Bill Beal : Larry Berger : Bill Bowman : Tom Carr : Jerry Cassady
Sally Northcutt : Doug Parrett : Mark Polzer

Bill Beal

   W.E. “Bill” Beal joined the faculty at Virginia Tech 28 years ago and is a professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences. He earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science at Michigan State University. He completed his master’s degree and doctorate at the University of Wyoming and Cornell University.
   Beal has been active in research aimed at improving the reproductive efficiency of beef cattle. During his career he has authored or co-authored numerous chapters in books, proceedings papers and refereed scientific articles; and he has presented 51 published abstracts. His expertise in estrus synchronization, embryo transfer and the use of ultrasound technology has earned him a national reputation.
   Beal’s energy is focused on teaching undergraduate students and conducting applied research in reproductive physiology of beef cattle. He has received numerous teaching and advising awards both at Virginia Tech and nationally. He oversees the Virginia Tech research herd — a 120-cow herd of registered and commercial Angus cows at Virginia Tech’s Kentland Farm.

Bill Bowman

   Bill Bowman serves as the American Angus Association vice president of information and data programs and the director of performance programs. Primary responsibilities include overseeing Association data management and membership services. He also supervises performance data for Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR®), the National Cattle Evaluation and other research and educational efforts.
   Bowman was named the director of the Association’s Commercial Programs Department with its creation in 1998. In that capacity he helped develop the Angus Beef Record Service, the Bull Listing Service and the commercial listing of cattle. Prior to that assignment, he worked seven years as a regional manager for the Association in Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma.
   A Missouri native, Bill is a graduate of the University of Missouri and has work experience in the Angus business both at a seedstock operation and in sale management prior to joining the American Angus Association.

Sally Northcutt

   Sally Northcutt is the genetic research director at the American Angus Association. She works with the Performance Programs Department in data analysis and the modeling and application of the National Cattle Evaluation. She also works with universities across the nation to coordinate the expansive research activities of the Association.
Before coming to the Association, Northcutt was an Extension beef cattle breeding specialist for nine years at Oklahoma State University, and she worked to direct the Oklahoma Beef Inc. (OBI) central bull test at Stillwater. She is actively involved in industry organizations such as the Beef Improvement Federation, in which she has served in various leadership roles during the past 10 years.
   A Kentucky native, Northcutt received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kentucky and her doctorate in beef cattle breeding and genetics from Iowa State University.

Jerry Cassady

   Jerry Cassady is a regional manager for the American Angus Association, representing Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. Jerry travels throughout the year serving the members of the Association and the beef industry. He delivers numerous educational programs to the producers in his four-state region.
   A native of central Illinois, Cassady grew up on his family’s grain and livestock farm. As a youth he was active in 4-H and FFA, showing cattle on both the state and national levels.
He received a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Illinois State University and a master’s degree in animal science from Southern Illinois University.
   Prior to joining the Association, Cassady was an instructor at Joliet Junior College, where he taught the animal science program and coached the livestock and meats judging teams. Cassady joined the staff of the American Angus Association in the spring of 1992.

Doug Parrett

   Doug Parrett has been a professor at the University of Illinois for more than 25 years. He is a beef cattle specialist who is heavily involved in teaching and conducting research on beef cattle production systems. His research investigates nontraditional beef production systems that result in the production of high-quality beef products.
   He has utilized performance records and ultrasound techniques to identify superior sires in beef production programs. He is also collaborating with genomics faculty to apply DNA technology to animal production traits assessment and animal identification programs. He is a systems specialist, who links scientists and producers together utilizing progressive production technologies. Parrett is also responsible for the University’s beef research herds of 200 Angus and 500 commercial cows. Parrett has evaluated beef cattle shows nationally and internationally for 14 breeds and has judged in 30 different states. He has coached Illinois livestock judging teams. Parrett has been recognized with various awards for his contributions both in the classroom and in the beef industry.

Larry Berger

   Larry Berger is professor of ruminant nutrition at the University of Illinois. He has published 152 journal articles, four book chapters, 38 invited papers and 239 abstracts and bulletins. He received the National American Feed Industry Association Ruminant Nutrition Award and several college and departmental research awards. Berger was selected by the National Research Council to serve on the committee to revise the Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle.
   His research emphasis is to use protein, energy and mineral nutrition to improve the production efficiency of ruminants. The protein nutrition research has focused on optimizing the use of true protein, maximizing the conversion of nonprotein nitrogen to microbial protein and improving the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis in the rumen.
   He has given invited presentations in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Italy, The Netherlands, China and Mexico. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kansas State University and his doctorate from the University of Nebraska.

Tom Carr

   Since 1974, Tom Carr has held a teaching/Extension position at the University of Illinois, where he teaches courses in meat animal and carcass evaluation, and meat selection and classification. Other responsibilities include coaching the university meat judging and the meat animal evaluation teams. His Extension programs focus on producer and consumer education addressing meat grading and nutritional values.
     In 1991, he assumed the position of undergraduate teaching coordinator for the Department of Animal Sciences. In 1979 and 1994, Carr was the recipient of the University of Illinois Animal Science Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and Counseling. More recently, he received both the teaching and Extension/public service awards from the American Meat Science Association and the Senior Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois.
   Carr was born in south-central Kansas. He earned his bachelor’s and master's degrees in animal science from Kansas State University and his doctorate in food science from Oklahoma State University.

Mark Polzer

   Mark Polzer is director of the foodservice division for Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB). With more than 30 years of foodservice experience, Polzer develops services, marketing plans and policy for more than 100 licensed foodservice distributors. In addition, he works to develop pull-through demand for Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) product within the foodservice industry. He explores opportunities for growing foodservice sales, while keeping trademark integrity at the forefront of his responsibilities.
   Before joining CAB, Polzer served as general sales manager for Becker Food Co., a licensed foodservice distributor in Milwaukee, Wis. He served in the foodservice division for Oscar Mayer in sales and sales management before joining Becker.
   Polzer earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a marketing major, at the University of Wisconsin.