ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S. — The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) announced on July 13 that it recognized three animal nutritionists during a recent conference of animal-science societies this week in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

George C. Fahey Jr., Ph.D., professor of animal sciences and nutritional sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, received the Federation of Animal Science Societies (FASS)-AFIA New Frontiers in Animal Nutrition Award, which is similar to a lifetime achievement award. This is the eighth consecutive year the AFIA sponsored the FASS award.


Arthur L. Goetsch, Ph.D., research leader of the E (Kika) de la Garza Institute for Goat Research of Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, U.S., received the Ruminant Animal Nutrition Award. The award is sponsored by the AFIA as part of its continuing awards program that dates back to 1948.

Brian J. Kerr, Ph.D., an animal scientist for the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), received the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Nonruminant Nutrition Research Award. The award is sponsored by the AFIA, as part of its continuing awards program that dates back to 1948.

The purpose of the New Frontiers in Animal Nutrition award is to stimulate, acknowledge and reward pioneering and innovative research relevant to the nutrition of animals that benefits mankind and the nutritional value of foods from animals. Among the qualities the award recipient must exhibit is an outstanding and innovative contribution to nutrition research concerning animals that benefits mankind and/or the nutritional value of food from animals.

Fahey has specialized in companion animal nutrition for UIUC since 1976. He has contributed to the areas of carbohydrate nutrition, with a special interest in the areas of dietary fiber, oligosaccharides, resistant starch and comparative nutrition in animal and human diets. Fahey’s research has helped the pet industry produce optimal animal food and feed.

Prior to his tenure at Langston which began in 1998, Goetsch was a research animal scientist with the Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Booneville, Arkansas, U.S. He has also served as professor of ruminant nutrition at the University of Arkansas.

Kerr is the research leader of the Agroecosystems Management Research Unit of ARS, the principal intramural scientific research agency of USDA where he has conducted his studies since 2001. His research for the USDA’s Enhanced Animal Production Systems to Increase Natural Resource Utilization and Reduce Environmental Impact Research Unit is conducted at the ARS National Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. Prior to ARS, he was the manager of swine service and formulations for Supersweet Feeds, and the research director for Nutri-Quest.