MANHATTAN, KS — The Beef Reproduction Leadership Team presented Tim Olson the Service to Industry Award Sept. 16 during the Virtual 2021 Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle Symposium. This award recognizes outstanding contributions by individuals working in the artificial insemination (AI) industry toward the a
pplication or increased use of AI and estrous synchronization by beef producers.
Olson is a beef specialist for Select Sires and is based in St. Onge, SD. The heart of his customer base is in western South Dakota and Eastern Wyoming, however large heifer projects of 5,000 to 30,000 head have taken him to sites in Kansas, Montana and Russia.
Devin Albrecht, Select Sires MidAmerica general manager, says, “Over Tim’s 25-plus year career with Select Sires, he has been directly involved with training well over 1,500 new students to learn the process and value of AI as well as training students on the best practices of herd management, reproduction, and synchronization.
During his career, Tim has had significant influence on training of young people that have become part of the current beef industry in South Dakota.”
Rich Blair, Blair Brothers Angus, calls on Tim for his knowledge and willingness to help. “He is a very patient teacher, even of the uninformed…and we all know that can sometimes be a challenge. Tim always undersells and overdelivers and I respect him greatly for that.”
The three-day virtual meeting was hosted Sept. 15-17. Recordings of the individual sessions will be available on YouTube for anyone who missed the program. The Beef Reproduction Task Force together with the national Beef Reproduction Leadership Team work to promote wider adoption of reproductive technologies among cow-calf producers; educate cow-calf producers in management considerations that will increase the likelihood of successful AI breeding; and educate producers in marketing options to capture benefits that result from use of improved reproductive technologies.
The group’s mission is to optimize the productivity and improve the profitability of cow-calf operations by facilitating the adoption of cost-effective, applied reproductive technologies. The goal is to educate beef cattle producers on sustainable reproductive management systems to maintain U.S. leadership and competitiveness in the world beef market.
For more information about this year’s symposium, visit www.BeefRepro.org.
