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.