The 2025 Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge, hosted by South Dakota State University concluded February 14 in Brookings, S.D. The event saw significant participation with 110 students from 13 schools.
Day 1
Upon arrival, students attended educational seminars covering financial management, automatic milking systems, and emerging farm technology. They also had the opportunity to meet their mentor and teammates over dinner, followed by a brief team-building activity. Afterwards, teams received farm information and began analyzing data in preparation for their farm visit and their upcoming presentation.
Day 2
On the second day, students visited MoDak Dairy, Inc. There they toured the calf & heifer barn, lactating barn, and milking parlor. Guided by industry mentors, teams assessed various aspects of each facility at the dairy farm. This included animal health, parlor management, transition pens, and feed management processes. Additionally, student teams conducted interviews with the producers to gain deeper insights into farm management practices and goals. In the afternoon, teams used the data collected to develop their presentations. After submitting their work, all attendants, volunteers, and coaches gathered for dinner and a networking event.
Day 3
The final day of the contest featured team presentations, evaluated by a panel of judges. Each team delivered a 20-minute analysis outlining the strengths and areas of improvement of the farm they had assessed. Additionally, students were able to attend a career and innovation fair, and educational sessions. The event concluded with the presentation of student awards, marking the end of the successful 2025 Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge.
The judges awarded the following teams with the first and second place ranking on each farm.
Panel A
First Place: Team Number 5; (Front L-R) Ailish Koerpel-South Dakota State University, Abbygail Foster-Southwest Wisconsin Technical College (Back L-R) Emma Mathison-University of Wisconsin – Madison, Tyler Machin-Iowa State University
Second Place: Team Number 6; (Front L-R) Sophia Wendt-University of Minnesota, Alaina Weaver-Purdue University (Back L-R) Kylie Konyn-University of Wisconsin – Madison, Mackenzie Waschow-Iowa State University
Panel B
First Place: Team Number 11; (Front L-R) Courtney Glenna-University of Wisconsin – River Falls, Jenna Heeringa-Dordt University (Back L-R) Delana Erbsen-Iowa State University, Isaiah Eisert-Purdue University, Rhett Vander Dussen-Kansas State University (Not pictured)
Second Place: Team Number 9; (Front L-R) Kathleen Howdeshell-College of the Ozarks, Alexa Reavley-University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign, (Back L-R) Dillion Sparrgrove-South Dakota State University, Amelia Dauphin-University of Wisconsin – Platteville, Carson Corwin-Kansas State University
First Place: Team Number 17; (Front L-R) Sydney Haag-Purdue University, Addie DeMars-Southwest Wisconsin Technical College (Back L-R) Regan Kramer-Iowa State University, Cael Gooding-University of Wisconsin – River Falls, Aubree Topp-Northeast Iowa Community College
Second Place: Team Number 13; (Front L-R) Emma Eggenberger-South Dakota State University, Emma Wiedenfeld-University of Wisconsin – River Falls (Back L-R) Jeremiah Geise-Purdue University, Katelyn Sohrweide-University of Wisconsin – Madison
First Place: Team Number 23; (Front L-R) Emma Mulhern-South Dakota State University, Payton Van Schnydle-University of Wisconsin – Platteville (Back L-R) Megan Mosgaller-University of Wisconsin – River Falls, Owen Pritchett-College of the Ozarks, Irene Nielsen-Iowa State University
Second Place: Team Number 24; (Front L-R) Brooke Meinholz-University of Wisconsin – Madison, Anne Simpson-Iowa State University (Back L-R) Briana Maus-South Dakota State University, Riley Case-College of the Ozarks, Li Chen-Kansas State University
