Two MSU Students on Winning Teams at First Midwest Dairy Challenge Contest

posted on February 22, 2005 11:19am

Contact:  Laura Probyn

EAST LANSING, Mich.—Two Michigan State University (MSU) students were among those earning top honors recently at the first Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge, held in Calmar, Iowa. Dairy production sophomore Andrew Kobe of Owosso, Mich., and animal science senior Joe Tarkowski of Belding, Mich., participated on teams that were designated platinum performers in the contest, which ran Jan. 27-29.

The Midwest regional contest is designed to introduce young people to the roles that consultants play on dairy farms and to enhance development of teamwork skills by placing students on teams with students from other universities.

Working in four- or five-person teams, students assessed all aspects of a working dairy farm and presented recommendations for improvement to a panel of judges and the participating farm families. The contest, held at the Dairy Center of the Northeast Iowa Community-Based Dairy Foundation, featured 63 participants from eight schools: Iowa State University, MSU, North Dakota State University, South Dakota State University, the University of Illinois, the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and Northeast Iowa Community College.

In addition to Kobe and Tarkowski, MSU students Brad Curtis (Williamston), Jessica Hammond ( Sparta), Steve Herr ( Kendallville, Ind.), Aron Jaskolski (Alpena), Jamie Perry (Haslett), Bryce Slavik (Ashley), Molly Yonkman (McBain) and Nate Zuiderveen ( Falmouth) also competed.

The Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge prepares students for the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge to be held in Pennsylvania in April.

The North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC) was developed by university and industry professionals 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. Supported financially through industry donations and coordinated by a volunteer steering committee, the first NAIDC took place at MSU in April 2002.

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