Jackie Atkins grew up in Mandan, North Dakota, and became involved with cattle breeding at an early age. Her parents owned a veterinary clinic with a heavy emphasis on beef cattle, and also had their own commercial cow-calf operation. Her father was an early adopter of AI and estrus synchronization, and Atkins spent much of her youth heat detecting, breeding, riding, and fencing, which sparked her interest in cattle and reproduction. She completed her BS in Veterinary Biotechnology at Montana State University, and PhD and Masters in reproductive physiology at the University of Missouri. After graduation, she worked for Dr. Chuck Gue, Belgrade, Montana, as an embryologist for two years. This work involved significant travel, and upon having her first child, Atkins decided to transition.

A call from Dr. Jerry Lipsey led her to begin working on science projects for ASA in 2013. She now serves as ASA’s Director of Science and Education. Atkins has been involved in many programs and events, including the Carcass Merit Program, Cow Herd DNA Roundup, and Fall Focus. Atkins is the mother of three girls, Hazel, Ada, and Greta. She spends much of her free time helping with homework, at her girls’ events, gardening, and running. 

Ryan Boldt is a native of northern Colorado, where he grew up on a small family farm. Boldt attended Texas Tech University, earning a BS in Animal Science. After graduation Boldt attended Colorado State University, where he earned a MS and is currently finishing a PhD. While he was attending CSU his research focused on genetic relationships between fertility and other commonly recorded phenotypes, as well as Bovine Respiratory Disease. Boldt has previously been employed as the Director of Breed Improvement for the Red Angus Association of America. Today, he works as Lead Geneticist for International Genetic Solutions.

Amy D. Bush, PG, is a hydrologist with RMBJ Geo, Inc., with over 20 years of experience working with and for groundwater conservation districts and landowners in a variety of roles. She has a BS in hydrology and water resources engineering from Tarleton State University. Her professional passions are data management, GIS analysis, and coffee. After spending most of her life in the Texas Panhandle, she currently resides in Abilene. If she is not behind her steering wheel or computer screen, you can find her chasing her kids or dogs, unless she has convinced them to chase each other so she can plan the next camping trip. Life is too short to be bored!

Brandon Ford grew up on a small family farm outside of Ulysses in southwest Kansas. He graduated from Ulysses High School in 2002. Ford went on to judge livestock at Hutchinson Community College, and then transferred to Kansas State University where he graduated in 2006 with a bachelor’s in animal science and industry. He started working for Tyson in September of 2015 as a senior cattle buyer in southwest Kansas. Today, he is the Associate Director of Cattle Procurement for Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. 

Lane Giess is a native of central Minnesota, where his family owns and operates a seedstock operation. Giess attended Kansas State University, earning a BS and MS in animal science. While working on his MS, Giess was involved in the Red Angus Association of America and ASA joint-funded prototype evaluation and scoring system development for feet and leg traits in beef cattle. This project led to the development of Beef Improvement Federation guidelines for proper collection of feet and leg scores. Giess currently resides in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he is pursuing a PhD in animal breeding and genetics at Colorado State University. Giess is a director and serves as the lead geneticist for the American Simmental Association, and focuses on developing member education and research programs for the collection of rare and meaningful data for ASA membership.

In 2023, Janet Guthrie was named the general manager of the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District, which extends over 7,335 square miles in the northern Texas Panhandle and encompasses all of Dallam, Hansford, Lipscomb, Ochiltree, and Sherman counties, as well as parts of Hartley, Hutchison, and Moore counties. She brought with her over 22 years of groundwater management experience as the general manager of the Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District. She currently serves as the treasurer of the Panhandle Regional Water Planning Group, and the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts. Guthrie grew up in a farm and ranching community in the Texas Panhandle, and now owns and operates a cow-calf operation in Texas and Oklahoma with her husband, Lynn. 

Ivie owns and operates Ivie and Sons Simmentals alongside his wife, Tammy, and family near Lawrenceburg, TN. Ivie has been involved with the Simmental breed for over 30 years. They run around 70 head of SimGenetics females, and market around 15 bulls each year to local commercial producers. Ivie and Sons also produces hay to feed and market each year. In addition to private-treaty sales, they market their genetics through national and regional events and sales, and the Ivie family exhibits cattle at events across the country. Ivie has served the Tennessee Simmental Association (TSA) as president, and during that time, helped host the 2016 AJSA Eastern Regional Classic. He has also served as a board member of the TSA twice over the past 20 years. He is an active member of the Tennessee Cattlemen’s Association, his county association, and is certified as a Tennessee Master Beef Producer. Ivie volunteers throughout his community in a number of ways. In addition to the cattle business, Ivie is the owner of Ivie Automotive Consulting, which is an engineering consulting company.

