Dairy Students Take the Gold At North American Intercollegiate Challenge
By Beth Potier, Media Relations
April 25, 2007
Bottom L-R: Maggie Powers, Meghan Tremarche. Top L-R: Meghan McGarr,
Peter Erickson, Holli Pinard.
A team of UNH students won a gold award at the sixth annual North American
Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC) last month (March 30 – 31)
in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Peter Erickson, associate professor of dairy science, coached the students:
Maggie Powers, a senior dairy management major from Swansea, Mass.;
Meghan Tremarche, a junior dairy management major from Watertown, Mass.;
Meghan McGarr, a senior dairy management major from King Ferry, N.Y.;
and Holli Pinard, a senior animal science/pre-veterinary major from
Manchester.
Co-hosted by Iowa State University and South Dakota State University,
the NAIDC fielded 29 four-person teams from the U.S. and one team from
Canada. The competition enables students to apply theory and learning
to a real-world dairy.
On the first day of the challenge, each team received information about
a working dairy, including production and farm management data. After
an in-person inspection of one of four 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. Team members presented
recommendations to a panel of judges on the second day.
“The NAIDC is a great way to network with potential future employers,” said
Tremarche.
“The UNH students did extremely well, they utilized knowledge
gained from their UNH classes and their farm experience to put together
a program for the dairy producer that will result in increased profitability
for his business,” said Erickson. “Their hard work paid
off.”
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. For more information, go to www.dairychallenge.org.
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