Murphy Earn W. D. Farr Scholarship“I am honored and humbled to receive the W.D. Farr Scholarship,” said Ryan Murphy, one of two recipients for 2009. “To me, the scholarship is a vote of confidence from my peers in what I have accomplished, in what I am pursuing academically, and in what I hope to achieve, and contribute as an industry professional.” 
Raised on his family’s purebred Charolais and Red Angus cattle operation in Alberta Canada, Murphy’s love for animal agriculture brought him to the University of Saskatchewan where he graduated with an undergraduate degree in Animal Science in 2004.Murphy is a current Ph.D. student in the College of Agricultural Sciences Department of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University. He came to CSU in 2005 to pursue his Master’s degree in the Meat Science Program, graduating in May 2008. “I chose to attend CSU for their internationally recognized Meat Science Program, which, among many areas of research, is dedicated to researching international red meat-related food safety issues,” explains Murphy. “The program has outstanding faculty and a tremendous reputation for the quality of its research and its graduates”. Murphy’s dissertation project is an export marketing survey of foreign companies that consume U.S. pork. He states that the goal is to estimate the willingness of foreign U.S. pork customers to pay for specific product attributes such as food safety, product eating quality, product packaging, customer service, etc. as a means to develop a ranking for the attributes that are important to companies when deciding to purchase imported pork products. “I believe that the transition to a globalized economy will continue, despite the global recession, and that foreign marketing will become an ever more important factor in North American beef and pork production,” comments Murphy. After completing his doctoral degree in December 2010, Murphy’s most immediate career goals include moving to Asia and working for a government agency, a non-profit trade organization, or a multinational company that’s focused on expanding trade opportunities in Asia for the benefit the North American red meat industry. Department of Animal Sciences Chair Bill Wailes states, “Ryan is a great kid and a great graduate student. I can’t say enough good things about him.” The scholarship that Ryan received was named in honor of that late W. D. Farr who was a visionary for the agricultural industry. He was dedicated to improving agriculture, livestock and water development. Two $12,000 scholarships are awarded each year to graduate students pursuing degrees in animal science, environmental science (primarily focused on water research), or agriculture. National in scope, the application states “the students must also reflect a drive for success and leadership in the tradition of W. D. Farr.” Murphy attributes this scholarship, as well as his many other awards and leadership roles to the quality of CSU’s Meat Science Program. He specifically points out the working relationships between the U.S. Meat Export Federation and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association “have provided him with countless opportunities to build real-world experience, while still a full-time student.” He believes this exposure is unrivaled by no other University in the nation. Murphy says, “I will be forever thankful for what Colorado State, and more specifically, for what the Department of Animal Sciences has given me.” |