Left side

Strategies for Beef Improvement

2013 BIF symposium focuses on breeding strategies, cow herd efficiency.

Nearly 500 cattlemen, academia and industry representatives gathered at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., June 12-15 for the 45th Annual BIF Research Symposium and Convention. Oklahoma State University (OSU), in collaboration with the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) hosted the event, which was themed “Where Profit and Progress Intersect.”

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. Their three-leaf-clover logo symbolizes the link between industry, extension and research.

This year’s program brought together industry professionals, producers and researchers to discuss current issues facing the beef industry. Among those issues, speakers discussed using crossbreeding and straight-breeding as strategies for commercial cattlemen. They also discussed genetic tools to address environmental challenges and cow herd efficiency.

Special features of the event included an Oklahoma welcome reception, an opening symposium hosted by the National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB), and a night out at the National Western Heritage Museum and Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Participants who stayed for Saturday had the option to attend a northern tour featuring the Oklahoma State Food & Agriculture Products Center and Oklahoma State Willard Sparks Beef Research Center, both at Stillwater; M&M Charolais, Perry; Pollard Angus, Enid; and Chain Ranch, Canton. Others attended the southern tour, which visited the historic Oklahoma City Stockyards; Raber’s Saddlery, Colgate; the Noble Foundation, Ardmore; and Stuart Ranch, Waurika.

Online Coverage

www.BIFconference.com is an event coverage site coordinated by the Angus Journal through the sponsorship of LiveAuctions.tv, which will provide live streaming of the meeting on the site, as well as video and audio for archiving. Visit the site prior to the meeting for the schedule, links to registration and an archive to coverage of meetings since 2002. Following the event, visit the site’s newsroom for summaries, PowerPoint presentations, proceedings papers, audio and video; the awards page for announcements of winners; and the photos page for photo galleries from the meeting and postsymposium tours.

The Angus Journal editorial team coordinates an online event coverage site for the BIF Symposium. www.BIFconference.com is sponsored by LiveAuctions.tv, which provided live streaming video of the meeting, as well as video and audio for archiving. 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 Photos page features photo galleries from the meeting and post-symposium tours.

For more information about the event, contact Megan Rolf at 201h Animal Science, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078; 405-744-9292; mrolf@okstate.edu; or Joe Cassady, BIF executive director at North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7621, Raleigh, NC 27695; or jpcassad@gmail.com.

 

 

Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.

BIF Conference

Site sponsored by

Liveauctions.tv     LiveAuctions.tv


Other Angus Journal
event sites …

Visit the
Angus Journal
topic library …

The topic sites in our library offer gateways to information on body condition scoring, beef cow efficiency, country-of-origin labeling, targeting the Certified Angus Beef® brand and more.

Sign up for…



Angus Journal
Angus Journal
Copyright © 2014

Right side