The University of Minnesota’s national dairy contest team took home first place at the 16th North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge held in Visalia, Calif., March 30 to April 1.

According to Marcia Endres, U-M dairy professor and team coach, 230 undergraduate students from 37 colleges participated in the event, along with seven dairy farms.

“Dairy Challenge is a unique, real-world experience where dairy students work as a team and apply their college coursework to evaluate and provide practical solutions for an operating dairy farm,” Endres says. “In Visalia, two programs ran concurrently — the 16th national Dairy Challenge contest and the fifth annual Dairy Challenge Academy.” At both, dairy students worked to improve their dairy management and communication skills, networked with other students and explored industry careers, she adds.

The national challenge contest drew 34 universities whose four-person teams competed for awards based on their farm analysis and appropriate solutions. Each team farm presentation was evaluated by a panel of five judges, including dairy producers, veterinarians, finance specialists and seasoned agribusiness personnel.

On the winning U-M national contest team were Johanna Knorr of Pelican Rapids, Andrew Krause of Buffalo, Fred Mansfield of Kerkhoven and Lance Sexton of Millville.

“Judges were very impressed by the team’s assessment and presentation,” Endres says. “The dairy producer attending the presentation also told the team that their recommendations were really practical. I was very proud of the students. It was an outstanding performance by the team.”

U-M students work hard to thoroughly prepare for the challenge, according to Endres. Students on the team are required to take Endres’ dairy production class in the spring. One major assignment for class is to conduct dairy farm evaluations. The team had additional practice this spring when they made three additional dairy farm visits to evaluate dairy farms and practice giving presentations. Plus, a specialist from the U-M Center for Farm Financial Management visited with the team to discuss farm financials.

“The students also had to do a lot of reading and study current dairy topics in order to prepare,” Endres says.

Four other U-M students also had the opportunity to participate in the Dairy Challenge Academy, an interactive training experience that allows students to work in small groups to assess the dairy farms and develop recommendations. The U-M students participating in the academy were Ethan Dado, Trent Dado, Maddie Lindahl and Austin Schmitt.

Over its 16-year national history, Dairy Challenge has helped prepare more than 5,000 students for careers as farm owners and managers, consultants, researchers, veterinarians, or other dairy professionals.

The next national event also will be hosted in Visalia April 12-14. Four regional events are held in late fall and winter. Details are at dairychallenge.org.