Kansas Ag Connection - Shaffer, Boldt Awarded BIF's Roy Wallace Scholarship

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Shaffer, Boldt Awarded BIF's Roy Wallace Scholarship
Kansas Ag Connection - 06/24/2016

The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) presented the Roy A. Wallace Memorial Scholarship to William Shaffer and Ryan Boldt during the group's annual meeting and symposium in Manhattan, Kan. These scholarships were established to encourage young men and women interested in beef improvement to pursue those interests as Wallace did, with dedication and passion.

This year's undergraduate winner is William Shaffer, who attends Oklahoma State University, where he majors in animal science, biochemistry and molecular biology. Shaffer has been active in his family's Charolais operation and participated in the American-International Charolais Association junior program.

One of his key interests is sustainability in beef cattle, as well as researching heritable differences in traits relevant to beef cattle production. Currently, Shaffer works on a variety of projects at OSU, including a U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded study to develop drought adaptability selection tools in cattle. Shaffer plans to pursue a doctorate in genetics with an emphasis in beef cattle production.

The graduate student award was presented to Ryan Boldt. He is currently in the graduate program at Colorado State University, where he is enrolled in the breeding and genetics program with a focus on the genetics of disease resistance. Growing up, Boldt was active in both 4-H and FFA and participated on the livestock judging team at both Colby Community College and Texas Tech University.

Boldt is currently involved with genetic evaluation and is working as network administrator for the CSU Center for Genetic Evaluation of Livestock.

The Roy A. Wallace BIF Memorial Fund was established by Select Sires to honor the life and career of Roy Wallace. Wallace, who worked for Select Sires for 40 years, served as vice president of beef programs and devoted his life to the improvement of beef cattle. He became involved with BIF in its infancy and was the only person to attend the first 40 BIF conventions. He loved what BIF stands for -- bringing together purebred and commercial cattle breeders, academia and breed associations, all committed to improving beef cattle.

Wallace was honored with both the BIF Pioneer Award and BIF Continuing Service Award, and he co-authored the BIF 25-year history, "Ideas into Action." Two $1,250 scholarships are awarded each year, one to an undergraduate student and the other to a graduate student. Criteria for selection include a demonstrated commitment and service to the beef cattle industry, a passion for the areas of beef breeding, genetics and reproduction, academic performance and personal character.

More than 600 beef producers, academia and industry representatives were in attendance at the organization's 48th annual convention. BIF's mission is to help improve the industry by promoting greater acceptance of beef cattle performance evaluation.

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