Fifty-five students from five western universities and one Canadian university competed in the sixth annual Western Regional Dairy Challenge March 3-5, 2011 in Fresno, Calif.
Hosted by Fresno State University, the Western Regional Dairy Challenge is an innovative management analysis competition developed by industry and university professionals from across the U.S.
A key objective of the dairy challenge is to present students with real-life situations that stress the importance of teamwork and professionalism. This contest is a hands-on event where students take what they have learned at the various schools and actually apply it to real-life situations, says Tami Tollennar, 2011 Western Regional Dairy Challenge Chair.
Participating universities at this year’s competition included: the University of Alberta (Canada), University of Idaho, Washington State University, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Texas A&M University and the California State University of Fresno.
The host farm for this year’s Western Regional Dairy Challenge was Diamond H Dairy a 4,500-cow operation in Chowchilla, Calif. Diamond H Dairy is owned by Greg and Jennifer Hooker.
Judges for this year’s competition were: Bud Keister with Cargill Animal Nutrition; Henry Tevelde, JVJ Dairies; Michael DeGroot with DeGroot Dairy Consulting; Claudio Ribeiro with Western Milling; Brian Mitchell with J.D. Heiskell & Company; Chad Wright with Walco Vet Outlet; and Scott Tripp with DHI- Provo.
Judges at this year’s competition agree that the dairy challenge is one of the best development tools for dairy science students to see and evaluate dairies and then be judged by recognized experts in the industry. “Students who participate in these events are our future industry leaders, dairy farmers and allied industry,” says Henry Tevelde, owner of JVJ Dairies and judge at this year’s competition. “It’s a Joy to see the quality of the students who participate each year.”
Receiving Platinum awards were:
Philip deVries – Washington State University, Jami Lady – California State University Fresno, Heather Fleck – University of Alberta, Jennifer Trice – Washington State University, Tyler Reynolds – University of Idaho
Receiving Gold awards were:
Edward DeJager – California State University Fresno, Keliesha Roth – University of Alberta, Jeff Blickenstaff – University of Idaho, Everet Leyendekker – California State University Fresno, Nicole Hoff – Texas A&M University.
Source: Dairy Challenge