Ryan D. Rhoades was born in South Whitley, Indiana. Ryan received his B.S. degree in Animal Science from Oklahoma State University in 2001, and was employed by Express Ranches Limousin cattle division to assist with daily operations. Ryan then obtained his M.S. degree in Meat Science from Texas A&M University in 2004. Ryan recently completed a Ph.D. in Beef Cattle Production at Texas A&M University, while concurrently working on an additional M.S. degree in Ag Economics. Texas A&M University provided Ryan with the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects designed to help producers make better risk management decisions throughout all segments of the beef industry. Ryan’s Ph.D. research projects ranged in scope from looking at the impact of dietary energy source on fat accretion; to the use of ultrasound technology in predicting a targeted compositional endpoint. Specifically, these projects included alternative ways to mitigate cost and value risk through process control strategies. Additionally, Ryan’s economic training allowed him to explore the dynamics of the live cattle market and the opportunity to construct business plans for private firms and formulate solutions for challenging case studies using unique forecasting and modeling techniques.
Education

A.S. in Agriculture Science, Black Hawk East Jr. College – 1997
B.S. in Animal Science, Oklahoma State University – 2001 
M.S. in Meat Science, Texas A&M University – 2004 
Ph.D. in Animal Science, Texas A&M University – 2008 
M.S. in Agriculture Economics, Texas A&M University – 2009