The Showbox

Gopher Dairy Club
The Showbox
Collegiate Dairy Judging Team Receives Top
Honors in 2015
By: Vincent Migliazzo
In this Issue:
2015 Dairy
Judging
Results
Page 1
Gopher Dairy
Bar
Page 2
UMN
Fall FFA
Invitational
Page 3
National Dairy
Shrine Award
Recipients
Page 3
Club News
Page 4
The University of Minnesota Collegiate Dairy
Judging Team has had a year for the record
books! Over the past semester our teams have
brought home the top honors in three national
contests including the National Intercollegiate
Dairy Cattle Contest at World Dairy Expo.
All-American Dairy Show
The senior judging team of Vincent Migliazzo, Nate Donnay, Eric Houdek, and Dane
Thompson competed in the All-American
Dairy Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on
September 14th. The team won the contest by
a 15 point margin, making it the 4th time in 6
years that we have received top honors for this
contest. Minnesota placed 1st overall in Ayrshires and Brown Swiss Classes, 2nd overall in
Jerseys and 4th overall in Holsteins.
Accelerated Genetics Contest
Our junior dairy judging team consisting
of Ethan Dado, Crystal Siemers-Peterman,
Johanna Knorr, and Audrey Lane competed
in the Accelerated Genetics Contest in Viroqua, Wisconsin on September 20th. The team
placed 1st overall in the Jersey classes.
Individually Dado placed 9th overall, 1st in
Jersey placings, and 2nd in Holstein reasons.
Siemers-Peterman placed 3rd in Jersey classes
and 7th overall in reasons.
World Dairy Expo
The U of M was well represented at World
Dairy Expo’s Lely National Intercollegiate
Dairy Cattle Contest. The team, consisting of
Migliazzo, Donnay, Houdek, and Matthew
Hanson recorded the second highest margin
Individually Migliazzo placed 1st overall,
of victory in contest history as they won by
Donnay placed 4th, Houdek was 10th, and
54-points!
Thompson was 25th. Migliazzo was also 1st in
Continued on Page 2
oral reasons.
2015 Gopher Dairy Bar
By: Amber Johnson and Wyatt Smith
The Great Minnesota Get-Together is 12 days of fun
and this year it kicked off on August 27, 2015. Members of the Gopher Dairy Club enjoyed these 12 days
while working in the Gopher Dairy Bar and fundraising for the upcoming year.
This year we got to be a part of U of M day at the fair
by having the President of the University of Minnesota, Eric Kaler, stop by the Gopher Dairy Bar. He
and his wife visited with the senior managers and to
enjoyed one of our delicious milkshakes.
We had a good crew of 80 student
members working to sell shakes
and glasses of milk at the 2015
State Fair. We are thrilled to report
record profit of just over $146,000
in 2015, and hope that 2016 will be
just as successful.
The funds raised at the Gopher
Dairy Bar help our club thrive
throughout the year. With the
money from this event, we are able
to sponsor dairy judging events, scholarships for students, and donations to 4-H, FFA, and Junior Dairy
Breed organizations.
Along with these sponsorships additional funds are
used to send our club members to regional and national American Dairy Science Association – ASAD
conferences, the annual senior trip, and various other
learning experiences throughout the year. The Gopher Dairy Bar enables us to host events, like the
annual Gopher Dairy Club Recognition Banquet.
We would like to thank Land
O’Lakes for its continued generous
sponsorship and support. A special
thank you is extended to our alumni,
friends, returning and new customers, and to the Gopher Dairy Club
members who sold the milk and
milkshakes. Your dedication and
commitment is what makes the Gopher Dairy Bar a success. We look
forward to seeing you all at the 2016
Great Minnesota Get-Together!
Collegiate Dairy Judging Team Receives Top Honors
Continued from Page 1
The team placed 1st overall in oral reasons, Holstein,
Jersey and Red and White classes. Individually, Migliazzo placed 1st overall and was 1st in reasons, Brown
Swiss, Holstein, and Red and White classes. Donnay
was 2nd overall, 1st in Jersey placings. Houdek was
6th overall, 1st in Milking Shorthorn. Hanson was
11th overall.
North American International Livestock Exposition
In the final contest of the semester, the University of
Minnesota again
took top honors at
the North American
Livestock Exposition
in Louisville, Kentucky on November
8th. Austin Davis,
Crystal Siemers-Peterman, Mary
Liebenstein, and
Matthew Hanson
represented Minnesota in the 31 point
margin of victory.
