AMSA Announces Wednesday Morning Closing Keynote Speakers

Kearney, Mo. June 7, 2022 – The American Meat Science Association (AMSA) will be welcoming the meat science community to the 75th Reciprocal Meat Conference (RMC) June 12-15, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.?The Wednesday morning Closing Keynote Session, sponsored by JBS Foods/Pilgrim’s, will focus on the “AMSA 75th Celebration of Our History.”

We are excited to announce a 75th Celebration of Our History for Wednesday’s Keynote Presentation at this year’s Reciprocal Meat Conference. Since its inception in 1948, the RMC has been a place for meat scientists to share their research and interact with each other to further scientific progress in the meat industry. Today’s RMC retains that spirit but incorporates industry and students in a way that would have been hard to imagine 75 years ago. Dr. Russell Cross will highlight how far we have come as an industry and meat science community in the last 75 years, while Dr. Rhonda Miller will discuss how RMC and AMSA ‘came of age’ with the addition of student programming and other initiatives. Then, Dr. Scott Eilert will share how impactful RMC has been on the meat industry and look to the future with how we can ensure RMC remains vibrant for the next 75 years. Susan Shivas, after sharing the highlights of the 75th Anniversary Reciprocal Meat Conference publication, will join Dr. Anna Dilger in engaging the audience to share their memories of past RMC’s and project a vision for the future.

?Meet the Speakers:

Dr. H. Russell Cross has over 50 years of research and management experience, holding numerous positions in government, academia, and the private sector. Dr. Cross currently holds the position of Professor in the Department of Animal Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. He previously served as head of the Department of Animal Science and Executive Vice President for Operations at Texas A&M University. Prior to that appointment, he served as Deputy Vice Chancellor and Associate Dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.?

Dr. Rhonda Miller is a professor in the meat science section in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University. She holds appointments on the Faculty of Food Science and Technology and the Graduate Faculty of Nutrition. Dr. Miller teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in meat science and sensory science. In addition, she directs the Sensory Testing Facility within the Department of Animal Science. Dr. Miller conducts research on the quality, quantity, safety, and usefulness of meat and meat products through her appointment with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.

Dr. Scott Eilert is the Customer Technical Lead for Cargill Protein North America. In this role, he leads technical communication and technical issue management with key retail, foodservice, and protein ingredient customers. Immediately prior to this role, he was the Director of Customer Quality for the Cargill Protein, North America. Scott oversaw the execution and improvement of product quality as well as technical services for Cargill’s North American Protein customers. Scott also served as the Vice President of Food Safety, Quality and Regulatory for Cargill’s Turkey and Cooked Meats business unit.??

The 2022 RMC will take place at the Iowa Events Center in the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center & Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines, IA. The AMSA 75th 2022 RMC is co-hosted by Iowa State University, Kemin Food Technologies, the National Pork Board, and Hormel Foods Corporation.

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AMSA is an organization recognized for its unmatched competence and commitment to attracting and developing meat industry leaders and providing science-based meat research and information. For more information, please visit www.meatscience.org/rmc or contact Deidrea Mabry 1-800-517-AMSA ext. 12.