UW-River Falls Dairy Club Takes Top Honors at Midwest ADSA-SAD Conference

Feb. 25, 2013 – Fifty-nine members of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Dairy Club attended the 31st Midwest American Dairy Science Association - Student Affiliate Division (ADSA-SAD) Conference hosted by the Iowa State Dairy Science Club in Ames, Iowa, Feb. 2-3. The group was accompanied by Dennis Cooper, professor of animal science. Students from colleges across the Midwest attended to share their knowledge of the dairy industry.   

En route to the conference the group toured Larcrest Holsteins of Albert Lea, Minn., recognized worldwide for their superior Holstein genetics. The formal conference began with the quiz bowl competition. UWRF competed in both the junior and senior divisions with the UWRF team taking home the honors in the senior division. The winning team was comprised of Carl Lippert, Pittsville; Erik Warmka, Fox Lake; Sam Olson, Chetek, and Brett Getschel, Osceola. The junior division team members were: Josh Butler, Watertown; Tawna Pogreba, Durand; Travis Thamert, Owatonna, Minn., and Morgan Kittel, Burnett.    

Saturday consisted of a full day of educational sessions with speakers from academia and industry followed by a banquet dinner. The keynote session presentation was given by Bill Mahanna, nutritional sciences manager for DuPont Pioneer, and former faculty member in the Animal and Food Science Department at UWRF.     

Election of officers for the Midwest ADSA-SAD took place at the conference. Olson, the current ADSA-SAD vice president, conducted the interviews of the candidates in front of the assembled audience. Warmka was elected second vice-president for 2013-14.   

On the trip back to River Falls the students visited De-Su Holsteins of New Albin, Iowa, a 1,400 dairy cow operation with high genomic producing cattle.

Photo:  The winning Quiz Bowl senior team from UW-River Falls included (left to right): Brett Getschel, Carl Lippert, Sam Olson, and Erik Warmka.