Cameron University alumnus Thad Doye, executive director of Oklahoma Farm Bureau (OKFB), will deliver the keynote address at the university’s 35th annual Beef Cattle Improvement Conference. The event, slated for Wednesday, November 15, is open to all beef cattle producers, educators and students in Oklahoma at no charge. Attendees are required to register online for the keynote banquet at https://www.cameron.edu/ag-bio-health/events/annual-beef-cattle-improvement-conference.
The conference kicks off at 3 p.m. with simultaneous moderated sessions. Robert Wells, Ph.D., livestock consultant for the Noble Research Institute and executive director of the Integrity Beef Alliance Association, will discuss the work of the Noble Foundation in the area of beef cattle production in Oklahoma. The session takes place in Room 100 of the Sciences Complex. Running concurrently in the Buddy Green Room of the McMahon Centennial Complex will be a session focused on herd health led by L.D. Barker, DVM, Professional Animal Health Center. Both sessions will be repeated at 4 p.m.
At 5 p.m., the conference will offer a question-and-answer session aimed at students in agriculture. The panel, which takes place in Room 100 of the Sciences Complex, will consist of area professionals covering a variety of topics related to beef cattle, including education, research and production.
At 5:30 p.m., the action shifts to the McCasland Ballroom of the McMahon Centennial Complex with a reception for attendees. A barbecue dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m., with Doye presenting the keynote address at approximately 7 p.m.
A native of Lawton, Doye began his career at OKFB in 1998 as a field representative before being named vice president of field services and later moving to the position of crop insurance manager for Oklahoma Farm Bureau Insurance. Doye was selected to serve as OKFB’s interim executive director in July 2017 and was named executive director by the organization’s board of directors in March 2018.
For the past several years, Doye has helped build the Oklahoma Farming & Ranching Foundation’s Pork for Packs and Beef for Backpacks programs by transporting donated animals that are processed into protein sticks for hungry Oklahoma children in cooperation with local food banks.
Before joining the OKFB staff, Doye served as a grassroots OKFB leader as vice president of the organization’s state Young Farmers & Ranchers committee and as president of the Comanche County YF&R committee. Doye was also a member of Class 13 of the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program. He received an agriculture business degree from CU in 1990.
The 35th Beef Cattle Improvement Conference is presented by the CU Department of Agriculture, Biology and Health Sciences.
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PR# 23-162
