Category Archives: Areas of Dedication

Bo Garcia receives SMIKids undergraduate scholarship for 2018-2019

Bryan “Bo” Garcia, a junior animal science major at Texas A&M University, is this year’s undergraduate recipient of the SMIKids Scholarship.  Bo was presented the scholarship at the 62nd Annual Southwest Meat Association Convention and Supplier’s Showcase held at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort, San Antonio, Texas on July 21, 2018. The SMIKids Scholarships are given by the Burley Smith family to undergraduate and graduate students at Texas A&M University interested in the meat industry. Bo is from La Vernia, Texas and is an active member… Read More →

Chandler Steele receives SMIKids graduate scholarship for 2018-2019

Chandler Steele, a Meat Science graduate student from Midland, Michigan, is this year’s graduate recipient of the SMIKids Scholarship. Chandler was presented the scholarship at the 62nd Annual Southwest Meat Association Convention and Supplier’s Showcase held at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort, San Antonio, Texas on July 21, 2018. The SMIKids Scholarships are given by the Burley Smith family to undergraduate and graduate students at Texas A&M University interested in the meat industry. Chandler received her undergraduate degree at Oklahoma State University in 2017 where… Read More →

Students receive Bob Ondrusek Memorial, SMA Hall of Honor, and SMA Foundation Scholarships at convention

Twenty students from Texas A&M University were the beneficiaries of three different scholarships presented by the Southwest Meat Association at its annual convention: the Bob Ondrusek Memorial Scholarship, the SMA Hall of Honor Scholarship, and the SMA Foundation Scholarship. These scholarships were presented at the Chairman’s Dinner and Dance on July 21, 2018 at the Southwest Meat Association’s 62nd Annual Convention and Supplier’s Showcase held at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort, San Antonio, Texas. The Bob Ondrusek Memorial Scholarship, which was begun in 2000 by… Read More →

History of USDA meat grading documents uncovered

USDA meat grading continues to be a topic of great interest for many, and our link on USDA beef grading has been our most viewed webpage for many years. Davey Griffin, while cleaning out a folder in his desk, found these two documents about the history of meat grading, one written by L.B. Burk in November, 1944, and one by an unknown author who we think was Charles E. Murphey, who was a former USDA Agricultural Marketing Service official and who began and ended his career at Texas… Read More →

Clay Eastwood receives ANSC Award for Outstanding PhD Graduate Student

Clay Eastwood, a PhD candidate in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University, received the ANSC Award for Outstanding PhD Graduate Student, at the Animal Science Awards Banquet on Thursday, April 26, 2018. This is the first year for this award with selection criteria based on evidence of excellence in academics, research, teaching, and service/outreach. Clay has been recognized many times for her accomplishments during her graduate program. Most recently, she received the Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Graduate Student Teaching in 2018, and she… Read More →

Jill Jobe receives ANSC Award for Outstanding MSc Graduate Student

Jill Jobe, a master of science candidate in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University, received the ANSC Award for Outstanding MSc Graduate Student, at the Animal Science Awards Banquet on Thursday, April 26, 2018. This is the first year for this award with selection criteria based on evidence of excellence in academics, research, teaching, and service/outreach. Jill is from Shawnee, Kansas and received her B.S. degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia before she began her graduate program at Texas A&M University working with Drs. Kerri Gehring,… Read More →

Harris, Laird, and Nickelson receive Carpenter Award

McKensie Harris, Hannah Laird, and Katy Jo Nickelson received the Z.L. Carpenter Outstanding Graduate Student Award in Meat Science at the Animal Science Awards Banquet on Thursday, April 26, 2018. The Carpenter Award is named in honor of Dr. Zerle L. Carpenter who began his career at Texas A&M University as an assistant professor of animal science in 1962. Dr. Carpenter rose to become full professor of animal science in 1971, head of the Department of Animal Science in 1978, and director of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service (now the… Read More →

Scientific articles from National Beef Quality Audit – 2016

The National Beef Quality Audit – 2016 marks the 25th year since the original National Beef Quality Audit was conducted and represents the opportunity for the beef industry to assess factors that impact the quality, quantity, and value of cattle, carcasses, and by-products. The audit is funded by the Beef Checkoff and is managed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association through the Beef Quality Assurance program. These are the scientific articles from this past audit, and they are open access so they are available to the public without… Read More →

Grad students provide leadership to Beef 101 program

Beef 101 began in 1989, and from the start, graduate students have played an important role in the success of this program. This is especially evident on day 2 where the participants are assigned to cutting groups, and the grad students lead these groups describing where the cuts are to be made, answering questions about where certain cuts come from, and guidance is given to help preserve the value of the cuts while ensuring the safety of everyone involved when knives and saws are being used. Hundreds of… Read More →

2018 Creative Sausage Making Course at TAMU

The fifth annual Creative Sausage Making class, a joint venture between  the Meat Science Section of the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, was held on January 12-13, 2018 at the Rosenthal Meat Center.  Thirty participants, representing barbecue companies, foodservice distributors, retailers, chefs and backyard enthusiasts came to learn sausage production from start to finish. During the program, participants learned the science of basic sausage production, differences in casing types, sausage cooking/smoking and food safety.  With the assistance of Meat Science graduate students and faculty, and… Read More →