Kansas State University

More than 425 people came to honor Galen and Lori Fink as the 2024 Stockman of the Year during the 53rd STOCKMEN’S DINNER hosted at the Stanley Stout Center on Thursday, February 29. Special guests attending the event in addition to Galen and Lori Fink included K-State President Richard Linton, K-State Chief of Staff Marshall Stewart, Provost Debbie Mercer, Dean Ernie Minton and KSU Foundation CEO Greg Willems. Thanks to the K-State faculty and staff, KSU ASI Mentors, Collegiate Cattlewomen and Graduate Student Association members who helped set-up, serve and clean-up. Also, thanks to John Wolf and the cooking crew for the delicious steaks. We appreciate the numerous sponsors of the event, including U.S. Premium Beef who donated the steaks. Special thanks to all who made this a great event.

2024 Stockman of the Year – Galen and Lori Fink Video

Photos of the event can be viewed here.

THE 111^th CATTLEMEN’S DAY was hosted in Weber Hall on Friday, March 1 with a crowd of more than 700 people in attendance. Weber Arena hosted 45 exhibitors and five sponsors for the trade show. The morning program included K-State’s Strategy for the Future by President Richard Linton, and ASI Embraces Past, Looks to the Future by Dr. Mike Day. The morning concluded with a Beef Industry Economic Outlook by Dr. Glynn Tonsor. The afternoon began with K-State faculty sharing a beef research update. This was followed by several afternoon sessions including Technologies that Improve Beef Eating Experience by Dr. Michael Chao, a Reproduction Update by Dr. Sandy Johnson and Dr. Nicholas Dias, as well as a session on Wildlife and Ranching by Drew Rickets. A poster presentation and competition session highlighting the research performed by our graduate and undergraduate students was held during the morning in Weber Arena. In total, 19 posters were exhibited, and the competition winners were Ms. Macie Weigand, and Ms. Sydney Tastad.

View more photos of the event here.

Thank you to all our buyers who supported the 47th Annual Legacy Sale.
The top selling lot was Lot 18, KSU BOLD RULER 63L, selling for $10,000.

The sale averages were:

17 Angus Bulls Avg $6,191
11 Simmental Bulls Avg $5,500
10 Hereford Bulls Avg $3,575
3 Fall Calving Females Avg $3,100

4 Commercial Fall Bred Heifers Avg $2,450
15 Commercial Open Heifers Avg $2160

The Legacy Sale would not be possible without the hard work of the Purebred Beef Unit student workers and members of the Bull Sale Class. A huge thanks also to Tim Carson for his IT expertise and all he did to transition from Stockmen’s Dinner to the Legacy Sale. We also appreciate Bob Heptig and his crew for helping set up for the sale. Thank you to Emily Grund and Rachael Stadel for overseeing the pre- and post-sale socials.

Mark your calendars for next year’s sale, Friday, March 7.

View more photos here.

The third annual Cattlemen’s Day Student Edition took place in conjunction with Cattlemen’s Day on Friday, March 1. A total of 110 high school students from 18 FFA chapters across the state of Kansas attended the event.

During the event students participated in various activities showcasing the depth of interest areas in the beef industry. Workshops included:

• Experience K-State ASI – Emily Grund & Karol Fike
• Beef-Cuts Demonstration – Dr. Michael Chao and graduate students
• Student Panel – Weston Schrader, Joshua Waller, Ava Perrier and Lauren Fry
• A look at the Future of K-State ASI – Dr. Mike Day
• Tradeshow Scavenger Hunt – Opportunity to network with industry leaders
• IVF Demonstration at KABSU – Cross Country Genetics & Dr. Karol Fike
• Nutrition Demonstration at Feed Intake Center – Brandon Fraser and Allen Schwartz
• Animal Reproduction  – Dani Stock and Sydney Tastad

Thank you to all the presenters who made this event a success! A huge thank you to the ASI Mentors and Olivia Harrison for helping transport these students to the afternoon workshops. Special thank you to event support ASI Mentors and Rachael Stadel.

Thank you to Certified Angus Beef for sponsoring educational workshop puzzles for demonstration and Cross Country Genetics for presenting a live IVF demonstration.

Photos of the event can be viewed here.

• #KSUASI Headlines: Take a look back on February around Weber & Call Hall: February KSU ASI Headlines 
• Gamma Sigma Delta Undergraduate Research Symposium: The Gamma Sigma Delta Undergraduate Research Symposium will be hosted on April 19, 2024, from 1-3 p.m. in Leadership Studies – Room 126. Interested undergraduates should submit their abstracts by April 8, 2024 at midnight. Please submit abstracts to Jessie Vipham.
• Department Update: Encourage your students to attend the Department Update taking place on Tuesday, March 5 at 4:30 p.m. in Weber Arena. This will be an opportunity for students to hear from Dr. Cassie Jones, #KSUASI Teaching Coordinator, and Kathy Huser, Student Services Coordinator, about the #KSUASI curriculum updates and building renovation plans.
• 94th Annual Little American Royal Showmanship Contest:

  The Little American Royal Executive Team would like to invite you to participate in the 2024 Little American Royal hosted in the historic Weber Arena on April 6. There will be two divisions, experienced for if the student has shown the species before, and novice, for those who have not shown the species before. The species eligible to be shown are beef cattle, dairy cattle, horses, sheep, goats and swine. The entry fee for the first animal is $25, and that includes breakfast and a t-shirt. For every additional animal, it will be an extra $15. Sign-ups are taking place outside Weber 123 until Friday, March 8.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to kbriffel@ksu.edu. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you at LAR this year!