Chip Kemp works to highlight credible and cost-effective profit prediction tools to serious producers and various industry partners alike. Data-driven seedstock producers and their customers benefit from the most powerful genetic evaluation on the planet, and the novel approaches stemming from that evaluation. Kemp regularly underscores the value of ASA’s suite of commercial programs and the IGS Feeder Profit Calculator. Prior to joining ASA, Kemp was a faculty member of animal science at the University of Missouri where he received the College of Agriculture’s Distinguished Faculty and Outstanding Advisor awards and the University’s Outstanding Educator award. He is a previous recipient of the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Livestock Leadership Award. He resides in the heart of fescue country in central Missouri.

Ty E. Lawrence is a professor of animal science at West Texas A&M University (WTAMU). He was reared on a cow-calf operation near Dalhart, Texas, before pursuing formal education at WTAMU (BS, MS) and Kansas State University (PhD). Lawrence spent two years with Smithfield in the position of research manager for pork harvest and processing facilities on the eastern seaboard before entering his academic career. In his current position at WTAMU, he has taught over 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students in 14 different animal, food, and meat science courses. He has advised five PhD and 37 MS students. In addition, Dr. Lawrence is the director of the WTAMU Beef Carcass Research Center, which annually evaluates 200,000+ cattle for a variety of research projects. His research activities focus on improving the yield, quality, and safety of red meat products and have resulted in the publication of more than 115 peer-reviewed scientific journal manuscripts.

Dr. Lawrence has received the AMSA Distinguished Achievement Award and the Distinguished Extension-Industry Award, was a recipient of the inaugural 40 under 40 awards in Agriculture from the Vance Publishing Group, and holds the Caviness Davis Distinguished Chair in Meat Science. 

Tommy Perkins, PhD, is a graduate of West Texas A&M University, where he was recognized as a Graduate of Distinction by the Department of Agriculture in 2014. He earned his doctoral degree in animal breeding from Texas Tech University in 1992. He served as a professor at Missouri State University and Texas State University for nearly 20 years, where his professional career is most noted for excellence in the field of beef cattle ultrasound. 

Perkins has previously served on the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Board of Directors, and also currently serves as chairman of the BIF End Product Committee. Additionally, Perkins has served on the board of directors for the Texas Beef Council, Beef Promotion and Research Council of Texas, the National Pedigreed Livestock Council, and the United States Livestock Genetics Export Council. He completed a two-year term as president of the Beef Breeds Council after serving as their director for ten years.

Dr. John Richeson is the Paul Engler Professor of Beef Cattle Feedlot Management and faculty supervisor of the Research Feedlot at West Texas A&M University. Richeson teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses, is an advisory board member for several cattle industry organizations, and currently serves as executive committee member for the Plains Nutrition Council and as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO). He received his BS, MS, and PhD in Animal Science from Oklahoma State University (2000), Texas Tech University (2004), and University of Arkansas (2011), respectively. Between academic pursuits, he was employed by a major cattle feeding company in Colorado after earning his BS, and the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service after completing his MS degree. Research interests include evaluating management, nutritional, and immunological manipulations to improve the welfare, health and growth of beef and dairy cattle. Additional research efforts have focused on evaluation of biomarker and behavior assessment technology to assist in the prediction and early detection of bovine respiratory disease. Delayed vaccination and targeted metaphylaxis are important concepts within the beef production system that Dr. Richeson and his colleagues and students’ research have facilitated. John has advised or co-advised 35 MS and PhD graduate students and is especially fond of the relationships built with students and collaborators since becoming an Assistant Professor in 2011. John has published over 100 referred abstracts, 71 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 6 review manuscripts and book chapters.

Marty is founder and executive officer of Allied Genetic Resources, All Beef LLC, and Allied Feeding Partners LLC. Allied is one of the largest coordinated seedstock service businesses in the US with owners marketing more than 10,000 bulls annually. All Beef LLC and Allied Feeding Partners LLC were added to the Allied family in 2017 to aid in achieving Allied’s original mission. Originally from Normal, Illinois — the current home office of Allied — Ropp grew up in the swine seedstock business. He left Illinois in 1982 to pursue his BS degree from Kansas State University, which was followed by an MS degree from University of Missouri. Ropp also held a faculty position as an adjunct instructor at the University of Missouri in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his five-year tenure there he also coached the livestock and meat animal evaluation teams. 

Ropp then held positions as a Regional Livestock Specialist for the University of Missouri and Michigan State University before accepting a position with the American Simmental Association (ASA) in 1998. For 12 years he served as the director of Commercial Programs and Field Services for ASA. Ropp is also a past president of the Beef Improvement Federation and served on its board of directors for six years.

Most recently, Ropp has added a new effort as founder and executive director of New Acres, a not-for-profit start-up designed to address the agricultural labor issues that plague US agricultural production businesses and communities.

