Department of Dairy Science

Departmental Review:

April 2012--The Department has recently completed an external review of all of its research, teaching, and extension programs. These reviews typically involve 3-5 professors from other universities and government specialists who spend approximately 3 days reviewing and ultimately critiquing all aspects of department function and activity.  (more) | Fact Sheet 

• Relocation and the future of Virginia Tech Dairy Science: The Way Forward... 

Upcoming:

   

2012 Hokie Cow Classic, May 21, 2012

Blacksburg Country Club--Rain or Shine  | Brochure

The Hokie Cow Classic is more than just a golf tournament. It is the single greatest source of funds to support undergraduate scholarships and travel activities for the Dairy Science Department. Each year our alumni and local dairy supporters attend the Hokie Cow Classic and provide financial support, so we can provide additional scholarships and programming for our collegiate and 4-H students.

Your donation to Hokie Cow Classic will touch the lives of the youth in Virginia, the future of our dairy industry. Scholarships are one of the most important ways we make students into future leaders.

Robotic feeder workshop May 30, 2012 

Come learn about group feeding calves with robotic feeders.
Holiday Inn, Harrisonburg, VA 
6:00-9:00 p.m.
Contact dweaver@dairymen.net, jamesre@vt.edu, or jtyson@rockinghammill.com for details.

Feeder Training June 5, 2012 

Designed for farm managers and feeders.
Location: Hodges View Farm, Rocky Mount, VA
6:00-9:00 p.m.
Contact jamesre@vt.edu, cmartel@vt.edu, dcraun5@gmail.com for details

News:

April 2012--Four Virginia Tech Dairy Science students: Carissa Doody (rising senior, Frederick, MD); Clayborne Zimmerman (rising junior, Walkersville, MD); Austin Schwartzbeck (rising junior, Union Bridge, MD); and James Comstock (incoming freshman, Winchester, VA) have been awarded scholarships from the Maryland & Virginia's Scholarship Program.

March 2012--Three VT Dairy Science students: Carissa Doody, Austin Schwartzbeck, and Jason Zimmerman were awarded scholarships from the Maryland Holstein Convention for the second year in a row.

Clayborne Zimmerman and Jason Zimmerman were awarded $4000 each as winners of the 2011 Maryland Dairy Scholarship Award. 

Virginia Tech Dairy Challenge Team places 2nd at Dairy Challenge Competition

   

March 30-31, 2012--A team of students from Virginia Tech earned a 2nd place finish in the 11^th annual North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC), held March 30-31, in Roanoke, VA. Virginia Tech teams have placed 1^st or 2^nd in 7 of the 11 contests.   

Virginia Tech was represented by Dairy Science seniors Lindsay Hetrick (Bernville, PA), Karl Paulson (Port Republic, VA), Chris Potts (Purcellville, VA), Lauryn Singer (Parkville, MD).  Coaches were Mark Hanigan and Bob James.

Hosted by Virginia Tech and North Carolina State University, the 2012 NAIDC attracted 128 students from 32 universities located throughout the United States and Canada. Each team of 4 students was challenged to put their textbook and practical knowledge to the ultimate test – analyzing dairy farm businesses. The contest started with a look at the production and financial records and a 2-hour walk-through at one of the four host dairies.  This was followed by an afternoon to assemble a presentation of recommendations to improve the business, which was then presented orally to a panel of five industry experts.

Host dairies for the 2012 NAIDC were Hammock Dairy, Inc., Nathan Hammock; Jareco Farms, James and Jennifer Cook; Hodges View Farms, Garrett Hodge and family; and Hoha Dairy Farm, Carter Hopkins. Each team was assigned to evaluate one of the 4 host dairies and competed with the 7 other teams assigned to that dairy.

First place finishers for each herd, respectively, were the University of Guelph, Ohio State University, the University of Wisconsin at Platteville, and Cornell University.  Second place finishers for each herd, respectively, were California Polytechnic State University, Kansas State University, Utah State University, and Virginia Tech.

