The Udder

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2010-11 MSU Dairy Club Table of Contents

2010-11 Executive Board Advisors’ Remarks Dr. Roy Fogwell President’s Remarks Kevin Messing Summer Semester Events 2010 Colorado ADSA Trip The Great Dairy Adventure Fall Semester Events Dairy Club Room Renovation Dairy Awareness Day Welcome Back BBQ B&B Bag Stuffing Dairy Club Euchre Tournament Haunted Corn Maze IM Volleyball Cheese Sale CANR Ag Olympics Royal Trip Autumn-fest Christmas Salvation Army Tree Christmas Bowling Spring Semester Events UDIM Media Training MSU Dairy Field Trip Calf Sale Spring Break Dutch Students Visit MSU Purdue/Chicago Road Trip Relay for Life Small Animals Day Honors and Awards Dairy Club 1st Year Scholarship Winners Dairy Club Recognition Banquet, GLRDC The Graduating Class of 2011

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2010-11 Executive Board President...Kevin Messing Vice President I...Jessica Makowski Vice President II...Kelsey Byars Secretary...Sarah Fraley Treasurer...Lauren Bush Education...Krista Beeker Social...Tera Koebel Membership...Olivia DeVooght Historian...Hannah Tucker Technology...Lynnae Slavik Advisors Mark Adam Dr. Roy Fogwell Dr. Elizabeth Karcher

Michigan State University Dairy Club

Advisors Remarks

Future Ensured for Dairy Indusry

As I reflect on Dairy Club for 2010 to 2011, the themes were leadership, tradition, and new initiatives. As the year started everyone learned about the importance of hierarchy, responsibility, delegation, and completion of tasks. I believe that most members evolved as stronger leaders but most importantly everyone had better appre-ciation for altruism and cooperation. Dairy Club did the traditional events of Cheese Sale, Calf Sale, Barbeque, Hay rides, and bowling. As activi-ties to generate revenue, Cheese Sale, Calf Sale, and direct solicitation of donations went very well this year. In addition to money, these events homogenized the club and motivated many members to get involved and to contribute time, energy, and effort. In addition to constructive and altruistic events, I believe that Dairy Club was enjoyable and that members had fun throughout the year. This year, Dairy Club expanded activities for education, community service, and joint activities with Block and Bridle Club. The goal for education of members and the public is to increase awareness about the dairy industry and agriculture in general. Community service activities included memorial trees for deceased stu-dents, Giving Tree at Christmas for impoverished families, and Relay for Life. Block and Bridle hosted the national convention in fall. Dairy Club provided bags and souvenirs for attendees. In spring Dairy Club and Block and Bridle Club co-sponsored a tour of farms for agricultural neophytes. General reflections on Dairy Club are that this is a very positive and energetic group of people. All are stu-dents and have the responsibility for academic survival. As a group members of Dairy Club are engaged in a constant juggling act between school and activities for Dairy Club. The number of concurrent responsibilities for many of these people is truly amazing. All members of Dairy Club are solid citizens and will evolve into leaders in some aspect of the dairy industry. Consequently, the MSU Dairy Club and the dairy industry will continue to thrive! Thanks for allowing me to work with you and for demonstrating that the next generation is in good hands. Roy Fogwell Roy Fogwell Animal Science

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Presidents Remarks

Dairy Club Has Another Successful Year What a year it has been. In the past year, the MSU Dairy Club has grown in a positive direction to continue promoting the dairy industry and educating the public, support educational opportunities for members and of-fer a network between members and industry representatives. Some of the traditional events put on by the Dairy Club saw positive changes this year with hopes of seeing them continue on in coming years. The most innovative change seen this year was the introduction of a website for cheese sale which allowed for online ordering. Online ordering made it simpler for customers to purchase their cheese as well as finally making it possible for them to use credit cards. Advertising was also done differently which included doing press re-leases through the CANR Communications team. With the combination of online ordering and greater adver-tising, the amount of cheese sold increased by almost 25%. The annual Spartan Spectacular calf sale was once again a success, raising money for Dairy Club and the Dairy Judging teams. The sale returned to returned to how it was traditionally done in the past and looked better than ever. The club also continued their participation in community service, including the euchre tournament to sup-port FFA, a giving tree to support needy families at Christmas, and participating in Relay for Life. Educational trips for club members were a big theme this year, and many members got to experience things they normally would not have had the chance to. Once again, a group of members went to the annual ADSA meetings, competing in quiz bowl and other events for students. Educational trips didn't end there either for club members. For the first time, a trip was organized for club members to travel to the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto, Ontario. Students also organized a spring break trip to Reno, Nevada for the Western Dairy Manage-ment conference. Finally, a social was organized with the Purdue Dairy Club as well as a tour of the Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana. I would like to close with a farewell and congratulations to all graduating club members. I hope you found your involvement worthwhile and the friendships and connections you made during your years stay with you for years to come. Furthermore, a president is nothing without a supporting cast, and mine was exceptional. All the events and trips the club supported would not have been possible if it weren't for the Executive Board and advisors. Those are the ones that made everything happen. Finally, I would like to thank all of the sponsors, supporters, alumni and friends of the club for a great year. You are the ones that make everything the club does possible. Kevin Messing Kevin Messing Dairy Club President

