University of Maine Team Receives Gold in North American Dairy Challenge

Front Row(L to R) - Phil Ferenczy, Dr. David Marcinkowski, Back Row - Trudy Robinson, Reagan Ames and Erica Harris

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., April 9, 2005 – The students from the University of Maine won a gold placing in a tie for Fourth at the Annual North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC) held April 8-9, 2005, in State College, Pa. Penn State University hosted the 2005 contest, with 26 teams from the United States and 1 team from Canada competing.

 The team of seniors from the University of Maine Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences consisted of Reagan Ames of Skowhegan, Phil Ferenczy of Hamburg, NY, Erika Harris of  Rumford, and Trudy Robinson from Dalton, NH .  Associate Professor and Extension Dairy Specialist Dr. David Marcinkowski coached the team.

 NAIDC is an innovative two-day competition for students representing dairy science programs at North American universities. It enables students to apply theory and learning to a real-world dairy, while working as part of a four-person team.

Day One of NAIDC began with each team receiving information about a working dairy, including production and farm management data. After an in-person inspection of one of three designated dairies, participants interviewed the herd managers. Then each team developed a farm analysis and presentation materials, including recommendations for nutrition, reproduction, milking procedures, animal health, housing and financial management.

Day Two was presentation day. Team members presented recommendations to a panel of judges and then fielded questions from the judges. Presentations were evaluated, based on the analysis and recommendations. The evening concluded with a reception and awards banquet.

 

The NAIDC is made possible through the support of numerous corporate sponsors from throughout the United States. In 2005, platinum sponsors include: ABS Global Inc., Ag Enhance Program of NE Farm Credit & CoBank, Agway Foundation Inc., Alltech, Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition Group, BioProducts Inc., Cargill Animal Nutrition, Dairy Herd Management, Dairy One, Dairy Records Management Systems, DairyBusiness Communications, Diamond V Mills, Elanco Animal Health, Farm Credit System Foundation Inc., Genex Cooperative Inc., Monsanto Dairy Business, Northeast Dairy Producers Association, Pfizer Animal Health, Select Sires Inc., Soy Best and West Central Soy.  

Gold sponsors in 2005 include: AgChoice Farm Credit, Alta Genetics Inc., Bou-Matic, Land O’ Lakes Purina Feed LLC, MidAtlantic Farm Credit, Morgan&Myers Inc., Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association, Prince Agri Products Inc., Renaissance Nutrition Inc., ReQuest Ltd., Vermont DHIA, WestfaliaSurge Inc. and Zinpro Corp.

The North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge 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 agribusinesses and coordinated by a volunteer steering committee, the first NAIDC was held in April 2002.

For more information, call David Marcinkowski at 1-800-287-7170 or visit www.dairychallenge.org.

 Overall Standings for the Event

 Platinum Awards

Cornell University (1^st Place)
University of Guelph (1^st Place)
University of Illinois (1^st Place)

 Virginia Tech (2^nd Place)
University of Idaho (2^nd Place)
Texas A & M (2^nd Place)

University of Wisconsin – Madison (Honorable Mention)
Penn State University (Honorable Mention)
The Ohio State University (Honorable Mention)

Gold Awards

Iowa State University
North Dakota State University
South Dakota State University
University of Maine
North Carolina State University
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo
Washington State University
University of Minnesota
Michigan State University

Silver Awards

Delaware Valley College
Oregon State University
Southern Illinois University
SUNY – Cobleskill
University of Florida
University of Georgia 
University of New Hampshire
University of Vermont