The 2012 NAIDC contest coordinators were David R. Winston of Virginia Tech and Dr. Steve Washburn of North Carolina State University.

Andrea Tholen takes second place in the VT Graduate Research Symposium Poster Competition

on March 28th. Andrea is completing her M.S. with Dr. Christina Petersson Wolfe. The title of the winning research poster: The Use of Animal Activity Data and Milk Components as Indicators of Clinical Mastitis

Virginia Tech seniors have both a scholarship and a veterinary career ambition in common

BLACKSBURG, Va., Oct. 24, 2011 – Emi Scott and Bailey West may be majoring in different subjects within Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, but they have a great deal in common.

2011--A year to remember for the Virginia Tech Judging Team, capped off by an historic tie!

For only the second time in 91 years, there was a tie for high team at the national intercollegiate dairy cattle judging contest. The Virginia Tech team tied for first place with the team from Cornell; after the tiebreaker, Virginia Tech placed second overall. more...  

Student Achievements:

2011-2012 Scholarships

Dairy Science students Chris Potts (rising senior, VA), Clayborne Zimmerman (rising sophomore, MD), Roxanne Seltzer (rising sophomore, PA), Austin Schwartzbeck (rising sophomore, MD) and Jason Zimmerman (rising sophomore, PA) have each been awarded scholarships by the Maryland-Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative. Our students were awarded five of the ten total scholarships awarded.

Jason Zimmerman, Carissa Doody and Austin Schwartzbeck, all rising sophomores from MD, have each been awarded scholarships from the Maryland Holstein Association.

Lauren Woloohojian a rising sophomore from RI was awarded a scholarship from the National DHIA.

Carissa Doody (rising sophomore, MD ) and Samantha Garst (rising senior, MD) have each been awarded scholarships from Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit.

Roxanne Seltzer (rising sophomore, PA) has been named winner of 2011-12 William Etgen Memorial award.

Cody Pearson (rising junior, MA) has been named winner of the 2011-12 Ray and Ruby Murley award.

Abby Patch (rising senior, NH) and Lauryn Singer (rising senior, MD) have been named winners of the 2011-12 Paul Reaves Outstanding Senior awards.

Internships

Dairy Science and Dairy Club students completed internships all across the US in summer of 2011. These include:

• Sarah Burczynski (rising senior, NY)—Miner Institute, Chazy, NY
• Abby Patch (rising senior, NH)—Columbia River Dairy, Boardman, OR
• Caitlin Patrick (rising senior, MD)—Select Sires Corporate Communications internship, Columbus, OH
• Kelsey Smith (rising junior, TN)—Dairy Sire Marketing Internship,  Select Sires, Plain City, OH
• Kelly Johnson (rising senior, PA)—Alta Advantage Internsip, Alta Genetics, New York/Vermont/ Northern PA
• Isaac Hammock (rising junior, VA)—Harrison dairy farm, TN
• Robert McGarry (rising junior, VT)—Janney’s Dairy Farm, Staunton, VA
• Cody Pearson (rising junior, MA)—Scientific Holsteins, Chippewa Falls, WI
• Thomas Galligan, (rising senior, MD)—Virginia Bioinformatics Institute/National Science Foundation, Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF REU), "Microbiology in the Post Genome Era REU", Blacksburg, VA
• Peter Bachmann (rising sophomore, MD)—Pfizer, SE/Mid Atlantic region
• Anne Ennis (rising senior, CT)—Wright's Dairy Farm, North Smithfield, RI 
• Ben Smith (Ag Tech, VA)—Hetrick Dairy Farm, Bernville,  PA
• David Hertel (rising sophomore, MD)—Mason Dixon Farms, Gettysburg, PA
• Bailey West (rising senior, VA)—Appalachian Veterinary Services, Riner, VA
• Paula Craun (rising senior, VA)—Agricultural Lending Division, First Bank & Trust Company, Harrisonburg, VA
• Shasta Sowers (rising junior, VA)—Agricultural Education Development Program, Feed By Seed, Nicaragua 
• Spencer Arey (rising senior, VA)—Hammock Dairy Inc., Chatham, VA
• Issac Hammock (rising junior, VA)—Harrison Dairy Inc., Loudon, TN
• Tyler Musick (rising sophomore, VA)—Cottage Hill Farms, Petersburg, WV
• Brent Ashley (rising sophomore, DE)—Delaware Department of Agriculture

