Morrisville State College hosted a successful Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge that drew 111 students from 12 northeast colleges and two Canadian universities to Watertown, New York on October 27-29, 2011.
This event marked the ninth annual Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge which is an innovative, three-day educational competition designed to prepare students for careers in the dairy industry.
Working in mixed-university teams of four or five students, contestants assessed all aspects of a working dairy farm, including facilities, nutrition, financials, reproduction, animal health and much more. Students collaborated on a 20-minute team presentation that detailed their observations and suggestions to a panel of judges and participating farm families. Teams were ranked as platinum, gold or silver based on how well their evaluations matched the judges’ evaluations of the dairy operation.
Teams, which were named after top sponsors of the Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge, were ranked as follows:
Platinum – Farm Credit, Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative, Merck Animal Health and Zinpro Corporation
Gold – AgChoice Farm Credit, Alltech, Dairy One, Dairylea Cooperative, DSM Nutritional Products, Elanco Animal Health, Farm Credit Northeast Ag Enhancement, Genex Cooperative, Inc., Kent Nutrition Group and Select Sires, Inc.
Silver – ABS Global, Inc., Cargill, Inc., Cows Come First, Dairy One, Holtz-Nelson Dairy Consultants, New England Jersey Breeders Association, Northeast Ag & Feed Alliance, Northeast Dairy Producers Association, Shur-Gain, Table Rock Farm and Woody Hill Farm