Dr. Jackie Atkins Receives BIF Continuing Service Award

The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) has recognized Dr. Jackie Atkins with the Continuing Service Award, honoring her sustained leadership and dedication to advancing genetic improvement within the beef industry.   Jackie truly embodies the spirit of continuing service, having dedicated her career to tirelessly advancing genetic improvement in beef cattle.

A reproductive physiologist by training, Jackie often jokes that she is a “real” animal breeder—in that she uses her arm rather than a computer for breeding. Through her good-natured humor and exceptional communication and facilitation skills, Jackie has guided International Genetic Solutions (IGS)—an organization focused on animal breeding in the traditional sense—to effectively and efficiently provide multi-breed EPD to thousands of breeders across virtually all breeds and multiple countries.

While IGS benefits from a strong evaluation team leveraging cutting-edge technology, its success is fundamentally built on an unprecedented level of collaboration among breed associations. In addition to coordinating IGS's evaluation efforts for many years, Jackie has served as the glue holding together this diverse coalition of associations—organizations not historically prone to collaboration—ensuring they continue to move forward together.

Jackie’s broad skill set and unwavering willingness to step in wherever needed make her truly comparable to a Swiss Army knife. In addition to her role as IGS Director and longtime liaison to the Breed Improvement Committee, she has contributed extensively to ASA’s publications, education, and DNA programs and has served two terms on the BIF Board.

In recent years, Jackie has also developed a keen interest in human development, investing significant time in studying and refining her skills in this area. True to form, she generously shares this knowledge by regularly hosting advancement sessions for ASA and other organizations—often on a voluntary basis.