Brad was raised on a cow-calf farm in Reynolds, Georgia where his family operated a herd of commercial cows. Brad attended junior college at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural college in Tifton, Georgia where he received an AS in biology along with taking the required courses for enrollment into the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. While at UGA, Brad was a student worker at the UGA Meat Science Technology Center. Brad completed his BSA in Animal Science in 2007, and his MS in Animal Science with an emphasis in meat science. While in graduate school at UGA, Brad continued to work in the Meat Science Technology Center as the assistant meat lab manager. His thesis project involved the effects of feeding market dairy cows Zilmax® and measuring the effects on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and tenderness. Brad received his Ph.D. in Animal Science with emphasis in Meat Science/Muscle Biology at the University of Illinois. While at UofI Brad has conducted and completed projects centered around genetic influences on loin quality in pigs, effects of health status on tenderness in finishing pigs, and shelf-life and sensory characteristics studies of bacon from frozen bellies. Brad is currently employed with Smithfield Foods.
