Beef Expo real-life learning for students of all ages

Mar 09, 2023

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — For Ty Kenney, his first visit to the Illinois Beef Expo was successful on all levels.

The Illinois Central College student fulfilled all the requirements for his Livestock Production class project. And, his confidence in choosing a good bull was confirmed. For his assignment, after doing research, he chose the bull which sold for the most at the Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale event at the state fairgrounds in Springfield on Feb. 23.

“I was able to find what I wanted,” said Kenney of Brimfield, in Peoria County, near the college in East Peoria.

He and three other students participated in the project designed by their teacher, Grant Grebner, to give them real-life experience at a bull sale.

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Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.