Registration is now open for the 2016 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Annual Meeting and Research Symposium. Themed “Progress on the Prairie,” this year’s event will be June 14-17 in Manhattan, Kansas, and headquartered at the Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center. Save $100 by registering by May 15.
This year’s BIF symposium features two and a half days of educational programming and a full day of tours. The first morning’s general session — “Opportunities for the Beef Value Chain: Can we become more coordinated and more profitable?” — will feature Ted Schroeder and Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University; John Stika, Certified Angus Beef LLC; Brad Morgan, Performance Food Group; and Keith Belk, Colorado State University (CSU). The second day’s general session, “Protecting producer profit for the future,” will include David Lalman, Oklahoma State University; Chip Ramsay, Rex Ranch; Mark Enns, CSU; and Clay Mathis, King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management.
The afternoon breakout sessions will focus on a range of beef-production and genetic-improvement topics. The conference also features a Young Producer Symposium on Tuesday afternoon, designed to network and equip young cattle producers with essential knowledge as they grow their role in the business.
Each year the BIF symposium draws a large group of leading seedstock and commercial beef producers, academics and allied industry partners. The attendance list is a “who’s who” of the beef value chain, offering great networking opportunities and conversations about the issues of the day. Program topics focus on how the beef industry can enhance value through genetic improvement across a range of attributes that affect the value chain.