The American Meat Science Association is honoring CSU Professor Emeritus J. Daryl Tatum as the 2017 AMSA R. C. Pollock Award Winner. The R. C. Pollock Award is presented annually in honor of the first general manager of the National Live Stock and Meat Board. This award is sponsored by the AMSA Educational Foundation R. C. Pollock, Robert Bray, and Vern Cahill Mentor Recognition Funds. J. Daryl Tatum will be honored at an awards banquet during the AMSA 70th Reciprocal Meat Conference on Tuesday, June 20, in College Station, Texas.
Tatum joined the Animal Sciences faculty at Colorado State University in 1979, after a brief appointment as an Assistant Professor of Animal Science at Texas Tech University. During his academic career, Tatum taught several classes, including his favorite – Live Animal and Carcass Evaluation, known to Colorado State University students simply as “Live and Dead.”
Invaluable expertise
Tatum’s research focused primarily on identification of pre-harvest and post-harvest factors that affect meat quality; evaluation, grading/ classification of livestock and carcasses; and effects of growth enhancement on beef quality. He has been a thought leader for the beef industry since 1980 and is author or co-author of 166 articles in refereed scientific journals, which have been cited by almost 4,500 authors. Many of Dr. Tatum’s research findings have been adopted for use by the livestock and meat industries, both domestically and internationally.
“Throughout his nearly 40-year career at Colorado State University, Professor Tatum mentored numerous graduate students and introduced countless undergraduates to the science behind meat quality, grading, and classification,” said Kevin Pond, head of the CSU Department of Animal Sciences. “He was recognized as a highly-effective teacher, and his expertise was an invaluable resource for meat industry professionals, all of which contributed to this award.”
Professional accomplishments
Tatum served as President of the National Livestock Grading and Marketing Association in 1982 and President of the Intercollegiate Meat Coaches Association in 1989. He has been a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Animal Science and has served as a technical advisor to a number of organizations and industry groups. Tatum’s professional accomplishments have been recognized through receipt of numerous awards, including AMSA Distinguished Research Award (2001), the Distinguished Teaching Award (2003), and the Signal Service Award and AMSA Fellow (2011).
