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Students Receive Gold Rating at Dairy Challenge
APRIL 22, 2005--A team of four students from the University of Wisconsin-River
Falls competed in the Fourth Annual North American Intercollegiate Dairy
Challenge (NAIDC), a two-day competition to test students' knowledge of
the dairy industry as applied to real a dairy farm setting.
Some 26 teams from across the United States and one team from Canada gathered
in State College, Penn., on April 8-9 to compete in the contest hosted
by Penn State University.
The
2005 UW-RF team consisted of (seated, L to R): Glen Groth, a senior dairy
science major from Dakota, Minn. and Michelle King, a senior dairy science
major from Edgar, Wis. and (standing, L to R:) Charles Henn, a senior
dairy science major from Shawano, Wis., and Luke Buttles, a senior agricultural
education major from Black Creek, Wis.
On the first day of the competition, teams received background information
about one of three designated working dairies, including production and
farm management data. After an in-person inspection of their assigned
dairy, participants interviewed the herd managers. Each team then developed
a farm analysis and presentation materials, including recommendations
for nutrition, reproduction, milking procedures, animal health, housing
and financial management.
On the second day, team members presented their recommendations for their
dairy to a panel of judges from the dairy industry and fielded questions
from the judges.
Presentations were evaluated based on the team's analysis and recommendations
for their assigned dairy. The top three teams at each dairy received a
platinum placing. The following three teams received a gold award, and
the remaining three teams from each dairy received a silver award.
"It's a good competition and a great experience for the students,"
notes Larry Baumann, UW-RF dairy science professor and team coach. "I
was proud of the team. They had a quality presentation and competed against
teams from many top agricultural universities."
The UW-RF team's gold rating at the NAIDC can be attributed to each student's
personal dairy experience, and their education and coaching help from
UW-RF dairy science professors Steven Kelm, Perry Clark, Dennis Cooper,
and Baumann.
The NAIDC was established as a management contest to incorporate all phases
of a specific dairy business. It strives to incorporate a higher-learning
atmosphere with practical application to help prepare students for careers
in the dairy industry.
The NAIDC is made possible through support from corporate sponsors. In
2005 platinum sponsors included: ABS Global Inc., Ag Enhance Program of
NE Farm Credit and CoBank, Agway Foundation, Inc., Alltech, Arm &
Hammer Animal Management Systems, DairyBusiness Communications, Diamond
V Mills, Elanco Animal Health, Farm Credit System Foundation Inc., Genex
Cooperative Inc., Monsanto Dairy Business, Northeast Dairy Producers Association,
Pfizer Animal Health, Select Sires Inc., Soy Best, and West Central Soy.
Gold sponsors include: AgChoice Farm Credit, Alta Genetics Inc., Bou-Matic,
Land O'Lakes Purina Feed LLC, MidAtlantic Farm Credit, Morgan&Myers
Inc., Pennsylvania Dairymen's Association, Prince Agri Products Inc.,
Renaissance Nutrition Inc., ReQuest Ltd., Vermont DHIA, WestfalioSurge
Inc., and Zinpro Corp.
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