Iowa State and UW-Platteville co-hosted this year’s Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge in Dubuque, IA, on February 15-17, 2023. Dairy Challenge is a farm evaluation competition focused on training the next generation of dairy leaders and connecting them with industry professionals. This year’s contest featured 97 students from 16 colleges and universities in the Midwest. Teams are aggregated across participating universities for regional contests. The host farms that students evaluated for the contest were Blue Hyll Dairy (Clinton, IA), Cinnamon Ridge Farms (Donahue, IA), and D Gaul Dairy (Peosta, IA).
In addition to the many alumni that served as volunteers, judges, and mentors for the event, all three host farms were managed and/or owned by ISU alumni. Additionally, two current ISU employees (Josh Peak and Dr. Cody Sacquitne) served as contest judges. Thirteen current ISU students competed in the contest, and two volunteered for the Social Media Corps. Tehya Demmer, Amber Engelken, Mason Jauquet, Madalyn Palmer, and Naomi Scott were all on teams that placed first or second in their judging panels. Students were coached by Dr. Gail Carpenter.
Iowa State will participate in the national contest and Dairy Challenge Academy in Saratoga Springs, NY, on March 30-April 1.
Image left to right:
Row 1 (front): Olivia Ruffner (social media corps), Torri Burch, Abigail Rogers, Naomi Scott, Nichole Gerard (social media corps)
Row 2: Samantha Fredin, Amber Engelken, Madalyn Palmer, Emma Guasta, Lydia Dunaway (graduate assistant)
Row 3: Gail Carpenter (coach), Nicole Gudenkauf, Irene Nielsen, Kinsee Lettinga
Row 4 (back): Mason Jauquet, Chaiden Duitscher, Tehya Demmer