MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) presented Becky Mills, Cuthbert, Georgia, the BIF Ambassador Award June 8 during the group’s annual meeting and symposium online. This award is presented annually by BIF to a member of the media for his or her efforts in spreading the news of BIF and its principles to a larger audience.
With 40 years of experience in writing, Mills has written and freelanced for a variety of publications, such as Farm Journal, including its Hogs Today, Dairy Today and Beef Today publications; The Gulf Coast Cattleman; and Progressive Farmer. Additionally, Mills serves as a field editor for the Angus Beef Bulletin and the Angus Journal.
Mills learned the importance of performance testing while working at Berry College’s bull test station near Mount Berry, Georgia. Expected progeny differences were in the formative stages during her time in graduate school at the University of Georgia. With Drs. Curly Cook and Dan Daniels on her graduate committee, she got a more in-depth look at performance programs and BIF. She accidentally launched her career writing a short story, which was published in a school paper, about her experience at an artificial insemination (AI) school.
“Becky has a passion for those she writes about, and it shows both in her writing and the photos she takes to document her stories,” says Shauna Hermel, Angus Beef Bulletin editor, who presented the award. “She has a knack for taking complicated subjects and revealing their practical application through the experience of fellow producers. Combine that with her love of cattle and people, and writing to support BIF was a natural.”
To date, more than 1,000 beef producers, academia and industry representatives have registered to participate in the organization’s 52nd Annual Research Symposium — Online. BIF’s mission is to help improve the industry by promoting greater acceptance of beef cattle performance evaluation.
For more information about this year’s symposium, including additional award winners and coverage of meeting and tours, visit BeefImprovement.org/symposium.
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The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) is an organization dedicated to coordinating all segments of the beef industry — from researchers and producers to retailers — in an effort to improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of beef production. The organization was initiated more than 50 years ago to encourage the use of objective measurements to evaluate beef cattle. Continuing the tradition, BIF is now the clearinghouse for developing standardized programs and methodologies for recording of performance data for all traits, from birth weights to carcass traits. Its three-leaf-clover logo symbolizes the link between industry, extension and research.