Dan Moser
The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) presented Dan Moser, Westmoreland, Kansas, a BIF Continuing Service Award June 22 during the group’s annual meeting and symposium in Loveland, Colorado.
Continuing Service Award winners have made major contributions to the BIF organization. This includes serving on the board of directors, speaking at BIF conventions, working on BIF guidelines and other behind-the-scenes activities. As BIF is a volunteer organization, it is this contribution of time and passion for the beef cattle industry that moves BIF forward.
Moser is the president of Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI) and director of performance programs for the American Angus Association, headquartered in St. Joseph, Missouri. Dan was raised on a small seedstock cattle operation near Effingham, Kansas. He earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science from Kansas State University and his master’s and doctorate in beef cattle genetics from the University of Georgia.
For the first 20 years of his career, Moser served as a faculty member at the University of Georgia, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Kansas State University. He spent 15 years at K-State, where he taught genetics and animal breeding, conducted applied research, advised undergraduate and graduate students, and served as faculty advisor of the purebred beef unit. His research focused on developing and utilizing genetic prediction tools in order to improve cow-calf profitability.
In his current role, he oversees genetic evaluation programs, genomic testing services, business activities and member education efforts for AGI and the American Angus Association.
Moser has served the beef industry in a variety of leadership roles and is currently serving on the BIF board. He served as breed association liaison for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Carcass Merit Project, studying the genetics of beef tenderness and other carcass traits in 14 breeds of cattle. He was also a member of the Ultrasound Guidelines Council (UGC), which oversees certification of beef cattle ultrasound technicians and technology. He is a former board member of the National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium.
Dan and his wife, Lisa, have two sons, Justin and Ryan, and a daughter, Allison.
Lynn Pelton
The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) presented Lynn Pelton, Burdett, Kansas, a BIF Continuing Service Award June 22 during the group’s annual meeting and symposium in Loveland, Colorado.
Continuing Service Award winners have made major contributions to the BIF organization. This includes serving on the board of directors, speaking at BIF conventions, working on BIF guidelines and other behind-the-scenes activities. As BIF is a volunteer organization, it is this contribution of time and passion for the beef cattle industry that moves BIF forward.
Attending his first BIF meeting in 1989 in Nashville, Tennessee, Pelton served on the 2000 BIF planning committee that hosted the BIF Annual Meeting and Symposium in Wichita, Kansas, and hosted the final tour stop at their ranch. He served two terms on the BIF Board of Directors and was elected to serve as vice president in 2004 and president in 2005. Pelton has also served BIF as a member of the awards committee and chairman of the nominating committee in 2006-2007.
He has served as an officer, director or committee member in two breed organizations including the Kansas Simmental Association and Red Angus Association of America. He was a founding member of the Kansas Red Angus Association.
Pelton Simmental/Red Angus is a family-owned and operated seedstock business. Lynn started the seedstock operation in 1972 while a student in animal sciences and industry at Kansas State University. The herd has grown to 500 brood cows and the family hosts an annual sale in which bulls and females are marketed.
Pelton Simmentals/Red Angus has been the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the BIF Seedstock Producer of the Year in 2007, Red Angus Breeder of the Year in 2010, Red Angus Pioneer Breeder of the Year in 2016 and numerous Red Angus Grid Master Awards.
“Lynn’s service to the Beef Improvement Federation, along with significant contributions to other beef cattle organizations, certainly qualify him as a recipient of this most prestigious award,” says Jimmy Holliman of Circle H Cattle Farm, Marion Junction, Alabama.
Scott Speidel
The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) presented Scott Speidel, Fort Collins, Colorado, a BIF Continuing Service Award June 22 during the group’s annual meeting and symposium in Loveland, Colorado.
Continuing Service Award winners have made major contributions to the BIF organization. This includes serving on the board of directors, speaking at BIF conventions, working on BIF guidelines and other behind-the-scenes activities. As BIF is a volunteer organization, it is this contribution of time and passion for the beef cattle industry that moves BIF forward.
Speidel, Colorado State University assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science and the breeding and genetics discipline group, focuses his efforts on genetic improvement of beef cattle. His appointment is 50% teaching, 35% research and 15% service; therefore, 50% of his time is spent executing quantitative genetics research and service through CSU’s Center for Genetic Evaluation of Livestock (CGEL).
“Dr. Speidel not only conducts genetic evaluation of beef cattle, he also trains graduate students how to execute these important computational processes,” says Mark Enns, BIF board member and Colorado State University professor.
Speidel was employed and educated through the resources of CGEL for approximately a decade before he joined the faculty of CSU. He was involved in conducting genetic evaluation of beef cattle — approximately 10 million cattle twice a year for more than 20 clients — as well as research that improved genetic evaluations of many breed associations and breeding companies.
He has helped write 43 research reports related to national cattle evaluation, which are in addition to 16 articles published in peer-reviewed journals. These efforts involved trait/topics such as stayability, heifer pregnancy, feed efficiency (residual feed intake, or RFI), days to finish, multi-breed, and genomics. Many of these efforts led to presentations at BIF meetings.
He also serves on breed improvement — advisory committees for the Red Angus Association of America and American Gelbvieh Association.
“We commend Dr. Speidel for his leadership and resolve developing evaluations for challenging, yet important traits,” Enns adds.