Written by Jenna Larson, UF Animal Sciences, Integrative Specialization student.
UF Represented in the National Dairy Challenge for the First Time in Over a Decade
The North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge, established in 2002, aims to provide educational, professional growth, and networking outlets for students, dairy producers and other personnel. The 2025 contest was held in Gainesville, Florida and four UF students, fueled with passion and a little bit of curiosity, jumped on the opportunity to compete.
The UF team consisted of students with varied dairy-related experiences from research, consulting, exhibition and judging: all of these unique skills complemented one another and resulted in a big pay-off in the end! Team members included Angelina Fernandez, Jenna Larson, Rebecca Lyons, and Abby Michnowicz. Students were recruited through the Dairy Farm Evaluation class and the UF Dairy Science Club and practiced extensively throughout the spring semester by studying and applying dairy economics, management and emerging research. Though our Gators were well-prepared, they had no idea of the competition they would be up against: they soon learned that most teams were all seniors in college who had completed multiple hands-on internships and studied for a year in advance! While the UF students experienced some intimidation, this comparison only pushed them further toward success!
On Sunday night, the team was given access to the host farm’s data that they would later be evaluating in-person. Reviewing the data revealed evidence for potential issues in management and problematic production patterns. This helped students organize priorities for the physical visit. On Monday, the UF students headed to Southern Cross Dairy to act as consultants and identify issues limiting productivity.
Once back to Gainesville, the teams had 5 hours to develop a comprehensive presentation that gave a management and business overview of the farm and discussed 3 areas of opportunity to increase farm revenue. Each opportunity was accompanied with a partial budget where students used research figures to estimate the cost of implementing a change and how much money it would generate for the producer. On Tuesday, the team presented their findings and answered questions from a panel of industry experts.
The UF undergraduate team finished 3rd in Panel B: an impressive finish for this group of trailblazer students!
Besides the students’ accomplishments, the University of Florida was well-represented in other respects. The UF Dairy Research Unit was utilized as a host dairy for the Academy, where non-competing students could learn about dairy management practices. Several UF faculty and graduate students volunteered to share their expertise with students from around the country. Also, Dr. Albert De Vries, UF faculty member and coach of the 2025 team, was honored for his continued service to the Dairy Challenge and received the “Founder Award.”
While the Gator Men’s Basketball Team was busy breaking records in Texas, claiming the NCAA Championship Title, these four students represented the Gator Nation exceptionally on the home turf in the Swamp! Animal Science students, like these four, continue to strive for excellence and prove why it is truly “great to be a Florida Gator!”
Find more information about the UF/IFAS Department of Animal Sciences on our website. Stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Read more on UF/IFAS ANS here: http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/animalsciencesdept/.
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