COBLESKILL, N.Y., May 5, 2004-The Second Annual Northeast Dairy Challenge will be held Nov. 4-6, at Bolton Valley Resort in Bolton Valley, Vt. Don Maynard of The University of Vermont, Kyle Thygesen of Vermont Technical College, and Wanda Emerich of The Miner Institute are teaming up to host this year's Northeast Dairy Challenge.

The trio plans to welcome 100 students from colleges and universities across the Northeast for the three-day program. Don Maynard, this year's host superintendent stated, "Our goal is to receive 20 more students than last year's program. In order to achieve this, we have contracted with a bigger reception facility and added a third dairy business to the program."

"Based on the success we had in 2003, it is unrealistic to think the contest will do anything but grow," stated Kyle Thygesen

The Northeast Dairy Challenge is designed to create an educational environment and facilitate a real-world dairy team situation. To accomplish this, students are placed in mixed-university teams. "Putting students with different skills from different schools on a team to work together in finding solutions is a very important learning experience," stated committee chair Don Rogers of First Pioneer Farm Credit. "On today's dairies, it takes a team of outside professionals working together to make a difference. Students need to practice teamwork."

Day one begins with each five-person team receiving information about a real-life dairy, including production and farm management data. Following an operation evaluation, teams develop a comprehensive program, including recommendations for nutrition, reproduction, milking procedures, animal health, housing and financial management. The first day concludes with an informal dinner attended by sponsors, students and advisers. Day two is presentation day, where team members present recommendations to a panel of judges. Knowledge is tested and team members field questions from judges. Presentations are evaluated based on the analysis and recommendations. The evening concludes with a reception and awards banquet.

The First Annual Northeast Dairy Challenge took place in Cobleskill, N.Y., Oct. 23-25, 2003. Seventy-seven college students from New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Hampshire participated in this innovative three-day event. The first regional contest was made possible through generous contributions from Farm Credit, Genex/CRI, Taylor-Excel Foods, Cargill, Dairy One, Agri-Mark, Northeast Agricultural Alliances, United Cooperative Farmers, Vermont Jersey Breeders, Vermont DHI, Blue Seal Feeds, Whitman's Feeds, Agway, DairyBusiness Communications, NBT/CNB Banks, New York Holstein Association, Marshman Farms and the Cobleskill Dairy Cattle Club. Sponsorships of any amount are welcome; defined levels are $100-$500 for Bronze, $500-$1,000 for Silver, $1,000-$5,000 for Gold, and $5,000 or more for Platinum. To become a sponsor, contact a steering committee member. All contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

The Northeast program is under the guidance and support of the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC), which was established in April 2002, as a management contest to incorporate evaluation of all aspects of a specific dairy business. NAIDC is fully funded through contributions from the dairy industry. Platinum Sponsors for the 2004 NAIDC were Bioproducts Inc., Cargill Animal Nutrition, Dairy Records Management Systems, DairyBusiness Communications, Genex Cooperative Inc., Monsanto Dairy Business, Select Sires Inc., West Central Soy, AgEnhance Program of Northeast 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, and Soy Best. Gold Sponsors for the 2004 NAIDC were ABS Global, Alta Genetics Inc., Prince Agri Products Inc., Zinpro Corp., AgChoice Farm Credit, ACA, Charleston|Orwig, Hubbard Feeds Inc., Land O'Lakes Feed, Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit, ACA, Morgan&Myers Inc., Renaissance Nutrition and ReQuest Ltd.