Michigan State University Dairy Club

The Summer of 2010 The Udder Truth

2010 MSU Dairy Club’s ADSA Adventure Written by Hannah Tucker

ADSA for 2010 was held in Denver Colorado. Stu-dents that attended were Ben Wenner, Gail Carpenter, Karmen Jackson, and Hannah Tucker. For the student trip we went white water rafting through the moun-tains. Ben, Karmen, and Hannah presented during the conference. Ben won his division in dairy production with his d i s c u s -sion on tail dock-ing. The t e a m t h e n c o m -peted in D a i r y Q u i z B o w l . They re-ceived a bye in the first round; however, were unable to utilize this edge in the competition. The students mingled with faculty and other students and were able network. Also, there were many talks going on that they were able to attend, including talks made by MSU faculty. The whirlwind trip was jam packed with networking, competition, and fun.

The Great Dairy Adventure Written by Kevin Messing

Last summer members of the MSU Dairy Club volun-teered to help at the Great Dairy Adventure which was run in conjunction with Michigan Dairy Expo on July 21. Students ran an "I Milked a Cow" station where six cows were in attendance for people could get first-hand experience milking a cow. The Great Dairy Ad-venture draws close to 2,000 people every year and allows for the public to see where dairy products come from and the path in which products travel to get from the farm to the table. Many families, day cares and summer camps make stops at the event. Dairy Club members helped young children as well as adults milk the cows, and for many of them, it was their first time. Club members are also able to serve as agricultural ambassadors - answering any questions the public may have about cows or the dairy industry as a whole. The Great Dairy Adventure is a very important event for the club as it allows us to interact with consumers and represent the industry in a positive manner. It also gives the Dairy Club an opportunity to address any questions or misconceptions the public may have about the dairy industry or products.

Pictured right: Kevin Messing helps a child milk a cow for the first time.

Pictured above: Karmen Jackson and Hannah Tucker enjoy the beautiful scenery of Colorado. Below: Amanda Wenner, Ben Wenner, and Gail Carpenter pose for a pic-ture during an ADSA dinner.

Fall Semester 2010 Michigan State University Dairy Club

Club Room Renovation Written by Olivia DeVooght

To start the new school year off right we wanted the club room to be fresh and clean. Six members got to-gether on Labor Day to give the club room a whole new ambiance to welcome new and old members. First we gutted the entire room, scrubbed it down, and went through all of our supplies, boxes, and every last picture. Next put together new shelves to hold all of our frames, magazines, and other mementos. We even got a new filing cabinet, desk and computer to com-plete our new look. The new and improved club room is a lot more spacious and hopefully is a more inviting, comfortable atmosphere.

Dairy Awareness Day Written by Sarah Michalek

Coming from an agricultural background, it is some-times unnerving to realize just how little the consum-ing public knows and understands about this world that we as agriculturalists grew up in. And so it is all

the more important to educate the public about the ag-ricultural realm, giving them all of the facts and infor-mation that they need in order to form opinions. We tend to forget that not everyone has had the same op-portunities that we’ve had-like petting a calf. Do you remember the first time you approached a Holstein calf and ran your fingers through its hair, feeling the rise and fall of its body, that breath of new life? Do you remember when you reached your fingers toward its muzzle and it proceeded to lick and suck on your hand? It’s moments like this that we take for granted, forgetting the fact that a majority of the students here on campus have never been to a farm, let alone had the opportunity to pet a calf. So what do we do as am-bassadors to the dairy industry? We give our fellow students the chance to glimpse into the vast world of dairy, beginning with that same moment that we were first introduced to the industry. During our annual Dairy Awareness Day, Dairy Club members sit out by the cow-painted rock at the center of campus along with a pen of two Holstein calves, which were re-cently born out at the MSU Dairy Teaching and Re-search Farm. Clubbers, armed with bottles of germ-ex, are prepared to answer questions about dairy while encouraging walkers-by to come and pet the calves. For many, it’s their first time putting a face to a com-mon commodity, for others, it’s just another reminder of home or their future. Nonetheless, those that take the initiative to divert from their original path to class to pet a calf are enthralled by the experience, just as we as dairy enthusiasts are every time we set eyes on a cow.

