The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) presented Jon Beever, Knoxville, Tennessee, the BIF Pioneer Award June 12 during the group’s annual research symposium in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The BIF Pioneer Award recognizes individuals who have made lasting contributions to the improvement of beef cattle, honoring those who have had a major role in acceptance of performance reporting and documentation as the primary means to make genetic change in beef cattle.
Beever has spent his nearly 30-year career pioneering the use of molecular genetic technologies in beef cattle and other livestock species. He spent 20 years on faculty at the University of Illinois before moving to the University of Tennessee in 2019 to help found its Genomics Center for the Advancement of Agriculture, where he is responsible for catalyzing and coordinating genomics research across the university while maintaining his own research. While at Illinois Beever became a leading authority on mapping genetic abnormalities in livestock and developing diagnostic tests that have become essential tools for the beef industry. Most recently his research has focused on applying genome editing to large-effect growth genes in cattle.
Throughout his career, Beever has been a mentor to numerous students and faculty as well as an invaluable collaborator to many in the beef industry. Beever’s career has been focused on advancing livestock genetics and enhancing genomics research, while mentoring the next generation.
Approximately 500 beef producers, academia and industry representatives attended the organization’s 56th Annual Research Symposium and Convention in Knoxville. 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 BIFSymposium.com.