Dr. Jessica Sperber has been named as the recipient of the 2025 American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Midwest Section Outstanding Young Extension Specialist Award, which will be presented during the 2025 ASAS Midwest Section Meeting on March 9-12 in Omaha, Neb.
Sperber was raised on her family’s 4th generation cow-calf and grain operation in Alberta, Canada. She attained her M.S. from West Texas A&M University and Ph.D. in feedlot nutrition from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She assumed the role of Extension Assistant Professor and Feedlot Specialist at University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the fall of 2022, and in her tenure, has made significant contributions to the beef feedlot sector, leading impactful programs such as the Feedlot Roundtables and Husker Beef Nutrition Conference. In 2024, her extension outreach directly impacted 1,680 individuals and indirectly reached over 128,000. Her dynamic social media presence fosters consumer engagement, and her leadership in industry initiatives enhance feedlot management efficiency and sustainability.
The ASAS Midwest Section Outstanding Young Extension Specialist Award recognizes an individual currently employed as an extension specialist by a state or federal service and is engaged in outreach education conducting programs in animal science. The individual actively works with people that produce livestock animals or with people in the meat industry and uses their connections to initiate and develop educational programs dedicated to increasing education in areas such as breeding, milk production, nutrition, management, physiology, and many other areas that promote the growth of the industry.
This award is sponsored by Purina Animal Nutrition.