Pictured above: Olivia DeVooght, Tera Koebel and Lauren Bush put together the new bookcase.

Pictured below: Sarah Fraley educates the public during dairy awareness day.

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Welcome Back BBQ Written by Eric Sneller

In early fall at the MSU Dairy Clubs first meeting, we held our annual Welcome Back BBQ. The Welcome Back BBQ is a great way of reuniting with your friends you haven’t seen all summer and to welcome those who are interested in joining the club. This year Eric Cole was generous to lend us a few grills and his grilling expertise, as he and Eric Sneller manned the grills outside as the meeting was proceeding. After a majority of members finished eating we played some tailgating games such as bean bag toss. To top off the evening, we satisfied our taste buds with some deli-cious desserts and MSU Dairy Store ice cream!

Stuffing isn’t just at Thanksgiving Written by Krista Beeker

Michigan State University had the honor of hosting the Block and Bridle National Convention October 14-16, 2010. Attendees traveled all over Michigan on tours and farm visits and were able to listen to a great line-up of speakers from all over the United States. To help out our fellow College of Agriculture and Natural Resources club, Dairy Club donated the bags to hand out to all participants. To go along with the donated bags, members spent a few hours help-ing the convention board mem-bers stuff the bags with flyers, brochures, and promotional items that we also donated by various businesses and organiza-tions. Dairy Club members also assisted in packing the breakfast bags and lunch sacks for the following days. “It’s great to be able to work with fellow animal sci-ence students to accomplish something great like the B & B Convention. I’m glad we were able to contrib-ute towards their event and get our club name out as supporters in animal agriculture,” said junior Kelsey Byars. During the event, there was nothing but compliments about how well Michigan State did in hosting the event and how great the tote bags had turned out. Way to represent MSU. Go Green!

Pictured above: Sarah Fraley, Kevin Messing and Block & Bridle’s President, Joel Sparks work on packing bags.

Pictured above: First year dairy management students enjoy MSU Dairy Store ice cream. Below: Hannah Tucker and Lynnae Slavik enjoy a game of bean bag toss.

Michigan State University Dairy Club

Dairy Club Haunted Corn Maze Written by Carrie Szybisty

On October 28, between 15 and 20 members of the Dairy Club departed from Anthony Hall for a night of fun at a haunted corn maze. Expecting to be enter-tained, these members found much, much more. After enjoying a long ride to the maze, the cars unloaded, and the smell of freshly warmed cider filled the barn where they gathered. The whole group started the corn maze together, but quickly split up into smaller groups to find their way through the dark maze. As the search for the exit continued, screams could be heard through the trees. Before they knew it, the members were headed towards the haunted section of the trail. Elements of surprise included a dark shelter to pass through, a section of the path that felt like one was sinking, masked Halloween characters with chain-saws, and monsters popping out unexpectedly. Every-one made it out of the haunted section alive…we think. Members who made it out early enjoyed the warm cider in the barn while waiting for the other groups to finish. After sharing stories of the maze and those who were scared, everyone loaded back into their cars to drive back to East Lansing. The memo-ries and the scares that took place will not soon be for-

g o t t e n by all t h o s e who at-tended.

IM Volley Ball Written by Ross Williams

The MSU Dairy Club put together an IM Volleyball team once again this year which took place every Tuesday in October and November at IM East. Any-body and everybody is allowed and encouraged to play. Win or lose, this event is a lot of fun and guar-anteed some laughs for the members who participated over the semester. The club had numerous partici-pants this year, as a team must have three boys and three girls on the floor to compete. The team im-proved upon its winning percentage this year as we ended with a season record of 3 wins and 3 losses. Way to represent MSU Dairy Club!

Euchre Tournament Written by Lynnae Slavik

The MSU Dairy Club held its second annual Euchre Tournament this year, again where all of the proceeds went to supporting Michigan FFA. Once again, prizes were awarded for the highest scoring player as well as for the best costume. Everybody in attendance en-joyed euchre, Halloween music and tasty treats!

Pictured above: Club members in attendance gathered for a group picture after going through the maze. Below: Sarah Fraley, Lynnae Slavik and Carrie Szybisty get really excited for the corn maze.

Pictured above: Ross Williams, Dale Dick, Matt Alt, Lynnae Slavik, Lauren Bush and Kelsey Byars were regular mem-bers of the Dairy Club volleyball team. Other regular play-ers were Tera Koebel and Eric Sneller.

