Associated Press
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 11, 1998

UA scientist dead at 77

TUCSON (AP) - William Harris Hale, a University of Arizona scientist credited with revolutionizing the cattle industry in the West, has died. He was 77.

Hale died Sunday night after a long battle with heart problems.

After graduating from the University of Kentucky in 1946 and earning his doctorate degree in biochemistry and animal nutrition at the University of Wisconsin in 1950, Hale joined the University of Arizona in 1960 as a full professor of animal sciences and nutrition in the College of Agriculture.

He taught and conducted nationally recognized research in cattle nutrition until his retirement in 1985. It was at the UA that Hale developed a major breakthrough credited with saving Western cattle ranchers millions of dollars in feeding costs.

In the late 1960s, he devised a steam-processing and flaking technique for grain that significantly increased the value of the grain purchased by ranchers, cutting animal feeding costs by as much as 15 percent.

Hale, who won numerous awards, wrote more than 60 scientific articles in the field of ruminant nutrition research, plus numerous articles in popular industry publications. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Margaret; one brother; five daughters; three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

Funeral plans were pending.