Congratulations to the winning college teams of the seventh Annual Midwest Dairy Challenge! Held February 9-11, 2011, the contest had 68 students from 16 universities and colleges.
The Dairy Challenge is an innovative competition developed by industry and university professionals, which exposes students to opportunities in a vibrant dairy industry. This year is the tenth anniversary of the national contest, the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge, which will be held March 31-April 2 in Hickory, North Carolina. The regional competitions allow students to gain experience in dairy analysis. Working in four- or five-person, mixed-university teams, students at the Midwest Dairy Challenge assessed all aspects of a working dairy farm and presented recommendations for improvement to a panel of judges and the participating farm families.
This year’s contest was held in Menomonie, Wisc. It drew students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Iowa State University, the University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, the University of Illinois, South Dakota State University, The Ohio State University, Kansas State University, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Purdue University, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Northeast Iowa Community College, UW Farm and Industry Short Course, Lakeshore Technical College, Chippewa Valley Technical College, and Northcentral Technical College.
The students were led on farm tours of two dairies located in the Menomonie area by Midwest Dairy Challenge Committee members. After the tours, the students had time to meet with their teams and develop questions for the herd owners. Armed with detailed production and financial paperwork from the farms, as well as their own observations, the participants developed a presentation about what they saw and suggestions for improvement.
Judges chose two teams as platinum winners, the contest’s highest distinction. The individuals who comprised these teams are: Wesley Vanderstappen – Northeast Iowa Community College; Danielle Brown – UW-Madison; Ethan Ulness – UW Farm and Industry Short Course; Melissa Schmitt – Iowa State University; Karen Anderson – University of Minnesota; Heather Lammers – Lakeshore Technical College; Eric Sneller – Michigan State University; Scott Felten – UW Farm and Industry Short Course; Joseph Ploeckelman – UW-River Falls.