I had the great privilege and honor of meeting and working with a dynamic group of young people by serving as a judge for the 2010 Michigan Dairy Contest. The contest was held at the 2010 Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference in Frankenmuth, MI earlier this month, and before the competition actually began, the contestants participated in a morning session of round table discussions with the judges including myself, Kevin Dill and Debbie Kubacki.

Participants in the junior division of the competition included: Emily DeVooght, Amanda Carey and Sarah Michalek. Senior participants included: Melissa Erdman, Olivia DeVooght, Eric Sneller, Karmen Jackson and Chelsea Jones. (Photo provided by Celeste Laurent)

Together, we discussed career opportunities in the dairy industry, problems facing dairy producers today, ways to communicate our messages to consumers, ideas for promotional events and efforts to be made in working with policy makers. This is a great group of kids, and I truly enjoyed being a part of this event. The future of the dairy industry certainly looks bright!