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I-Belief Welcome to the I-BELIEF undergraduate program page! Training future leaders in beef cattle nutrition research! �

Update at UIUC! We’ve been hard at work with our steers every morning, bright and early! They’ve come a long way and are...
06/17/2026

Update at UIUC! We’ve been hard at work with our steers every morning, bright and early! They’ve come a long way and are almost ready for the “show ring”.

This past week, we helped with our first in vitro trial. Seeing the entire process firsthand was awesome, and it definitely kept us busy! We collected rumen samples from 137 steers and incubated them for 24 and 48 hours in a diet mixture. Afterward, we divided the samples into vials for testing microbiome, protozoa, volatile fatty acids (VFAs), NH₃, dH₂, and gas production. It was a very hands-on three days!
One trial down, four more to go!

I also received my summer research project, which will focus on identifying rumen protozoa in an efficient and timely manner while processing a high volume of samples. I’m excited to get started and can’t wait to share more about it in future posts.

Stay tuned for more updates!
– Hannah Huffman

Hello from Dixon Springs! This week I collected even more ticks for my research. I also helped the other girls hand feed...
06/17/2026

Hello from Dixon Springs! This week I collected even more ticks for my research. I also helped the other girls hand feed some of the herds. I had the privilege to judge quilting and scrapbooking for the Pope/Hardin County 4H fair! I loved getting to meet all of the kids and see their amazing projects. I’m looking forward to working and collecting ticks from more cattle this coming week. Be on the lookout for one of my educational posts comparing anaplasmosis and theileria in cattle from University of Illinois Beef Cattle Extension (also pictured is the amazing chocolate sourdough bread I made for my roommates)

-Susan

Good morning from Dixion springs! It’s been a hot and very humid week, but we are working as hard as ever! Working cattl...
06/13/2026

Good morning from Dixion springs! It’s been a hot and very humid week, but we are working as hard as ever! Working cattle is something very new to me, and it feels like a very fun pit crew from nascar. With fly tagging, giving vaccines, dewormer, and even making tags, which I am not artistic to do at all. It’s a smooth flowing process when all goes right. I’m way better at building a fence line than writing anything for tags, whoops. We also got the opportunity to help judge the local county 4H club. I got to do the gardening section which brings me back to my time in 4H. Helping the kids give feedback and seeing all of their hard work pay off. It was such an amazing experience to help the community and see the people that help make it special. Time to get back on the pit crew and continue the hard work for next week!
- Lydia Bennett

Checking back in from the Orr Center!This week, we worked all of the yearling and first-calf heifers through the chute t...
06/12/2026

Checking back in from the Orr Center!

This week, we worked all of the yearling and first-calf heifers through the chute to fly tag, deworm, and ultrasound them. Watching the ultrasound process was especially interesting since it was something I had never experienced before.

We also gave the calves in the dry lots their first round of vaccinations and banded them in preparation for an upcoming weaning study.

Along with working cattle, I've been helping with pasture management, rotating cattle to fresh grass, and bagging forage samples from a cover crop study for lab analysis.

Be sure to check out my new blog post at:�https://ibeliefundergraduateprogram.wordpress.com

-Wyatt

Hello again! This week at Dixon Springs, we’ve started the lengthy process of working all the cows, giving them vaccines...
06/12/2026

Hello again! This week at Dixon Springs, we’ve started the lengthy process of working all the cows, giving them vaccines, fly tags, and dewormer, finishing a few groups each day. It can get very hot and humid down here, so we work the cows in the morning before it gets too hot for them. This leaves the afternoons for other projects around the DSAC campus, including building new fences, drying f***l samples, and grinding them up for analysis later.

-Elizabeth Colburn

Back again from Macomb! This week, we started drying our grass samples and organizing bags from different plots and sect...
06/12/2026

Back again from Macomb! This week, we started drying our grass samples and organizing bags from different plots and sections. I had the opportunity to administer CIDR inserts to two cows for estrous cycle synchronization. The Trennepohls went out of town this week, so we were tasked with taking care of their farm and show stock at their home. We rinsed their show steer twice a day and walked and rinsed their goats every other day. We also moved some cattle at the Kerr Farm, put up new temporary hot wire, and took down some old fencing. Excited to continue our research next week!

- Makenzie Buchta

Hello from Dixon Springs again! This week we started the long process of working all the cows. At Dixon Springs there is...
06/12/2026

Hello from Dixon Springs again! This week we started the long process of working all the cows. At Dixon Springs there is 1,049 head of cattle so we have our work cut out for us for the next couple of weeks. When working cattle we give them all their vaccines, dewormer, and fly tags. Since we run each cow through the chute we are able to pick out any cows that may need a little extra TLC and treat them appropriately. We have also started drying and grinding our f***l samples we collected to measure the amount of dry matter in them. I am always excited for the new adventure each day brings!

-Alexis

Hello everyone! My third week with IBELIEF has been an eventful one.I have started on my tick research! Monday, I was ab...
06/12/2026

Hello everyone! My third week with IBELIEF has been an eventful one.

I have started on my tick research! Monday, I was able to collect ticks from 53 cows. I then processed all of these samples to be sent off for analysis. I have been working on beef cattle extension education posts to raise awareness for anaplasmosis and theileria for producers. I had the privilege of attending the annual fruit growers association meeting at Rader Family Farms where I learned more about agritourism and marketing strategies.

I can’t wait to see what next week looks like! Go check out my first blog at ibeliefundergraduateprogram.wordpress.com
-Susan

These past couple weeks here on the UIUC campus have definitely kept us busy! Between working steers, fly tagging the pa...
06/07/2026

These past couple weeks here on the UIUC campus have definitely kept us busy! Between working steers, fly tagging the pasture cows, and working daily on halter breaking our steers, there’s always something to get done and something new to learn. We’ve also been prepping and practicing for our first rumen fluid collection day next week, which I’m really excited for!
This week we even had the opportunity to attend the Illinois Beef Association Annual Meeting in Springfield and hear from industry professionals from across the state. It’s been an awesome start to the summer and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer brings us!

- Miranda Klingler

Hey everyone! Checking in from Macomb, IL. What an exciting first two weeks! I’ve spent my time helping fix fence, vacci...
06/06/2026

Hey everyone! Checking in from Macomb, IL. What an exciting first two weeks! I’ve spent my time helping fix fence, vaccinate and deworm sheep, wash show cattle, clean up the barns, tear out old fencing, and draw some blood on heifers for pregnancy checks. I also have been getting items in check to start a digestibility study next week which I’m very excited for! We also traveled to the Illinois Beef Association Conference and got to hear informational presentations about trace mineral usage, bull management, and my personal favorite the New World Screwworm. I can’t wait to learn more next week!

-Makenzie Buchta

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