictured are (from left) Matt Perrier, 2022 BIF president, and Trina and Bruce Davis, Springer, New Mexico, Rankin’s daughter and son-in-law. |
MANHATTAN, Kansas (June 3, 2022) — The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) presented Bobby Rankin, Las Cruces, New Mexico, the BIF Pioneer Award June 3 during the group’s annual research symposium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The Pioneer Award recognizes individuals who have made lasting contributions to the improvement of beef cattle, honoring those who have had a major role in acceptance of performance reporting and documentation as the primary means to make genetic change in beef cattle.
Rankin was a true pioneer. He joined New Mexico State University (NMSU) in 1961 and retired in 2000. During his 39 years at NMSU, he helped livestock producers use systematic selection and crossbreeding for animals better suited to the Southwest. As an animal science professor, Rankin taught a class covering BIF Guidelines for calculating adjusted birth weights, weaning weights and yearling weights, as well as ratios within contemporary groups. Most importantly, he taught his students why and how the guidelines were established. He was also an integral part in starting the Tucumcari Bull Test.
“Dr. Rankin was one of my favorite professors at NMSU. He is passionate about beef improvement and passed that desire on to future generations,” said John Heckendorn. “He’s a great man, a great leader, extremely intelligent, a great teacher, and motivated me to be the best I could be. He made a big impact in my life and many others for beef improvement.”
More than 300 beef producers, academia and industry representatives attended the organizationʼs 54th Annual Research Symposium and Convention in Las Cruces, New Mexico. BIFʼs mission is to help improve the industry by promoting greater acceptance of beef cattle performance evaluation.
For more information about this yearʼs symposium, including additional award winners, Angus Media coverage of the symposium and an archive to coverage of past conferences, go to BIFconference.com.
Editor’s note: This news release was provided by the Beef Improvement Federation and can thus be reproduced without further permissions. For additional information, contact Angie Stump Denton, BIF communication coordinator, at angiedenton@ksu.edu or 785-562-6197.
BIFconference.com is a meeting coverage site provided by Angus Media. For questions about this site, or to notify us of broken links, click here. Look for additional coverage in the Angus Journal, the Angus Beef Bulletin, the AJ Daily, and the Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA.
