Bill Dicke Named to Block and Bridle Hall of Fame

April 3, 2013

LINCOLN, Neb. — Bill Dicke of Lincoln will be honored as the 79th member of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Block and Bridle Hall Fame.

Dicke will be honored April 26 at the Block and Bridle Club Honors Banquet at 6 p.m. at the Nebraska East Union. Tickets to the banquet are $20 and can be purchased by calling Andi Hallberg by April 24 at 402-472-6440 or emailing ahallberg2@unl.edu. A reception for Dicke and his family, friends and past honorees will precede the banquet at 5:30 p.m.

The Block and Bridle Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made commendable contributions to Nebraska agriculture through leadership, service, youth projects and community activities.

Dicke, a lifelong Nebraskan and UNL animal science alum, has been a feedlot nutritional consultant since 1979.

His business, Cattlemen's Nutrition Services in Lincoln, is one of the largest independent consulting firms in the United States. During the past eight years, he has brought three young nutritionists, all UNL graduates, into his business. The company consults for about 130 clients in 13 states.

Dicke is a strong supporter of UNL and the Department of Animal Science, where he worked as an undergraduate and continues to be a collaborator on research whenever possible. He believes the department is critical to Nebraska's livestock industry, and his support for faculty and students has been demonstrated in many ways.

When the feedlot internship program was first conceived, he was an early supporter and promoter and continues to stay involved.

He initiated and was the lead fundraiser for the Klopfenstein Scholarship.

His latest endeavor, the Ruminant Nutrition Department Support Fund, has raised almost $250,000 along with a matching fund from the Kenneth and Caroline Eng Foundation, equaling almost half a million dollars to support teaching and research in this area.

He is a member of the American Society of Animal Sciences, American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists, Nebraska Cattlemen, Kansas Livestock Association, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, High Plains Nutrition Council, Nebraska Nutrition Roundtable, the UNL Alumni Association and charter member of the CASNR Alumni Association. He is a member of the Ag Builders and served on its board from 2005-2010, and he is a committee member of the Sustainable Animal Agriculture Campaign for Nebraska.

He has helped sponsor the Block and Bridle Steak Fry each fall and he is a former 4-H leader.

He and his wife, Laurie, have 2 daughters and 5 grandchildren and have hosted eight foreign exchange students.
The Department of Animal Science in UNL's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources is part of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.