Illinois student earns national FFA award

Dinderman places second in Dairy Cattle Handlers Activity

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INDIANAPOLIS — Alaina Dinderman of Orangeville, Illinois, earned a pair of national honors at the National FFA Convention & Expo Oct. 23-26 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The senior from Orangeville High School took second in the Dairy Cattle Handlers Activity and was a national finalist for the National FFA Agricultural Proficiency Award–Dairy Production Entrepreneurship. These are her first national awards.

Students in the Dairy Cattle Handlers Activity present animals for evaluation as part of the Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Management Career Development Event. Handlers earn recognition for their ability to set up their assigned animal to its best advantage, maintain the animal in its most advantageous position, exhibit effective restraint and move the animal as requested by the event ringmaster.

Agricultural Proficiency Awards honor FFA members who, through supervised agricultural experiences, have developed skills they can apply to their future careers. For the Dairy Production Entrepreneurship competition, members own an enterprise or business and apply best management practices to efficiently produce and market dairy cattle, including the raising of breeding animals for dairy purposes and products.

Dinderman was one of four to earn national finalist honors. She was joined by Summer Hammann of Barron, Wisconsin, Paige House of Preble Shawnee, Ohio, and Cade Claycomb of Trenton, Missouri.

In the dairy production proficiency category, Dinderman created a ledger for her animals, tracking expenses and income and details of specific animals within her family’s herd.

“I have 15 animals in my record book,” Dinderman said. “Those are animals that I consider mine on the farm. They’re raised the same as the rest of the herd, I just keep a separate record.”

This was her fourth year entering her record book into the dairy production proficiency award, and each year she’s finished better than the previous year.

“I’ve had a lot of people look over my record book since I started competing,” Dinderman said. “My aunt, Lisa Oellerich, is an agriculture teacher at Scales Mound, so having advice from her and other ag teachers from the area was very helpful.”

In the Dairy Cattle Handlers Activity, Dinderman leaned on her family and experience showing cattle.

“I’ve been showing calves since I was 3,” Dinderman said. “I learned a lot of my showmanship skills through those experiences.”

Dinderman attributes her work ethic to the time spent on her family farm, which she thinks was a direct contributor to her success this fall.

“A big influence on me has been showmanship and being involved in the dairy industry,” Dinderman said. “My parents did a great job of getting me involved in that. I also think my aunt was a big influence on the proficiency award. I wouldn’t have had the success I had without her and I’m really thankful to them (for guiding) me.”

Another element to her success was learning from new people. After qualifying for the national events, Dinderman went to the National FFA Convention & Expo before the rest of her Orangeville FFA Chapter.

“I got to meet up with another chapter that was from New York,” Dinderman said. “I had known them from the past and they brought me in with their group. It was really fun to talk to and hang out with the New York kids. I was surprised how many of them lived on farms too.”

Part of that group that fostered Dinderman included Olivia Vanevera of the Cobleskill-Richmondville FFA Chapter, who was the winner of the Dairy Cattle Handlers Activity.

“It was great to compete with Olivia,” Dinderman said. “It was great to see the differences from our farms and the differences in breeds that we show. That’s one of the cool things about convention, getting to meet and connect with new people from around the country.”

The dairy industry has always been part of Dinderman’s life, but her experience in the competitions and her time at the convention have helped her put those experiences into perspective.

“I’ve been given a lot of opportunities that have had an impact on me,” Dinderman said. “Participating in those activities, making friends, expanding my network, helps you realize how beneficial the dairy industry can be in someone’s life. … I can see the worth that the dairy industry has because others don’t get the experiences I have.”

At home, the Dindermans milk 60 cows in a tiestall barn. Alaina has a hand in many aspects of the farm but is especially part of feeding calves and the show heifers.

“I really like showing animals and watching the heifers grow up and become productive members of the herd,” Dinderman said.

Along with handling duties on her parents’ farm, Dinderman also plays basketball and softball at Orangeville High School.

By winning the national awards, Dinderman earned scholarships she can use to help further her education. She is planning to attend Highland Community College and earn an associate’s degree before transferring either to the University of Wisconsin–Platteville or Virginia Polytechnic State University for animal or dairy science on a pre-vet track.

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