LIVERPOOL, N.Y. – Students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Dairy Science won top honors at the national Dairy Challenge, which was held April 7-9 in Syracuse, N.Y.
The contest included teams of four students each from 32 universities. The team from UW-Madison included Elizabeth Endres, of Waunakee, Wis., Cody Getschel, of Osceola, Wis., Megan Opperman, of Rockford, Ill., and Olivia Peter, of Lake Mills, Wis. They were coached by Ted Halbach, faculty associate in dairy management, and David Combs, professor of dairy nutrition and management.
Dairy Challenge is an applied dairy management competition that involves students analyzing a commercial farm and presenting their observations and management recommendations to a panel of industry professionals. Judges include dairy producers, veterinarians, farm finance specialists and agribusiness personnel.
“We are very proud of our Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge team for their fine performance in New York,” said Kent Weigel, chair of the Department of Dairy Science. “On behalf of the department, I would like to also thank the event sponsors and planning committee for providing such an excellent, hands-on learning experience for our students.”
In addition to UW-Madison, first place team awards went to California Polytechnic State University, Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Each member of the winning teams received $200 scholarships.
