Parish Presented BIF Continuing Service Award
The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) presented Dr. Jane Parish, Verona, Mississippi, a BIF Continuing Service Award June 23 during the group’s annual meeting and symposium in Des Moines, Iowa.
Continuing Service Award winners have made major contributions to the BIF organization. This includes serving on the board of directors, speaking at BIF Symposiums, working on BIF guidelines and other behind-the-scenes activities. As BIF is a volunteer organization, it is this contribution of time and passion for the beef cattle industry that moves BIF forward.
Parish currently serves as the Department Head for the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona, Mississippi and interim head for the Mississippi State University (MSU) Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences. She served as the BIF Executive Director for five years.
Applied research has been the theme and center for much of Parish’s career as a professor and extension professional at MSU. Through her tenure, she has proven tremendous breadth and diversity in her approach to helping producers be more successful, authoring research papers ranging from reproduction, genetics, cattle management, forage utilization as well as the promotion and administration aimed at the future of successful extension programming.
“Just like most successful people, Jane has more to her life than just work,” says Marty Ropp, former BIF president, who presented the award. “Her husband, Jimmy Ray, along with their children, Beau and Haley, help keep everything else about life in perspective.”
More than 400 beef producers, academia and industry representatives attended the organization’s 53rd Annual Research Symposium and Convention in Des Moines, Iowa, and another 250 registered to participate online. 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 symposium and an archive of the presentations, visit BIFSymposium.com.
