The ninth annual Midwest Dairy Challenge, which ran February 6-8, 2013, attracted 79 students from 19 universities and colleges to the event hosted in Manitowoc, Wis., by Lakeshore Technical College.
Dairy Challenge is an innovative dairy analysis competition developed by industry and university professionals, which exposes students to opportunities in a vibrant dairy industry. Working in 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 participating farm families.
This year’s contest drew students from Chippewa Valley Technical College, Dordt College, Fox Valley Technical College, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Lakeshore Technical College, Michigan State University, Northeast Iowa Community College, Purdue University, South Dakota State University, Southwest Technical College, The Ohio State University, University of Illinois, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Platteville and UW-Madison Farm and Industry Short Course.
Students visited one of two dairies for on-farm analysis. Host Farm 1 was Soaring Eagle Dairy, Newton, Wis., owned by Jim and Sandie Fitzgerald and daughters Kelly, Julie and Stacy, while Farm 2 was Meadowbrook Dairy, Manitowoc, Wis., owned by the Pete and Shellie Kappelman family.
After farm visits, the student teams developed questions for herd owners, who then answered questions about their farming operations from all students and judges. Armed with detailed production and financial paperwork, as well as their own observations, the participants developed a presentation including recommendations to improve profitability.
Judges chose two teams as 1st place winners, Team Select Sires from Farm 1 and Team Virtus Nutrition from Farm 2. Individuals on the winning Team Select Sires were Ben Thorpe, University of Minnesota; Samantha Mamarow, Michigan State University; Alaina VanWesten, Northeast Iowa Community College; Trisha Blaser, University of Wisconsin-River Falls; and Sara McCullough, Purdue University. Individuals on Team Virtus Nutrition included Jordan Hanson, Iowa State University; Vernon Oostra, Dordt College; Dillan Schumacher, Northeast Iowa Community College; Nick Miles, Lakeshore Technical College; and Katie Haerr, University of Illinois.
Source: Dairy Challenge