Dairy Science Students on Internships

             
Virginia Tech Garners Gold in Dairy Challenge Competition

A team of students from Virginia Tech earned a gold placing in the tenth annual North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC), held April 1-2, in Hickory, NC.  Teams from California State University-Fresno, Cornell University, The Penn State University and University of Wisconsin-River Falls earned the highest platinum awards.

Virginia Tech was represented by Dairy Science seniors Laurel Moore (Centreville, MD), Rachel Smith (McGaheysville,VA), Holly Weeks (Greenland, NH), Brandon Moyer (Amelia, VA), and Brittany Willing (Bear, DE).  Coaches were Mark Hanigan and Mike McGilliard.

Hosted by North Carolina State University and Virginia Tech, the 2011 NAIDC attracted 127 students from 30 universities located throughout the United States and Canada. Each team of four was challenged to put their textbook and practical knowledge to the ultimate test – analyzing dairy farm businesses. The contest started with a look at the production and financial records and a 2-hour walk-through at one of the four host dairies.  This was followed by an afternoon to assemble a presentation of recommendations to improve the business, which was then presented orally to the herd owners and a panel of five industry experts.  Awards were given in three categories, platinum (first and second), gold (several) and silver (several).

Host dairies for the 2011 NAIDC were Beams Dairy Farm, John Beam, III and John Beam, IV; Eaker Dairy Farm, Rusty and Cameron Eaker; Corey and Bridgette Lutz of Piedmont Jerseys; and Gar-Mac Farm, Inc., Gary and Sharon MacGibbon.   

The 2011 NAIDC contest coordinators were Dr. Steve Washburn of North Carolina State University, David R. Winston, Virginia Tech and Johnny Bonnette, Genex Cooperative, Inc.  

More about Dairy Challenge...

VT Students Participate in Southern Region Dairy Challenge Competition

Eight students from Virginia Tech competed as members of mixed school teams at the Southeast Region annual North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC), held November 19-20 in Tupelo, MS.

 Virginia Tech was represented by Mathew Heldreth (Rural Retreat, VA), Lindsay Hetrick (Bernville, PA), Laurel Moore (Centreville, MD), Brandon Moyer (Amelia, VA), Rachel Smith (McGaheysville, VA), Holly Weeks (Greenland, NH), Parker Welch (Chestertown, MD), and Brittany Willing (Bear, DE).  All are seniors in Dairy Science except Lindsay Hetrick, who is a Junior.  Coaches were Mark Hanigan and Mike McGilliard.

The contest was hosted by Mississippi State University and attracted 70 students from 16 universities located throughout the southeastern region of the United States. Students were assigned to teams of four or five students and challenged to put their textbook and practical knowledge to the ultimate test – analyzing dairy farm businesses. The contest started with a look at the production and financial records and a 2-hour walk-through at one of the two host dairies.  This was followed by an afternoon to assemble a presentation summarizing all aspects of the business and recommendations to improve the business, which was then presented orally to the herd owners and a panel of five industry experts.  

Awards were given in three categories, platinum (first and second), gold (several) and silver (several).  Laurel Moore and Parker Welch were members of the first platinum teams (one winner for each dairy) and Lindsay Hetrick and Holley Weeks were members of the second platinum teams. 

Four students will be selected to represent Virginia Tech as a team at the national contest which will be hosted by North Carolina State University and Virginia Tech on March 31-April 2 in Hickory, N.C.

More about Dairy Challenge...

University Spotlight on Dairy Science Student...

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