92 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN February 2026 PEERS NC FOUNDATION AWARDS GRANTS, FRIEND OF THE FOUNDATION NEBRASKA BEEF INDUSTRY ENDOWMENT The Nebraska Beef Industry Endowment was established in December 2009 and provides grants to beef industry-related research and/or teaching positions at Nebraska post-secondary educational institutions. This award honors professors or instructors who are providing cutting-edge research and/or student instruction in a beef industry-related area. As the 2025 Nebraska Beef Industry Endowment recipient, Kelly Bruns, Ph.D., was awarded a $6,000 grant on behalf of the Nebraska Cattlemen Foundation. Bruns is a Nebraska native and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) graduate who returned to Nebraska to serve as the director of the West Central Research and Extension Center in 2014. His research has focused on cattle growth with an emphasis on carcass quality. He was recently appointed as the interim director of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA) where he is leading new initiatives to expand NCTA student experiences through learning by doing. During the Nebraska Cattlemen 2025 Annual Awards Banquet, the Nebraska Cattlemen Foundation (NCF) presented the Nebraska Beef Industry Endowment, the Nebraska Range and Conservation Endowment and the Friend of the Foundation award to three beef industry trailblazers. CONTINUED ON PAGE 94 Kelly Bruns, Ph.D., left, receives a plaque for the Nebraska Beef Industry Endowment grant that he received from the NC Foundation in 2025 from NCF President Loren Berger, right. Anthony Perlinski, Ph.D., left, receives a plaque for the Nebraska Range and Conservation Endowment grant that he received from the NC Foundation in 2025 from NCF President Loren Berger, right. Pete McClymont, left, receives the 2025 Friend of the Foundation plaque from NCF President Loren Berger, right, in recognition of his years of service to and support of the NC Foundation.
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