52nd Annual Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium Online

June 8 - June 12, 2020


SCHEDULE
52nd Annual BIF Research Symposium Online

The virtual event will be hosted online the week of June 8 starting at noon CDT each day. The conference will be hosted on the Zoom webinar platform. By mid-May, participants will be able to regiter for the event, find a detailed schedule and Zoom tutorials.

Below is a tentative schedule (all times are CDT).

Monday, June 8

Noon Welcome

12:15 p.m. YOUNG PRODUCERS SYMPOSIUM

What Will the Purebred Cattle Industry Look Like in 20 years - Bill Rishel, Rishel Angus

Financial Planning for a New Generation of Producers - Adam Trott, Financial Analyst Manager, Rabo AgriFinance

1:45 p.m. BIF Board/Officer election results

Scholarship award presentations ? Roy Wallace, Baker/Cundiff

BIF Ambassador Award presentation



Tuesday, June 9

Noon Tuesday Welcome

12:15 p.m. GENERAL SESSION 1

Consumer Market Research ? What They Say They Need, and They Want - Shawn Darcy, Director of Market Research, National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) Market Research

1 p.m. BIF Awards Program: Commercial Producer of the Year and Pioneer Awards

1:45 p.m. Perspectives from End-User ? What We Need and What We Want - Henry Zerby, VP of Protein Procurement and Innovation, Wendy's Quality Supply Chain Co-Op (QSCC) Inc.



Wednesday, June 10

Noon Wednesday Welcome

12:15 p.m. GENERAL SESSION 2

Global Perspectives on Beef Sustainability - Don Close, Rabo AgriFinance

1 p.m. BIF Awards Program: Seedstock Producer of the Year and BIF Continuing Service Awards

1:45 p.m. Systems Approach to Beef Cattle Sustainability - Dr. Clay Mathis, King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Texas A & M University?Kingsville



Thursday, June 11

Noon Technical Breakout - Advancement in End-Product Improvement
Dr. Tommy Perkins, Associate Professor - Dean Hawkins Chair for Cow-calf Management, West Texas A & M

Sources of Variation in Measurements of Beef Carcass Traits Made Using Ultrasound - Dr. Mike MacNeil, Delta G

Genetic Improvement - What does the Grid Data Show Us? - Brian Bertelsen, Vice President of Field Operations, US Premium Beef

Are alternative meats an end-product improvement? - Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, University of California - Davis

2 p.m. Technical Breakout - Advancement in Emerging Technology
Dr. Megan Rolf, Associate Professor, Kansas State University

Low-pass sequence data in genetic evaluation - Dr. Warren Snelling, US MARC (Meat Animal Research Center) and Dr. Larry Kuehn, US MARC

Application of novel reproduction traits to genetic evaluation in tropical and temperate beef breeds - Dr. Matt Wolcott, AGBU (Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit), University of New England

ImmuneDEX: Measuring and Selecting for Immune Competence in Angus - Christian Duff, Strategic Projects Manager, Angus Australia and Dr. Brad Hine, Research Scientist, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia

4 p.m. Technical Breakout - Advancement in Selection Decisions
Dr. Bob Weaber, Professor, Kansas State University

iGenDec: A tool for web-based sire selection - Dr. Matt Spangler, Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

An index to select Angus sires for use on Dairy cows- Dr. Stephen Miller, Genetic Research Director, Angus Genetics Inc. and Dr. Jason Archer, AbacusBio.

BreedObject: Breeding for future profitability - Dr Brad Walmsley, Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU), University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia

DeSireBull - a bull selection decision support tool powered by BREEDPLAN - Laura Penrose - New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI)


Friday, June 12

Noon Technical Breakout - Advancement in Efficiency and Adaptability
Dr. Mark Enns, Professor, Colorado State University

Cow Milk Production vs Calf Size - Dr. Travis Mulliniks, Univ. of Nebraska

Genetic relationships between high elevation pulmonary arterial pressure; and feedlot growth, intake and carcass traits - Emma Briggs, Colorado State University

Three critical things you need to know about calculating growth curves using partial body weights - Mark Nelson, GrowSafe

2 p.m. Technical Breakout - Advancement in Producer Applications
Dr. Darrh Bullock, Professor, University of Kentucky

New Selection Tools for Indicus-Influenced Cattle - John Genho, Neogen

BIF Guidelines for Uniform Beef Improvement Programs: New, Improved and Wiki - Dr. Bruce Golden, Theta Solutions LLC and BIF Guidelines Technical Coordinator

4 p.m. Technical Breakout - Genomic and Genetic Prediction
Dr. Mark Thallman, Research Geneticist, US Meat Animal Research Center, USDA-ARS

What is Low-Pass Sequencing Going to Do for Genetic Evaluation? - Dr. Matt Spangler, Univ. of Nebraska and Dr. Mark Thallman, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center

Increasing Accuracy of Genomic Predictions: From SNP Chips to Sequence Data. - Dr. Daniela Lourenco, University of Georgia.

A downloadable factsheet is available at our BUSINESS heading at the top of our webpage.

Housed on Soundcloud Channel is CCE Dairy Educators

Topics:

• Preventative healthcare for cows
• The trend of beef on dairy
• What to look forward to in the new year for dairy
• Socially grouping or pair-housing calves

Eligible farms include but are not limited to dairies, orchards, greenhouses, vegetables, vineyards, grain dryers, and poultry/egg. The farms must also be customers of New York State investor-owned utilities and contribute to the System Benefits Charge (SBC). Please check your farm’s current utility bills to see if your farm pays the SBC.

You can request the level of energy audit that best fits your farm’s needs. NYSERDA will assign a Flexible Technical Assistance Program Consultant to visit your farm and perform an energy audit at no cost to you.

For more information and the NYSERDA Agriculture Energy Audit Program Application click here