The team placed
first in oral reasons, overall placings, Brown Swiss and
Holstein Classes.
Siemers-Peterman took top honors overall and placed
first in oral reasons and Brown Swiss classes. Hanson
was second in placings and was 3rd overall. Liebenstein placed 5th overall and was second in Holsteins.
Davis was second in Guernsey placings.
The success of our dairy judging team could not have
been possible without
the commitment and
support of the people
around us. Thank you
to the many dairy farms
that have hosted our
practices over the past
year. A special thank
you goes out to our
coaches: Dr. Les Hansen, Scott Ellinghuysen,
and Alicia Thurk, who
put in countless hours
preparing us for the
various contests.
Minnesota Fall FFA Invitational
By: Johanna Knorr
The Minnesota Fall FFA Invitational was held at
the University of Minnesota on October 6th, 2015.
Members of the Gopher Dairy club once again
hosted the Dairy Cattle Evaluation Contest for this
event. More than 250 FFA members were in attendance for this year’s event.
This year’s contest consisted of 6 total classes which
included: two classes of calves, two 2 year old cow
classes, a 3 year old cow class, and an Aged Cow
class. The youth evaluated the cow classes based on
pedigree, then judged the same class based on type.
Contestants were also judged on a sire selection
class where they examined four bull proofs to select
the best option for a particular scenario. To cap off
the day, contestants had the option to either complete questionnaire on the appearance of the Aged
Cows, or gave a set of oral reasons on that class.
The official judges for the contest were Eric Houdek
and Nathan Donnay, who were both members of
the University’s senior dairy judging team.
The team members, who had just earned champion
honors at the National Contest in Madison, Wisconsin the week before, were able to talk through placements for each of classes in front of the contestants,
giving FFA members an opportunity to learn from
top collegiate judgers.
Winning the 2015 Invitational was the team from
Kenyon-Wanamingo, followed by the teams from
Stewartville, and Lewiston-Altura, respectively. The
top individual was Jessaca Zuidema from MACCRAY. Congratulations all of the contestants. The
Gopher Dairy Club looks forward to hosting this
event once again next fall!
National Dairy Shrine Awards Banquet
By: Christine Reitsma
The Gopher Dairy Club was well represented at the 66th Annual National Dairy Shrine Banquet hosted
during World Dairy Expo. Twelve members of the club received scholarship recognition based on classroom
performance, leadership abilities, student activities, experience with dairy industry, and success in the dairy
cattle judging arena. Listed below are the scholarships received by University of Minnesota Students:
• McKown Fund Scholarship:
Annie Culbertson ($1,500)
• McCullough Scholarship:
Morgan Krause ($2,500)
• Maurice Core Scholarship: Gabriella Sorg ($1,000); Laura Jensen ($1,000)
• Sophomore Merit Scholarship:
Johanna Knorr ($1,500); Trevor Otte ($1,000)
• Junior Merit Scholarship: Mary Liebenstein ($1,000)
• National Dairy Shrine/Dairy Management, Inc. Education and Communication Scholarship:
Christine Reitsma ($1000); Ethan Dado ($1,000); Annie Culbertson ($1,000)
• National Dairy Shrine/ Dairy Management, Inc. Milk and Dairy Product Scholarship: Johanna Knorr ($1,000); Jeni Haler ($1,000); Crystal Siemers-Peterman ($1,000)
• Student Recognition Winner: Michael Schmitt ($1,000)
Gopher Dairy Club
Haecker Hall
1364 Eckles Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
Contact Info: 612.624.2277
gdc@umn.edu
www.ansci.umn.edu/gdc/
Congratulations to Past and Present Members!
Engagements:
Janna Sorg &Eric Bauer announced their engagement.
Aly Schwartau & Lee Kloeckner announced their engagement.
Ashley Swenson & David Hanson announced their engagement.
Weddings:
Kirstin Durow and Alex Kollos were married on November 21st, 2015.
Announcements:
Gopher Dairy Club Scholarship Applications are available online for incoming students! Visit gopherdairyclub.umn.edu for complete details.
Dates to Remember
Gopher Dairy Club Banquet
Ramada Plaza
February 21
Regional ADSA
February 5-7
New Student Scholarship
Application Deadline
Must be Postmarked by:
January 15, 2016