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Best Year in Cheese Sales Yet! By Jessica Makowski

This year was revolutionary! The Dairy Club imple-mented tons of changes! Some of the changes include Ritz crackers instead of water crackers, green and white shredded paper instead of straw, a postcard in-stead of a brochure and utilized the Agriculture and Natural Resources Communications Department for designing material as well as setting up interviews and articles! We also advertised way more in the State News, Progressive Dairyman, Farmers Advance, Chi-cago Tribune, Michigan Farm radio and more. Our biggest change was allowing customers to buy boxes online through PayPal. We were not sure how it would go but it was a huge success! We definitely have some quirks we have to straighten out for next year but we had over 100 orders from online sales! Once again, our Milk Messenger Ad was generously donated! We sent out postcards telling our mailing list where they could go to look up the different boxes and to promote the new online ordering. We also posted posters around campus so the public as well as faculty could see our fundraiser. We also sold boxes of cheese at Autumn Fest, which had a huge turnout! We con-tinued with the incentive system but we changed it up a bit. Instead of the member picking a free box of cheese, we changed it so the person who sold the most boxes would get a check amount of how many boxes they sold. So, in Beth Motz’s case, she sold 108 boxes of cheese so she received a $108 check! Congratulations Beth! This year we sold almost 1,000 boxes of cheese which was a 26% increase from last year! The biggest mode of ordering was almost a tie with over-the-counters at 36% and online ordering at 37%. Pick-up was also the highest way people received their cheese being at 44%. Shipping was a close second at 39% of all of our orders. Surprisingly the Classic was not our top

seller, the Cheddar won this year with 26% of sales. This year, we raised approximately $5,000! The best thing about the sale was the member and advisor in-volvement! There was a 64% member involvement which is huge for a club our size! Good Job to all members! This year, we have many things to consider and decide on because of all the changes. It was definitely a step-ping stone year and I know next year will be even bet-ter! Good Luck to Kelsey Byars on the 2011 Cheese Sale!

Pictured above: Sara Mowry finishes packing a cheese box, proudly showing the finished product. Below: Karmen Jack-son, Jessica Makowski, Kelsey Byars, Tera Koebel and Lyn-nae Slavik work over the counter.

Michigan State University Dairy Club

CANR Ag Olympics Written by Lauren Bush

The Dairy Club entered two teams in the 2010 CANR Ag Olympics. The first team was made up of Katie McCormack, Sarah Michalek, Matt Alt, Ryan Silver-nail, Alan Mergener, and Chelsea Niewiadomski. The second team (aka Team Intimidation) consisted of Lynnae Slavik, Krista Beeker, Lauren Bush, Ross Williams, John Anibal, and Dale Dick. Team 2 showed spirit with team shirts, although the writing ended up backwards!

Both teams did well in all the events, such as the egg toss, frozen t-shirt, and tug-o-war. The most interest-ing and challenging event was creating a tower of cups

using only strings, which everyone held in their mouths, tied to a central rubber band. No hands al-lowed! Team 2 set the bar high in the first heat finish-ing minutes before their competitors. Probably the least enjoyable event for some of the team members was the relay. One person had to transfer a mixture of garlic salt and milk by mouth from cup to cup, another pair made a human wheelbarrow and weaved around cones, then the fourth had to find gum in a cream pie and blow a bubble. Ross and Sarah were breathing garlic for days! Overall though, the Dairy Club made a good showing, with team 1 coming in 7th and Team 2 taking first place. The victory earned a pizza cele-bration for the entire club.

A Very Dairy Trip to Canada Written by Tera Koebel

Traveling through the countryside with friends new and old proved a fun time when Dairy Club members loaded a bus bound for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in November. About 50 people embarked on the exciting journey that included a lot of social time and networking opportunities in Toronto, Ontario. The group consisted of Dairy Club members, Michigan Junior Holstein Association members and people from the Michigan dairy industry. This fun and educational journey included tours of four different farms ranging from breeding stock in a tie stall barn to r o b o t i c m i l k i n g systems to state of the art com-m e r c i a l facilities to m a n a g e -ment win-ning herds in Ontario. There was also an evening spent watching the “Sale of Stars” at the fairgrounds, and an entire day of watching the International Holstein Show. Af-ter the show everyone enjoyed a festive meal at the Hard Rock Café: Toronto before heading out for the evening to explore with friends. After arriving back in East Lansing, everyone was tired but thrilled to say they watched one of the best dairy shows in the world, saw cattle sell for over $100,000 a piece, and made many memories to never be forgotten.

Pictured above: Members of team one, Katie Mccormack, Ryan Silvernail, Alan Mergener, Chelsea Niewiadomski, Matt Alt, and Sarah Michalek. Below: Members of team Intimidation, John Anibal, Dale Dick, Krista Beeker, Lauren Bush, Lynnae Slavik and Ross Williams.

