New beef cattle specialist joins MSU Extension

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Genevieve D’Souza joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service May 1 as a beef cattle specialist.

D’Souza, a native of Texas, brings her experience in ruminant nutrition to cattle producers in the central region as well as statewide. She is based at the Brown Loam branch of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station in Raymond where she also conducts research.

Her Extension educational programs and research will focus on improving cattle nutrition for pasture-raised cattle and other cattle production systems, including stockering and backgrounding.

“My goal is to help Mississippi cattle producers be more competitive in local and national markets. My plans are to investigate how producers can utilize their locally available resources, like forages and commodity products, to help them continue to grow healthy, safe and nutritious beef cattle,” said D’Souza, who is also an assistant professor in the MSU Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.

D’Souza earned a Bachelor of Science in microbiology from Texas Tech University. She holds a Master of Science in agricultural science from East Texas A&M University and a doctorate in animal science with a concentration in ruminant nutrition and microbiology from Texas A&M University.

She is a member of the American Society of Animal Science, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association, American Angus Association, American Hereford Association, Plains Nutrition Council and European Federation of Animal Science.

The Brown Loam Branch Experiment Station is one of three MAFES branches located in the central region and focuses on cattle, forage and agronomic crop research.