Following the launch of the eighth annual edition of the College Aggies Online (CAO) scholarship program, the Animal Agriculture Alliance has announced a platinum sponsorship from Dairy Management Inc. (DMI).

“The animal agriculture industry needs strong social media users to communicate information about agriculture to consumers,” said Don Schindler, senior vice president of digital initiatives for DMI, which manages the national dairy check off. “College Aggies Online does a great job of engaging and mentoring the next generation of agriculture communicators for doing just that.”

DMI’s sponsorship will allow CAO participants to compete for scholarship funds throughout the nine-week competitive program, which helps college students to harvest their interests and grow their passions for animal agriculture.

Participants receive weekly training and instruction from industry experts and are able to demonstrate their skills through weekly tasks, such as writing blog posts, attending webinars hosted by industry experts, creating infographics and more. They are encouraged to connect on social media by posting about current and emerging issues facing farmers and ranchers, and are able to share personal stories and experiences on industry-related topics.

This is the third year DMI has sponsored CAO.

“We are so grateful for DMI’s platinum sponsorship of CAO,” said Kay Johnson Smith, Alliance president and CEO of the organization. “The consistent support from sponsors like DMI helps the Alliance to meet our goal of training the next generation of ‘ag-vocates’ and paving a strong future for animal agriculture.”

CAO registration remains open for both individuals and student organizations to be a part of this year’s competition. For registration information, visit this website