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Autumn-fest Written by Olivia DeVooght

To promote the Dairy Club and our annual cheese sale five DC members attended Autumn-fest and put up a display. Autumn-fest is the largest indoor tailgate at MSU and his held before one of the home football games. Club, organizations, alumni, businesses and Sparty gather together for a big dinner, auction and other events to raise money for the CANR. We set up a booth to sell cheese, talk to visitors, give away sam-ples, promote our club, and the dairy industry. This year for the first time we won 3rd place for our dis-play. Congratulations Dairy Club!

The Christmas Giving Tree Written by Lauren Bush

As a community service project, the club decided to sponsor children for Christmas through the Salvation Army. Each child was represented by an angel card with a Christmas list on it. We set up a tree in the mailroom of Anthony Hall and put ten angels on the tree. Seven of the children were sponsored by Animal Science faculty, students, or individual Dairy Club members. The other three children were sponsored by the club. Sarah Fraley, Tera Koebel, and Lauren Bush went shopping for gifts for the Dairy Club’s angels. All three children were boys between eleven and twelve and they received board games, toys, hats, and sweatshirts. Each of the seven other children also re-ceived four gifts ranging from CD players to board games and clothes.

Stop Light Christmas Party Written by Lynnae Slavik

In past years the Dairy Club has had a Christmas party to end the semester; however this year we decided to have a ball – bowling style! The theme of the evening was Stoplight Party: red if you’re taken, yellow if you’re somewhere in the middle and green if you’re single and ready to mingle! The event took place im-mediately following the MSU Dairy Challenge com-petition’s banquet, and consequently we had a great turnout! The five lanes that we filled at Marvel Lanes were buzzing with social chatter! The event was a huge success, setting a tone for the spring semester!

Pictured Above: Courtney Larson, Jessica Makowski, Chel-sea Niewiadomski, Olivia DeVooght poses at the Dairy Club’s booth at Autumn-fest.

Pictured Above: Casey Klein throws the ball down the land for a strike. Below: Club members take a moment for a group picture at Marvel Lanes.

Michigan State University Dairy Club

Spring Semester 2011 The Udder Truth

UDIM Media Training Written By Megan Sprague

UDIM media training's purpose is to help those in the Dairy Industry converse with reporters and the public. Whether in print or on a video camera, speaking in a way that is educational, caring, and concise. I was ini-tially very nervous because I am terrified of video cameras, but the teachers were very understanding while still being challenging. I enjoyed not only famil-iarizing myself with ways to translate agricultural jar-gon to the public, but also to grow my own speaking skills. Ultimately I feel more prepared for any type of interview and more comfortable with camera inter-views, and I have those at UDIM to thank for it.

MSU Dairy Field Trip Written by Lynnae Slavik

This spring, local elementary schools came out to the MSU Dairy farm to explore the dairy industry that we all know and love. The children as well as the chaper-ones were taken on an energetic and lively tour by Michigan State Dairy Club’s finest: Kelsey Byars, Courtney Larson, Jessica Makowski, and Todd Worden. The tour included informative explanations

on the farm, its cattle, the housing, feeding, milking, cattle handling, dairy products, and of course ICE CREAM! For many children, this was their first time on a farm and being up close and personal with a cow; therefore, it was important to follow the product from cow to carton so they know exactly where their dairy products are coming from. It was a very successful afternoon, and it was a learning experience for both the students and the Dairy Club members putting it on. You can expect to see the MSU Dairy Club get more in-volved in more public educa-tion in the next years to come.

Pictured above: Kelsey Byars educates children from Lakewood elementary school about calves at the MSU Dairy.

Pictured Right: UDIM’s Mitch Smith came to a Dairy Club meeting in January to dis-cuss the importance of communication training.

Michigan State University Dairy Club

2011 Spartan Spectacular Sale Written by Lynnae Slavik

Once again, the MSU dairy club had another spectacu-lar week out at the MSU Pavilion during the week of March 21st as they prepared for their annual sale. There were multiple opportunities for hands-on live-stock education as the animals began arriving on Tuesday, March 22nd for the 2011 Spartan Spectacular Sale, which is ran and organized by the students of the MSU Dairy Club and MSU dairy judging teams. The sale took place on Friday, March 25th and is one of the largest fundraiser’s for the Dairy Club. Members from the club were heavily involved from be-ginning to start by organizing consignments, asking for donations, getting student volunteers, and creating the sale catalog. Ad-ditionally, members logged many hours out at the Pa-vilion over the course of sale week to lend a helping hand and make sure everything ran smoothly. A total of 26 females were sold. This year’s sale had a wide variety of breeds represented which included: Brown Swiss, Holstein, Jersey and Red & White Holstein. During the week, club members were responsible to perform the daily chores of feeding, watering and cleaning up after the cattle. In addition to the daily chores, club members washed, clipped and prepared the heifers for the sale to get them in top-notch condi-tion for the sale. There were many dedicated club members that were at the Pavilion around the clock, and stuck around for the night hour shifts to help make sure everything got ready for sale day. The Michigan Holstein Association also had their an-nual Foundation Female Sale which also took place on Friday, March 25th. The Dairy Club members and Dairy Judging Team members helped milk, feed, water, and clean up after the MHA consign-ments in return for re-ceiving the money from

