W. Dean Frischknecht was an Extension Livestock Specialist in the Oregon State University Animal Sciences Department from 1956 until his retirement in 1985. Before he began his career at Oregon State, Frischknecht managed sheep and cattle for the Deseret Live Stock Company in Utah from 1946 to 1954. With graduate and undergraduate degrees in animal science from Utah State University, Frischknecht came to OSU with a combination of academic training and experience to work on livestock improvement programs and education. One of Frischknecht's legacies in Oregon is stronger ties between the Extension Service and Oregon cattle producers, leading to the creation of the Oregon Beef Cattle Improvement Association and, later, the Beef Cattle Improvement Committee of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association. In addition to preparation of numerous Extension Service publications, Frischknecht led and participated in field days and the annual Wasco Bull Grading Tour. Frischknecht remained active in the livestock community after his retirement by serving in the Oregon, Washington, and Northern Idaho Hereford Association and the Western Oregon Livestock Association. He also maintained a herd of cattle on a ranch near Redmond, Oregon, for a number of years.
From the guide to the W. Dean Frischknecht Papers, 1938-2009, 1959-1997, (Oregon State University Special Collections & Archives Research Center)
