Dr. Charles R. Looney

Cattle have been a large part of Dr. Charles Looney’s life since he was a young boy in Camden. He is recognized internationally as an expert in cattle genetics and reproductive technologies. Dr. Looney spent 35 years in the industry in Iowa, California and Texas before returning to his home state in 2018 as a Cattle Improvement Specialist and Professor at the University of Arkansas, Department of Agriculture. His expertise centers on embryo transfer, invitro fertilization, cloning, timed breeding and on-the-farm use of these technologies to improve beef cattle genetics.

Looney earned Graduate degrees from the University of Arkansas and Louisiana State University. After serving as a scientist and consultant in the field for several years, he founded two cattle genetics companies in Texas, OvaGenix and Ultimate Genetics. While he was working for Granada Biosciences, he was part of the team that produced the first embryo-derived bovine clones. His work includes the world’s first transgenic cloned calves and the first cloned Brahman bull.

He has worked with cattlemen across the U. S. as well as Panama, Argentina, Australia, Hungary, The Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Mexico, India and Brazil. Looney earned the President’s Award for
Outstanding Service from the American Embryo Transfer Association in 2019 and the Advanced Graduate Award of Distinction from the Animal Science Department at the U of A in 2014. He received the Producer Education Award in 2022 from the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association.