the milk that was sold for the week. The sale week gives members of the dairy club and judging teams the opportunity to get hands-on experience at preparing for a sale; thereby, making it possible for them to work with professionals within the industry and im-prove possible networking opportunities with potential future employers. The Spartan Spectacular Sale averaged $1,408 over 26 consigned lots. Proceeds from the sale are used to

fund MSU Dairy Club and Dairy Judging activi-ties. This year’s top selling fe-male was Tri-Koebel Coun-ciller Maybelle-ET consigned by Tri-Koebel Farms of Three Oaks, Michigan. She was pur-

chased by Kate Deters of Fremont, Michigan for $3,300. The second highest selling female was MS S Lisa Rae-Red consigned by Carlyle Westendorp of Nashville, Michigan. She was purchased by John Weller (Double Eagle Dairy) of Middleton, Michigan for $2,900. This year’s sponsors and supporters included: ABS Global, Cole Farms, Gingell Feed Consultants Inc., Kevin Klahn, Michigan Jersey Cattle Club, MI/IN Holstein Association, Michigan Farm Bureau, Michi-gan Sugar Company, MSU Purebred Beef Farm, Paul Dost Farms LLC, Scheurer Farms, Williams Dairy Farm, and Williams Farm Machinery. Donors helped to supply us with feed, equipment, and bedding in ad-dition to other supplies which help our sale to be more profitable in the end. Thank you to our sponsors, hard-working Dairy Club and Dairy Judging Team mem-

bers. Your time and support are greatly appreciated. This year’s sale was a suc-cess because of you, and could not have been done without you!

This year’s top-seller, Tri-Koebel Counciller Maybelle-ET, was consigned by Tri-Koebel Farms of Three Oaks, and purchased by Kate Deters of Fremont.

2011 Spartan Spring Break The Udder Truth

MSU Dairy Club Goes West Written by Lynnae Slavik

This year a group of seven MSU Dairy Club members packed their bags and headed out west for a spring break adventure. These students included: Olivia De-Vooght, Sara Mowry, Sarah Fraley, Jessica Ma-kowski, Kelsey Byars, Matt Alt, and Lynnae Slavik. They flew into Reno, Nevada on Sunday, March 6 and traveled south through the valley and Lake Tahoe en route to Sacramento, California. On Monday, the stu-dents drove from Sacramento where they checked out the sites and scenery and finished the day with a trip up to San Francisco where they visited a winery. Tuesday was a jam-packed day in San Francisco in-cluding a tour of Alcatraz and exploring the city. Fi-nally, the group stopped at Tollcrest Holsteins in Wheatland, California on their way back to Reno. At this Californian dairy, the students were given a de-tailed tour by the owner, Seann Tollenaar. He dis-cussed some of the major differences that are on “Western” dairy farms; the major difference being their goals of production. In the Mid-West, our major goal is to maximize milk production. However, in the west input prices, heat stress and milk surplus makes production goals difficult and expensive to accom-plish; therefore, most all producers will aim to mini-mize costs and maximize profits. Wednesday through Friday, was spent in Reno, Nevada at the Western Dairy Management Conference where club members were entertained by industry panels, research presenta-tions, and networking with industry professionals.

Thank You Spring Break Sponsors!

Michigan State University Dairy Club

Sunday Driving through the Valley and Lake Tahoe

Tuesday San Francisco, Alcatraz & Tollcrest Holsteins

Wednesday-Friday Western Dairy Management Conference in Reno

Monday Checking out Sacramento and San Francisco

The Udder Truth

Dutch Students Experience MSU Written by Hannah Tucker

What happens in the U.S. stays in the U.S. This was the mantra for the Dutch students whom visited the MSU Dairy Club. These students had been the ones that had greeted MSU students during the summer of 2010 in the Netherlands. They had taken the Spartans around their country and shown them how agriculture is like over there. We had to return the favor and show them how agriculture is done in our sector of the U.S. The students were taken on many different tours in their short stay on campus. Of course they were shown around MSU, the university farms, MSU Dairy Store, and also other farms that are close to campus that are in the industry. Students from both countries were amazed at the differences and similarities that one ocean can bring into something like agriculture. The caution of which farms in the Netherlands have to tread to keep everyone happy was a huge undertaking in the eyes of MSU students. The Dutch were im-pressed with the size of our facilities and amount of product we are able to produce. Students were also able to mingle with each other and form contacts. There was a friendly game of quiz bowl between schools that turned into a battle of who knew the most pop culture. There were many laughs and good times shared all around that will stick out in everyone’s

minds as a good memory.

