SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A team from The Ohio State University was one of four teams to receive the First Place Platinum Award in the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge March 27-28 in Syracuse, N.Y.
A total of 29 teams from the U.S. and two from Canada competed in the eighth annual event, hosted by the Northeast Region North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge committee.
Team members
The team, coached by Maurice Eastridge, consisted of Jordan Beck, Wauseon, Ohio; Paige Gott, Greenwich, Ohio; Kyle Uhlenhake, Coldwater, Ohio and Renee Starkey, Spokane, Wash.
Dairy Challenge was designed by professionals from the allied dairy industry and university educators to bring classroom training to life in the real world for students preparing for dairy careers.
The Ohio State team spent two days at the contest. On the first day, they combed through cow and farm management data, as well as financial records, then conducted an on-site evaluation.
Later that day, they interviewed the farm owner.
Judging panel
After they identified opportunities to increase efficiency and profitability for the herd owner, the team presented its findings to a judging panel comprised of a dairy business owner and four experts in dairy nutrition, herd health, reproduction and financial management.
Teams were judged on their analysis of the operation, recommendations and overall presentation.
