Beef Improvement Federation Meeting to be Held at Colorado State, Registration Deadline is May 15
Colorado State University will host the 40th anniversary of the Beef Improvement Federation June 6-9. The annual conference will focus on the future of genetic evaluation and improvement with a variety of presenters from around the country.
The Beef Improvement Federation works to find ways to improve the beef industry through performance evaluations, discuss genetics and how to improve the beef industry.
"The committee wanted subjects that would get beef producers thinking," said Mark Enns, assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Colorado State and program chair of the conference. "We will be using an audience-response system throughout the meeting and building discussions off responses from the group."
The deadline for pre-registration is May 15. The conference will be held at the Hilton Hotel adjacent to the southern edge of Colorado State’s main campus. Other activities will take place throughout Fort Collins and Northern Colorado. To register and for program details go to www.beefimprovement.org under the conventions tab. For information contact Willie Altenburg, (970) 568-7792, willie@rmi.net or Mark Enns at (970) 491-2722, Mark.Enns@Colostate.edu.
The meeting will kick off with a Colorado welcome reception on Wednesday evening, June 6 at the Hilton. Also that evening will be the National Association of Animal Breeders symposium with a focus on the history of artificial insemination.
On Thursday, June 7, participants will discuss "Performance Programs at a Crossroads" as speakers talk about the current performance programs’ cost and benefits and gather the audience’s views on the direction for future genetic improvement initiatives. Awards for the Commercial Producer of the Year will be presented, and committee meetings will be held in the afternoon. A spouse/family tour slated to Estes Park and the historic Stanley Hotel, plus a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park will also be held Thursday. That evening, participants are invited to "Foam on the Range" at the Colorado State University Equine Center, for an evening of conversation, a steak dinner, tasting the Colorado-produced ale and viewing cattle from area seedstock producers.
A discussion entitled "Challenges to Conventional Wisdom" will be held Friday, June 8. Presenters will lead the discussion on uses of genetics technology and changes seen in the quality grades of cattle. The Seedstock Producer of the Year will be named, and committee meetings will be held that afternoon. Friday evening, attendees are invited visit Old Town Fort Collins to enjoy the local restaurants.
Producer tours will visit many Front Range locations throughout the day on Saturday, June 9. Two tours are offered. The first tour, "Beef Industry Players," has stops at Kuner Feedlot, Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, Safeway’s Distribution Center and Aristocrat Angus Ranch, as well as lunch with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Cattle-Fax. The "Seedstock Alliances" tour features Walter Farms, Inc., Five Star Cattle Systems, Kuner Feedlot and Five Rivers Cattle Feeding.
The BIF Annual Research Symposium and Annual Meeting are hosted by Colorado State University, Colorado Livestock Association, Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and the Beef Improvement Federation.
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