End of the Year Adventure Written by Lauren Bush

This year we decided to plan a road trip to finish out the year strong. We left Saturday morning and got back to campus Sunday night. Six members that were in attendance on this trip included: Krista Beeker, Kelsey Bruen, Lauren Bush, Sarah Fraley, Brian Rett, and Ryan Silvernail. The trip was a lot of fun and it had a little something for everyone. The trip took us through Indiana to Fair Oaks Dairy Farm and Purdue University. Then across the Illinois line, we visited Butlerview Farm and finally ventured up to Navy Pier in Chicago. At Fair Oaks, we went on a bus tour of the farm and walked through the Adven-ture Center, where they teach the public about dairy farming. At Purdue we toured the dairy farm, had din-ner with Purdue’s dairy club, and finished out the eve-ning with a walking tour of campus. Sunday we ex-plored Butlerview Farm, which is a top notch show cow farm with equally impressive facilities. Soon af-ter, we were on the road again - Chi-cago bound! At Navy Pier, we walked around, and enjoyed the 80 degree weather, had lunch at Harry Caray’s Tav-ern, and stopped check out the shops on the pier for souve-nirs.

Pictured left: Dutch students toured the MSU campus and gather for a group photo in front of the o u r l e g e n d a r y “Sparty” statue. Be-low: The MSU and Dutch students hung out frequently during their stay.

Michigan State University Dairy Club

2011 Small Animals Day Written by Kelsey Byars

This year, CANR Student Senate hosted Small Ani-mals Day on Saturday, April 16, 2011, from 9-1pm. Dairy Club organized and ran the I-Milked-a-Cow Booth, where we had 6 cows from the MSU Dairy, at the Livestock Pavilion. Members came in early to help wash, bed, feed, and to set up the Dairy Club booth before Small Animals Day actually started. The “I-Milked-a-Cow” booth is very popular, filled with coming through at all times. All people, young and old, enjoy being up close to the cows and having the opportunity to milk a real cow! Our members did an excellent job showing people how to milk the cows and answer any questions that people had. Small Ani-mals Day helps provide children and their families an opportunity to better understand the dairy industry and agriculture.

2011 Relay for Life! By Jessica Makowski

2011 was a great relay year for the MSU Dairy Club! The club teamed up with The Mak Attacks to double their contributions from the last year and the club gra-ciously donated $500 of its own money to the cause!!! The MSU Relay for Life was on April 15-16th and was held at Ralph Young Track and Field. At the event, our team camped out overnight and took turns walking around the track to raise money and awareness to help the American Cancer Society create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. Saving lives from cancer starts one team, one participant, and one dollar at a time. The theme this year was having more birthdays and lighting more birthday can-dles this year! Our team is doing our part to make sure that cancer never steals another year of anyone’s life. The Relay for Life of Michigan State is the fourth highest-fundraising collegiate Relay For Life in the country! When we combine our fundraising totals with our sister event, the MSU Greek Relay For Life, our Relays raise over $300,000 annually for the American Cancer Society! The impact we can make together is much greater than what any of us could do alone!

Pictured above: Jenna Taylor helps a kid milk a cow, while Kelsey Byars (below) gives the cows some TLC.

Members of the MSU Dairy Club and the Mak Attacks

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Dairy Club Scholarships Awarded Written by Lynnae Slavik

Members of the MSU Dairy Club decided it would be beneficial to award scholarships to first year dairy club members – one four-year student and one two-year student. The scholarships are awarded to first year members who are actively involved in the club. Applicants were evaluated based on their academic performance, financial need, future plans/aspirations, involvement in the club and the dairy industry. This year’s recipient of the four-year scholarship was Carrie Szybisty, an Animal Science junior from Red-ford, Michigan. Carrie says, “When I began my time at Michigan State, I was the typical student from the city and I rarely pondered where food originated from. I’ve always had a passion for animals and animal health, so I explored the major of Animal Science. During my investigation I was shocked at how much there was to learn, and as passion grew, so did my in-volvement in clubs and activities. With this newfound interest, my life-long dream of becoming a small ani-mal veterinarian started to change. I am currently ex-ploring the different career choices available in the agricultural field, but my interest still remains in the veterinary profession. Therefore, I plan to go to vet-erinary school after completing a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and become a production animal vet-erinarian specializing in dairy cattle and artificial in-semination.” Ryan Silvernail was the recipient of the two-year scholarship. Ryan is a Dairy Management freshman from Fremont, Michigan. Ryan’s love for the dairy industry developed as he became involved in the Fre-mont FFA chapter and working on Carson Acres Dairy Farm. Upon completion of the dairy manage-ment program, Ryan would like to work on a dairy farm.