Kendall Samuelson is a native of Northern California. She received her BS in animal science with a minor in agricultural business in 2010 from California State University–Chico, an MS in animal science in 2013 at Angelo State University, and a PhD in animal science with a minor in biochemistry in 2016 from New Mexico State University where she studied feedlot management, nutrient metabolism, and was actively involved in research at the Clayton Livestock Research Center. Samuelson began her career as a postdoctoral research associate in 2016 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Beef Research Feedlot in Bushland, Texas, and was hired at West Texas A&M University in the Fall of 2017. In her current role as Associate Professor of Feedlot Nutrition and Management, Samuelson teaches courses in feedlot management, feeds and feeding, ruminant nutrition, digestive physiology, and research techniques. Samuelson also has an active research program that focuses on developing applied solutions for feedlot cattle producers to address topics such as receiving cattle nutrition, recommendations for starch and fiber concentrations in finishing cattle diets, metabolic health, and nutritional and management strategies to reduce liver abscess prevalence. 

Samuelson is a member of the ARPAS professional relations committee, a facilitator for the Plains Nutrition Council Feedlot Nutritionist Boot Camp, an active member of the American Society of Animal Science, and serves as a reviewer for several scientific journals. She currently resides in Canyon, Texas, with her husband, Patrick, and their two daughters, Sloane and Remy.

Shafer grew up on his parents’ Shoestring Ranch located near Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, the oldest child and only boy in a family that included his four sisters. Shoestring Ranch began a half-century affiliation with the Simmental breed in 1972.

He studied at nearby North Dakota State University, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science; then enrolled at Colorado State University where he earned a Masters and PhD in Animal Breeding and Genetics, while concentrating on quantitative genetics and bio-economics simulation modeling. Returning home to manage the ranch, he expanded what had been a hobby farm to 500 head and added cooperators representing around 500 head. During that period, up to 200 bulls were marketed annually. The herd was dispersed in 2001.

A lifelong fascination and understanding of science led him to accept a position with the ASA under Dr. Lipsey. When Lipsey retired in 2013, Shafer was the obvious choice to move into the EVP position. Shafer has reinforced and enhanced a continued emphasis on beef cattle science, which has been the lifeblood of the organization since its inception. Under his watch, International Genetics Solutions (IGS) has grown beyond expectations to include over 20 beef cattle organizations from four countries, and is now the largest genetic evaluation of beef cattle in the world. Significantly, Shafer also directed the creation and integration of ASA’s economic indexes and oversaw changing of the field staff model. Shafer and his wife, Kathy, have four children, and four grandchildren.

Ben Weinheimer is president and CEO of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association (TCFA), headquartered in Amarillo, Texas. He was named to that position in 2022, and has been on staff since 1995, serving previously as vice president from 2006–2021 and as regulatory manager from 1995–2005. As president & CEO, Weinheimer is responsible for day-to-day operations of the TCFA, including supervising implementation of policy at the state and federal legislative and regulatory levels, as well as programs and services offered to members in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. 

Weinheimer is active in several industry-related and civic organizations and currently serves as Chairman of the Panhandle Regional Water Planning Group, member of the Llano Estacado Regional Water Planning Group, past chairman of the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, past president of the Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership Alumni Association, past president of the Texas Section of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, member of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, member of the Texas Association of Community Colleges Business Advisory Council, and member of the Texas A&M University–Veterinarian, Education, Research and Outreach Advisory Council. 

Weinheimer grew up on a diversified crop and livestock operation in the Texas Panhandle. He is an honors graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural engineering, and is a licensed professional engineer in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. He and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Amarillo, Texas. They are proud parents of a daughter and two sons, and grandparents of four grandchildren.

Dr. Bryon Wiegand is a native of Cairo, Missouri, and is currently Professor of Animal Science at the University of Missouri (MU). He has taught animal products, beef production, and physiology and biochemistry of muscle classes. Wiegand’s research focuses on fat quality of food animals as well as pre- and post-natal influencers of growth and body composition. He has served as a technical advisor to the Missouri Association of Meat Processors, supervises the MU Collegiate Meats Judging Team, and oversees operation of the Mizzou Meat Market (a full-line meat processing plant under USDA inspection).  In 2015, he assumed the role of State Meats Extension Specialist. Wiegand has been recognized by his peers with multiple national teaching awards, most notably two career teaching honors, the American Society of Animal Science Distinguished Teacher Award, and the American Meat Science Association Distinguished Teacher Award. He was named a Kemper Teaching Fellow at the MU in 2014. Wiegand was appointed as Associate Division Director in Animal Science in 2019 where he was responsible for coordinating research farms and auxiliary units as well as animal science outreach to stakeholders in Missouri and beyond. In 2021, he was appointed Director of the Division of Animal Science.    

Dr. Dale R. Woerner serves as the Cargill Endowed Professor in Sustainable Meat Science in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at Texas Tech University. Dr. Woerner earned his BS and MS degrees in animal science from Texas Tech University in 2003 and 2005, respectively, and earned his PhD in animal science and meat science from Colorado State University in 2009.  He served on the faculty at Colorado State University for nine years, joining the faculty at Texas Tech University in his current position in 2018. He has conducted more than 15 million dollars in industry-funded research and has published more than 300 scholarly works, including peer-reviewed manuscripts and technical reports in the area of meat science.