Big 10 Universities Claim Bragging Rights, MSU Brings Home Top Award From National Dairy Contest
5/1/08
Contact: Sara Long
517-432-1555, ext. 170
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State University (MSU) and three other Big 10 universities earned themselves a year’s worth of bragging rights after securing top place finishes in the seventh annual North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC) April 4-5 in Madison, Wis.
In addition to MSU, the University of Minnesota, the University of Illinois and Purdue University each won platinum awards at this year’s contest. Members of the first place teams each received a $200 scholarship.
Members of the team representing MSU were animal science juniors Christine Hadley, of Niles; Ashley Messing, Bad Axe; and Laura Zeldenrust, Fremont; and animal science senior Andrew Reinker, Horton. The team was coached by MSU animal science professors Herb Bucholtz and Miriam Weber Nielsen and animal science doctoral student Marcus Hollman.
Hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this year’s competition attracted a record 32 teams representing dairy-related programs at universities across the United States and Canada.
Weber Nielsen said the competition requires students to utilize skills and knowledge that they will use daily in future careers.
“Event organizers hope that the Dairy Challenge motivates students to apply what they have learned in a fun competition to better prepare themselves to help dairy producers after they graduate,” she said. “Students and sponsors also benefit from the numerous networking opportunities.”
During the two-day competition, contestants are challenged to analyze dairy operations by recalling basic dairy management principles and their practical application. In addition, students are tested on their organizational, time management, data analysis, public speaking, leadership and teamwork skills.
Working in teams, students conducted a walk-through of a working dairy farm before having an opportunity to ask the farm owner questions and review farm-specific data. Team members used this information to develop management recommendations that they presented to the herd owners and a panel of judges made up of five dairy industry representatives.
Team member Ashley Messing complimented the judges on using the competition as a teaching opportunity.
“The contest judges really helped us [contestants] understand how all the problems on a farm relate to one another. No part of a dairy can operate in its own bubble – each management area depends on the others so the farm can run as effectively and efficiently as possible,” she said.
“I’ve learned a lot from participating in the NAIDC,” Messing said. “I’ve learned many practical skills, such as how to critically evaluate an operation and determine how to solve problems or make improvements to help farm operations run more smoothly and profitably.”
“This year’s team provided a very thorough evaluation of their farm, identifying specific opportunities for improvement in some management areas and highlighting potential weaknesses in other areas where farm data was lacking,” Weber Nielsen said. “As coaches, we are extremely proud of how these four individuals came together this spring to strengthen their skills and learn how to work effectively as a team.
“After two second-place finishes in recent years, this is the first MSU team to place first in its farm division,” she said.
The NAIDC consists of four regional intercollegiate dairy management competitions -- Midwest, Northeast, Southern and Western -- and a national contest. Designed by dairy industry representatives and university faculty members and specialists, the event serves to increase students' knowledge and comprehension of dairy business management and prepare them for future careers in the dairy industry.
The NAIDC is supported financially through industry donations and coordinated by a volunteer board of directors. The first NAIDC took place in 2002. The 2009 NAIDC is scheduled for March 29-30 in Syracuse, N.Y.
For more information about the NAIDC, visit www.dairychallenge.org.
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