LINCOLN - Nebraska Cattlemen are proud to announce that two members were recognized at The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) last week during the group’s annual meeting and symposium in Manhattan, Kansas. Plum Thicket Farms, Gordon, was awarded the BIF Commercial Producer of the Year Award, and Bill Rishel, North Platte, a BIF Pioneer Award
The Commercial Producer of the Year Award is presented annually to a producer to recognize their dedication to improving the beef industry at the commercial level. Plum Thicket Farms is a family operation with a passion for raising excellent beef cattle and improving the range and soil that are their livelihood. Located in the Nebraska panhandle, Plum Thicket calves 325 Sim-Angus cows and operates a small backgrounding lot.
Rex and Nancy Peterson head the cattle operation. After two tours of duty with the National Guard, their son, Patrick, came home to lead the farming operation. Patrick is passionate about improving soil health and conserving resources. His wife, Krista, is a large-animal veterinarian with a mobile practice in the area. She did a food animal internship at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and is a welcome addition to their management team.
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The BIF Pioneer Award recognizes individuals who have made lasting contributions to the improvement of beef cattle, honoring those who have had a major role in acceptance of performance reporting and documentation as the primary means to make genetic change in beef cattle.
Left to right: Craig Beiber, BIF President; Bill Rishel; Marty Ropp, BIF Vice President
Rishel Angus is known in the seedstock industry as one of the first to substantially commit to identifying and improving carcass merit. Likewise, Bill is recognized as a thought leader and mentor to many in the cattle industry.
Bill and his wife, Barb, married in 1966. Bill managed two Angus operations in New York, before developing Rishel Angus beginning in 1975. Rishel has devoted his life to serving the beef industry. He helped create Nebraska Cattlemen, serving as chairman of that organization’s first Seedstock Council. Rishel served as president of Nebraska Cattlemen in 2010. He has also served in leadership roles with the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Classic.
Other Nebraskan’s recognized at the BIF Conference were Ronnie Green, Lincoln, Neb., a BIF Pioneer Award, and Steve Kachman, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) statistics professor, a BIF Continuing Service Award. Nebraska Cattlemen would also like to recognize the Frank Baker Memorial Scholarship Award recipients, Kathleen Ochsner, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Kashly Schweer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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.
