Dairy Challenge highlights future dairy leaders

With this month’s column, I’m straying from my typical themes of feeding and nutrition to highlight some of the best and brightest students from across the Midwest who represent the future of the dairy industry.

Last week, South Dakota State University hosted more than 120 students from 14 universities for the Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge. The event was supported by nearly 100 volunteers, including dairy producers, industry professionals and university staff and faculty, many of whom are Dairy Challenge alumni.

During this multiday event, students work in teams to apply theories and knowledge from the classroom to a real-world dairy.

Dairy Challenge started in 2002 with the first competition held at Michigan State University. Since then, more than 8,000 collegiate students have participated in the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge. The program has seen tremendous interest and growth, and it now encompasses four regional competitions across the country in preparation for the national contest in April.

At the national contest, teams of four students from the same university compete against other university teams. In contrast, for the regional competitions, participants are assigned to teams to work with students from different universities. Often, these students are meeting for the first time. While this can be challenging, it also is great for building crucial team development and communication skills needed once students enter the workforce.

This year’s host farm was MoDak Dairy near Watertown, South Dakota. We send a huge thank you to the Moes Family for opening their door to all these students. This also included sharing with participants the farm layout, herd health records, performance data, financial information and feed analysis and rations.

Students arrived at SDSU in Brookings, South Dakota, Wednesday evening and were split into their respective teams. Each team was assigned a mentor who served as a resource throughout the contest, not just for their respective team but for others who may need assistance. Additional roaming mentors were available as resources throughout the event as well.

On Thursday morning, students loaded buses and headed to MoDak Dairy. Each team strategized how to divide responsibilities and which areas to focus on while at the dairy. For the next couple of hours, students observed and took measurements across all aspects of the dairy, including the feed center, milking parlor, maternity area and dairy calf, heifer and cow barns. The on-farm time concluded with a question-and-answer session with owners and managers from MoDak Dairy.

Buses returned to the SDSU campus, and students had another opportunity to ask questions of the dairy. Teams used the next several hours to prepare PowerPoint presentations and submit them by 6 p.m. Simultaneously, a panel of 20 judges was tasked to prepare a final presentation with its key findings and recommendations. Judges represented five primary areas of expertise: financial, nutrition, reproduction, herd health (veterinarian) and management (dairy producer).

Friday was presentation day. There were four rooms with five judges in each room. Teams had 20 minutes to present their findings and answer questions. Upon completion of scoring, the teams received feedback from the judges. The day concluded with the judges’ presentations and awards for the top teams.

As a representative for MoDak Dairy, I was able to see several of the presentations. It is remarkable how a composite team of students from multiple universities with a wide range of skills and personalities could come together and deliver very professional presentations. Not all teams agreed on the top priorities and biggest opportunities for the dairy, but each did a great job of justifying their recommendations, including partial budgets.

These students represent the best and brightest across the Midwest and the future of our dairy industry. Many will seek employment in the industry and a high percentage will return to production agriculture and become managers and owners of progressive dairy operations.

Thank you to the SDSU coaches, Dr. Maristela Rovai and Lynn Boadwine, for their hospitality and efforts, along with all the Dairy Challenge committee members, judges, coaches and volunteers. I also want to recognize the students for taking the time to participate and stretch their skills. They are the future of our industry.

Barry Visser is a nutritionist for Vita Plus.