Contact: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, b-fannin@tamu.edu
COLLEGE STATION — Brant Poe has joined the Texas A&M University department of animal science as a lecturer and will transition into coordinating the Texas A&M Livestock Judging Team in 2013, according to Dr. Russell Cross, department head.
Poe will be responsible for teaching livestock evaluation, general animal science and meat evaluation, and will begin working with members of the junior livestock judging team this fall in preparation for the start of the 2013 spring competition season.
Brant Poe
Poe will work in cooperation with Jake Franke. Franke has served as livestock judging team coordinator since 2009 and will continue to coordinate the 2012 senior livestock judging team this fall with the assistance of Jake Thorne as coach. Franke is due to graduate from Texas A&M with a doctorate in animal science this December and has accepted a position with XF Enterprises as a manager of the company’s supply chain management program in Amarillo.
“The Texas A&M Livestock Judging Team is one of the strongest in the country and for this we can thank the talented leadership,” Cross said. “We are excited to bring Brant Poe on board. His proven record of success at Blinn College along with his experience in livestock judging at Texas A&M makes him highly qualified to lead our program and continue the tradition of excellence.”
Cross said Franke has provided the team with “outstanding leadership and knowledge.”
“Under his direction, the team has won numerous national competitions and continued to set the standard for livestock judging across the country,” he said. “We are proud of what he’s done for our livestock judging program and what he’s accomplished academically. We only wish the best for Jake as he enters the next step in his career.”
Since 2002, Poe has worked at Blinn Junior College in Brenham as an animal science instructor and as coach and coordinator of the livestock judging team. As an instructor, he taught introduction to animal science and livestock evaluation courses. Poe led the livestock judging team to numerous championship finishes at national competitions including the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, San Antonio Livestock Exposition, the National Western Stock Show and the Southwestern Exposition. In 2009 and 2011, Poe was named Junior College Coach of the Year by the National Junior College Coaches Association.
A two-time graduate of Texas A&M University, Poe earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 2000 and a master of education in agriculture education in 2003. As an undergraduate student, Poe was a member of the 1999 National Champion Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Team. That same year, he finished in the top 10 at eight intercollegiate national contests.
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