Wisconsin Ag Connection - UW-Platteville Team Places at National Dairy Challenge Event

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UW-Platteville Team Places at National Dairy Challenge Event
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 04/09/2014

A four-member team from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville earned a second place award in the annual national Dairy Challenge contest held in Fort Wayne, Indiana, this month. The contest allows participants to put their textbook knowledge to the ultimate test by consulting for an actual dairy operation.

Each university fielded a four-person team that competed without the aid of coaches or the Internet. Each team was assigned to one of four operating dairies that they were to analyze and provide recommendations to improve their profitability.

In addition to a walk-through of the assigned dairy, teams were provided with farm data, and had a question and answer session with the farm owners. Recommendations encompassed the areas of nutrition, reproduction, milking procedures, animal health, housing and financial management. On the third day of the event, the teams presented their recommendations to the farm owners and were evaluated by a panel of five judges including dairy producers, veterinarians, farm finance specialists and industry personnel.

Team members from the Platteville group included Sarah Endres, Josh Joseph, Levi Martin, and Darcy Steffes. The team was coached by Dr. Tera Montgomery.

In addition to the recognition, each team member received a $200 scholarship. This was the 13th year for the contest, which involved 264 students from 32 universities.

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