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Graduate education in animal science prepares students to enhance the understanding of biology and to utilize this knowledge to increase animal productivity. The mentor is instrumental in the development of scientists and must be dedicated to success of students. The approach used to guide an inquisitive student into a productive researcher and educator is formulated from the experiences of the mentor. The training program that the mentor was exposed to, as well as experiences to identify activities that are successful, can result in a unique program to nurture and stimulate students. A dedication to a productive research program is essential for mentoring. Participation in research early in a graduate program is important and it helps students realize that their research can be innovative and exciting. Frequent meetings between students and mentors are essential and participation in data collection and analyses by the student and mentor are great teaching events. Students must have knowledge of the basic sciences and the discipline as well as their focused research area. A demanding and comprehensive graduate education is essential to expand the scientific development of the future generation of researchers and educators., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Fall calving (September to October) cows (n = 189 calvings in 5 replications; body weight [BW] = 626 ± 6 kg, body condition score [BCS] = 4.76 ± 0.06) grazing native dormant range were used to determine the effects of protein supplementation on performance and endocrine function of cows and calves. Cows were individually fed either a control (CON; 1.82 kg/d of 38% crude protein [CP]) or restricted (RES; 0.2 kg/d of 8% CP) protein supplement from mid-November to mid-March for 6 consecutive years. During each year, cows were reassigned dietary treatments according to calving date and BCS, and half of the CON and half of the RES cows remained on the same diets as the previous year and the other halves were assigned to the other diet. Statistical analyses were performed with the general linear model procedure utilizing a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement and a complete randomized design. Cows on CON diets lost less BW from November to January compared with RES cows (-25.9 ± 2.6 and -45.0 ± 2.6 kg, respectively; P < 0.001). Protein supplementation increased plasma concentrations of insulin of CON compared with RES cows during treatment (P < 0.05). Calf birth weight did not differ between prenatal supplemention of CON and RES (P = 0.87). A prenatal × postnatal effect was detected for BW of calves; prenatal RES and postnatal CON calves (RES-CON; 189.4 ± 4.2, P = 0.05) had greater 205-d adjusted weaning weights compared with prenatal RES and postnatal RES (RES-RES) and prenatal CON and postnatal RES (CON-RES) calves (163.0 ± 4.2 and 177.8 ± 4.2 kg, respectively). There was a prenatal × postnatal effect on gain of calves from January to weaning (P = 0.05); RES-CON gained more than RES-RES and CON-RES calves. Adjusted yearling 365-d BW was least (P = 0.02) for RES-RES calves. Prenatal protein supplementation of cows decreased (P = 0.03) final BW of calves at harvest (23 mo). Prenatal and postnatal supplementation of cows did not influence carcass characteristics of calves (P > 0.10). In conclusion, increasing protein supplementation of fall calving beef cows from November to March, during breeding and early pregnancy, reduced BW loss of cows, decreased the interval from calving to pregnancy, increased plasma concentrations of insulin in December, January, and March, and increased plasma insulin-like growth factor-I in December without alteration in pregnancy rate. Reduced protein supplementation prenatally increased BW of calves at harvest.