Sent on behalf of NAIDC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Josh Hushon
Midwest NAIDC Publicity Chairperson
Phone: (920) 563-5551
Fax: (920) 563-7298
Email: jhushon@hoards.com

Midwest Dairy Challenge head to South Dakota State in year 2

The Second Annual Midwest Dairy Challenge will be held Jan. 26-28, 2006, at the Brookings Inn and Convention Center, Brookings, S.D. This year’s host will be faculty, staff, and students from South Dakota State University (SDSU) who will welcome teams to one of the nation’s fastest growing dairy areas.
“ Our dairy industry in South Dakota has seen tremendous growth in the past five years,” said Arnold Hippen, assistant professor in the dairy science department at SDSU. “We are excited about the opportunity to welcome students from across the Midwest into some of our state’s most progressive farms.”
The three-day event is packed with educational programs for students, as well as opportunities to network with industry professionals, many of who will be looking for potential interns and employees. Working in four- or five-person, mixed-university teams, students will get to assess all aspects of a working dairy farm and present their recommendations for improvement to a panel of judges and the participating farm families.
“ Holding a regional contest in the Midwest provides more students exposure to the Dairy Challenge concept,” explained Kylie Daniels, manager of field research for ADM Alliance Nutrition Inc., in Decatur, Ind. Daniels is the Midwest NAIDC Chairperson. “They are introduced to the competition in an educational setting that still holds the basic competitive nature of the national contest. Furthermore, students are placed on mixed teams and create friendships, which will prove to be valuable contacts in the future.”
Students will arrive on the evening of the first day and participate in team-building activities, as well as listen to presentations from several industry consultants on how they go about their daily work. Armed with information about nutrition, reproduction, milking procedures, animal health, housing and financial management, teams head out to the farms on day two to get a firsthand look at how the dairy they are evaluating runs its business. Later that afternoon, students have a chance to interview the dairy’s owners and managers to get any final questions they have about the farm answered before forming their recommendations. That day concludes with an informal dinner with sponsors and planning committee members where students have the opportunity to interact with industry professionals. Day three gets rolling early with team presentations, which are followed by judges’ questions and critique. A short award ceremony wraps up the event.
An entry form must be completed and postmarked by Dec. 1, 2005, to American Dairy Science Association, 1111 North Dunlap Avenue, Savoy, IL 61874. An entry fee of $50 must accompany each entry.
More than 60 participants from eight different schools competed at the inaugural contest, held last January in Calmar, Iowa. Schools represented included Iowa State University, Michigan State University, North Dakota State University, South Dakota State University, University of Illinois, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and the host school, Northeast Iowa Community College. Contest organizers are anxious to see the event grow and are actively recruiting more students and teams for the 2006 event.
Monetary and in-kind sponsorships are welcome. Defined monetary levels are $500 for Bronze, $1,000 for Silver, $2,500 for Gold, and $5,000 or more for Platinum. If a company wishes to provide a Platinum in-kind sponsorship, they must contribute at least one-half of their sponsorship in cash or reduce NAIDC expenses by $5,000 or more. Bronze, Silver and Gold sponsorships for in-kind contributions do not need to have cash as a portion of the sponsorship, but must be valued at designated levels. To become a sponsor, contact Kylene Anderson of ABS Global at (608) 846-1443 or kanderson@absglobal.com. All contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.
Generous support from corporate sponsors makes the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC) possible. In 2005, platinum sponsors included: ABS Global, Bioproducts Inc., Cargill Animal Nutrition, Dairy Records Management Systems, DairyBusiness Communications, Genex Cooperative Inc., Monsanto Dairy Business, Select Sires Inc., Soy Best, West Central Soy, Ag Enhance Program of NE Farm Credit, Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition Group, Dairy Herd Management, Dairy One, Diamond V Mills, Elanco Animal Health, Farm Credit System Foundation, Pfizer Animal Health, Agway Foundation and Northeast Dairy Producers Association. Gold sponsors included: Alta Genetics, Prince Agri Products Inc., Zinpro Corp., Ag Choice Farm Credit, Bou-Matic, Hubbard Feeds Inc., Land O'Lakes Feed, Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit ACA, Morgan&Myers Inc., Renaissance Nutrition, ReQuest Ltd. and Valley Ag Software.
NAIDC was established as a management contest to incorporate all phases of a specific dairy business. It strives to incorporate a higher-learning atmosphere with practical application to help prepare students for careers in the dairy industry. Supported financially through generous donations by industry and coordinated by a volunteer steering committee, the first NAIDC was held in April 2002.

South Dakota State University / Dairy Science Department
Dairy Microbiology Rm 109 / Phone: 605-688-4116
College of Agricultural and Biological Sciences