• Interview Schedule for Sustainable Fresh Meat Industry: On campus interviews will be held for the Asst/Association Professor Sustainable Fresh Meat Industry position on the following dates: Tuesday, March 5, Thursday, March 7 and Friday, March 8. View schedule at: https://www.asi.k-state.edu/candidates/meats/

SEMINARS: 

• Meat Science Seminar
  • Sidney Munk, Muscle of dark and normal beef differs metabolically – Monday, March 18, 2024.
• Monogastric Nutrition Seminar
• Ruminant Nutrition, Growth, and Management Seminar
  • Elizabeth Kiselewski “Mitigating methane emissions with 3-nitrooxypropanol” – Monday, March 18 at 4:30 p.m. in Call 205
• Physiology and Animal Breeding Seminars
  • None planned for the next two weeks. 

ASI FACULTY & STAFF BIRTHDAYS: 

• March 12 – Lindsey Hulbert
• March 12 – Deanna Retzlaff
• March 20 – KC Olson
• March 22 – Tom Taul
• March 23 – Billy Brown

If you’d like your birthday added to the list, please email Stacey Chard at schard@ksu.edu.

OPEN POSITIONS:

• Dairy Teaching and Research Center Manager – To apply, go to https://careers.k-state.edu/cw/en-us/job/515771/dairy-teaching-and-research-center-manager
• Animal Technician Supervisor (Dairy Unit) – To apply, go to https://www.asi.k-state.edu/about/jobs/job-announcements.html.

PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES:

• Mississippi State University, Dairy Herder, https://explore.msujobs.msstate.edu/cw/en-us/job/507368/dairy-herder.
• Texas Tech University, Executive Director of Equestrian Programs, https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search/Home/Home?partnerid=25898&siteid=5635#jobDetails=854997_5635.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Facebook: @ksuasi
Twitter: @KSUASI
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ksuasi/

March 5 – Department Update – 4:30 p.m. – Weber Arena
March 10-17: Spring Break
March 16 – Junior Sheep Producer Day – Weber Hall
March 20 – Faculty Meeting –  146 Weber Hall
April 6 – K-State Open House
April 6 – Little American Royal – Weber Arena
April 17 – Faculty Meeting – 146 Weber Hall
April 27 – Wildcat Showdown – Cico Park
May 6-10 – Finals week
May 10-11 – Manhattan Campus Commencement
May 15 – Faculty Meeting – 146 Weber Hall
June 3-5 – Livestock Judging Camp
June 10-12 – Livestock Judging Camp
June 12 – Faculty Meeting – 146 Weber Hall
June 20-22 – Junior Dairy Show – Salina, KS

To submit information for future updates, visit https://forms.gle/iuH4eCKt4hCxCgDU8

On March 2, 2024, the biennial Kansas Junior Beef Producer Day was hosted for the final time in Weber Arena. A crowd of over 525 participants, representing 85 counties, from across the state of Kansas, plus one from Michigan, attended the program to enhance their knowledge of youth beef projects. The program was open to youth, parents, extension agents, and beef project leaders. Topics including selection, nutrition, meat science, daily hair care, clipping and fitting, health, reproduction, showmanship, Becoming a Wildcat, and Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) training were provided. The program was hosted by Lexie Hayes and Payton Dahmer.

This program would not be possible without those who contributed their time, efforts, and expertise as presenters, including, Dr. Mike Day, Cagney Effling, Dr. Jaymelynn Farney, Dr. David Grieger, Callahan Grund, Lexie Hayes, Kelsey Nordyke, Mason Prester, Jacob Schmeidler, Dr. Bryan Weaver, KSU ASI Mentors, and the K-State Livestock Judging Team. A huge thank you also goes to Tim Carson, Angie Denton, Janeen Dieball, Emily Grund, Bob Heptig and Crew, Chris Mullinix, Kelsey Nordyke, Katie Smith, and Rachel Waggie, for helping with the event. A special thanks also goes to the students who invested their time to prepare for the program and were present to make sure everything ran smoothly, including interns Peyton Piepho and Lauren Thompson, Jessica Jensen, the Collegiate Cattlewomen, the KSU ASI Mentors, the K-State Livestock Judging Team, and the K-State Swine Graduate Students. Your involvement is invaluable to making this a great experience for Kansas families!

The K-State Junior Producer Day is sponsored by Valley Vet Supply, Essential Feeds, the Kansas Beef Council, Fink Beef Genetics, K-State Research & Extension, the KSU Youth Livestock Program, and the K-State Department of Animal Sciences & Industry.

View all photos here.