The Beef Cattle Institute is a widely respected educational and research organization.
Texas Tech University and Kansas State University have entered an agreement to bring Texas Tech into the Beef Cattle Institute (BCI), which fosters collaboration to deal with issues relating to the beef industry.
Courtesy: Kansas State University
Established in 2007 under the leadership of Dan Thomson, a Texas Tech alumnus, in the Kansas State College of Veterinary Medicine, the Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State has become one of the premier collaborative centers anywhere in the world for research, education and outreach in the beef industry. Texas Tech and Kansas State are leaders in providing the beef industry, from producers to retailers, with the people and tools needed to succeed both today and into the future, making this collaboration a natural fit.
“An integrated approach between our schools is a smart use of our resources so that collectively, we can better serve the beef industry that provides significant economic infrastructure for our schools and our states,” said Thomson, the Jones Professor of Production Medicine and Epidemiology and BCI director. “I look forward to growing opportunities for our faculty and students together through research, outreach and educational opportunities.”
By adding expertise from Texas Tech's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, these universities hope to take the BCI to another level of success, deliver far-reaching solutions for the beef industry, provide expanded opportunities for students and faculty and better serve the interests of our citizens.
“This partnership not only strengthens the collaborative research between our two universities, but also elevates the national profiles of each,” Texas Tech President M. Duane Nellis said. “Texas Tech and Kansas State boast some of the world's leading researchers in the beef industry and their joint efforts will benefit not only the universities, but also the public for years to come.”
Texas Tech and Kansas State have a shared vision for the service to the beef industry, its many and varied stakeholders and the citizens that benefit from the beef industry from consumers of beef to employees of allied businesses. Moreover, a large proportion of U.S. beef cattle are fattened between Lubbock, Texas, and Manhattan, Kansas, generating substantial regional and national revenues.
“We are excited to partner with Texas Tech University and share a multidisciplinary vision to solving real-world issues the beef industry faces,” said Kirk Schulz, president of Kansas State University. “Such valuable and service-oriented collaborations are a crucial part of our land-grant mission and will help Kansas State University become a Top-50 public research university by 2025.”
Beef from the region is exported around the world, so Texas Tech's involvement in the Beef Cattle Institute will have a global impact.
“This relationship with the Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State is an important step forward in our continuing efforts to serve the livestock industry and grow expertise in a research focus area of animal health, nutrition and welfare,” said Michael Galyean, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. “Linkage to the BCI will benefit faculty and students at both institutions.”
The BCI's goal is to provide students and beef producers with the highest quality and most up-to-date education, research and outreach available. The hope is to increase the value of a student's education through work in the BCI as well as increasing training for those in the beef industry.
“Through collaboration with Texas Tech University, Kansas State University and its College of Veterinary Medicine are poised to better address challenges facing the beef industry and its constituents,” said Tammy Beckham, incoming dean of the Kansas State's College of Veterinary Medicine. “This partnership opens new avenues for education, research and outreach for faculty and students both within the college and across the university as well as nationally.”