College of Agriculture

1995

Danny Simms

Dr. Danny Simms, a 1967 graduate of CSU, Chico, was named the School of Agriculture’s Outstanding Alumnus for 1995.

“The faculty and staff felt that Dr. Simms was the best representative for the school.  He distinguished himself among the other nominees,” said Dr. Thomas Dickinson, director of the School of Agriculture.

Simms remembers the professors who helped him through his college courses while at CSU, Chico. 

“I remember there were a lot of good teachers throughout the school, not only in agriculture, but in biology and chemistry as well, who helped me greatly,” Simms said.

Upon earning his Bachelor’s Degree in animal science from CSU, Chico, Simms went on to earn his Ph.D. in Genetics and Animal Breeding from Oregon State University in 1973.  After teaching in Colorado and Minnesota, Simms joined the faculty at Kansas State University in Manhattan in 1979 as an Extension Livestock Specialist.

He worked closely with the Kansas Livestock Association and members of the Agricultural Economics and Animal Science Departments to develop a state Integrated Resource Management (IRM) program. 

In 1992 his program received one of two Outstanding State IRM Awards given annually by the National IRM Coordinating Committee.

According to Simms, an integrated resource management program looks at all the resources available to the beef producer and develops a system to maintain sustainability within the environment relating to the animals, soil, feed, and other factors affecting the cow/calf enterprise.

His Standardized Performance Analysis project has been one of the most widely recognized extension educational efforts in the United States.  This project sets the standards for calculating a calf crop and the analysis of the extension effort for beef producers.

Simms currently maintains and distributes the Beef Research Progress Report Database, which contains more than 10,700 references to researchers, specialists, consultants, and industry personnel throughout the United States and Canada.

In 1994 he won the American Society of Animal Science Extension Award donated by the agricultural company, Pfizer Inc.

Simms said he is “extremely honored” to receive the Outstanding Alumnus award from the School of Agriculture. 

A banquet was hosted by University Associates, a university support group, as part of Founders Week festivities on April 27.  Outstanding alumni from each school and college on campus were honored.