By Trish Svoboda

The last date to register early for the 2024 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium and Convention is May 8, Wednesday. By pre-registering, participants will receive a discount of $50.

Options for students and media personnel are provided. You can register online at BIFSymposium.com. The event this year is scheduled to take place from June 10 to June 13 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Registration covers two and a half days of educational sessions aimed at enhancing maternal traits and efficiency. It also includes the Welcome Reception on Monday night, lunches on Tuesday and Wednesday, and an off-site social event with dinner on Tuesday night.

The event will begin on Monday, June 10, with the Young Producer Symposium at 1 p.m., followed by the Welcome and Scholarship Reception. In the evening, a Feeder Cattle Panel will concentrate on the importance of enhanced genetics and health in feeder cattle production.

The main session on Tuesday will be centered around the theme of “Building a better cow”. It will feature talks by Dr. Jared Decker from the University of Missouri, Dr. Darrah Bullock from the University of Kentucky, Dr. Rick Machen from the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, Dr. Bob Weaber from Kansas State University, and Dr. Dave Lalman from Oklahoma State University.

The theme of building maternal excellence will continue as the focus on Wednesday with presentations from esteemed speakers such as Dr. Christine Baes from the University of Guelph, Dr. Larry Kuehn from the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, and Dr. Mike Coffey from Scotland’s Rural College.

The technical breakout sessions for Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon will center on a variety of beef production and genetic-improvement topics.

For more details on the symposium and to register, visit BIFSymposium.com.