Annual Dairy Club Recognition Banquet Written by Lynnae Slavik

Once again this year, the MSU Dairy Club held its an-nual awards banquet in conjunction with the Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference (GLRDC) awards banquet on February 4, 2011. The conference took place at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Honorees for the dairy club included: • Outstanding Member: Jessica Makowski; Macomb, MI • Outstanding First Year Member: Matt Alt; Comstock Park, MI • Outstanding First Year Techer: Ned Lindsey; Tekonsha, MI • Outstanding Alumni Award: Mark Adam; Club Advisor

In addition to various producers and Dairy Club mem-bers being honored, GLRDC also offers many educa-tional as well as networking opportunities for produc-ers, industry professionals, and club members. The conference is a two-day event held every year with a variety of different topics presented. The Michigan Dairy Ambassador program also offers a way for high school and college age students to get involved. The ambassador program is a scholarship and leadership program that allows students to harness their passion for the dairy industry by participating in various activities, events and projects all over the state. Animal science sophomore, and MSU Dairy Club member, Lauren Bush was chosen as this year’s 2011 Senior Michigan Dairy Ambassador.

Presenter Krista Beeker presented the 2010-11 Dairy Club awards to Jessica Makowski (top), Ned Lindsey (middle) and Mark Adam (bottom).

Michigan State University Dairy Club

The Graduating Class of 2011

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Krista Beeker Degrees: Animal Science and Ag. C o m m u n i c a t i o n s Years in Dairy Club: 4 Activities: Dairy Club member 2007-2011, Treasurer (2009/2010) and Education and Outreach Coordinator

(2010/2011), Block and Bridle member 2007-2011, Collegiate FFA member 2008-2011, Secretary (2009/2010), 2010 Dairy Cattle Judging Team Competed in Dairy Challenge Contest 2007, 2008, and 2010, Worked for Animal Behavior and Welfare Group 2009-2011, and awarded Outstanding 1st year D a i r y C l u b m e m b e r i n 2 0 0 7 / 2 0 0 8 Favorite DC Memory: Royal Trip. Plans upon Graduation: MMPA Field Rep.

Sarah Fraley Degree: Animal Science Number of Year in Dairy Club: 2 Activities: Dairy Club Secretary (2010-11), Cheese Sale, Calf Sale, Relay for Life, National Dairy Chal-lenge Team and ASURSA.

Plans upon Graduation: Attending graduate school at Purdue University for Ruminant Nutrition.

Karmen Jackson Degree: Animal Science Number of Year in Dairy Club: 3.5 Dairy Club Activities: Calf Sale Committee, VPI, VPII, Cheese Sale Chair, Relay for Life, 2009 ADSA

Joint Annual Meeting in Montreal, 2010 ADSA Joint Annual Meeting in Denver, Undergraduate Research Competition ADSA Quiz Bowl, Euchre Tournaments, Scavenger Hunts, Student Senate Representative, Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference, and Dairy Club Spring Break Trip 2008. Favorite DC Memory: From the hayrides, trips out of state and out of country, change-over ice cream combinations at meetings, late night cheese packing's,

Dr. Fogwell’s hot topic and Calf Sale week, to inter-esting discussions in the club room, my experience at Michigan State would not of been the same without Dairy Club memories and the life-long friendships. Plans upon Graduation: Work for Agri-Science Technologies

Casey Klein Degree: Animal Science Number of Year in Dairy Club: 3 Activities: Publications Chair Junior Year Helped with cheese sale, guarding rock, went to BBQ’s, hayrides and

many other DC activities. Also, was a member of NAMA for one year as well as Sigma Alpha for one year. Favorite DC Memory: Working long hours at calf sale and having a great time with other members while doing it. Plans upon Graduation: Working as Dairy Farm Manager at VDS Farms in Scotts, Michigan. We milk 1300 cows. Also, I will be getting married in October 2011.

Jessica Makowski Degree: Animal Science Number of Years in Dairy Club: 4 Activities: My leadership roles in the Dairy Club included: Spartan Spectacular Sale Labor Chair, Publi-cations Co-chair and Executive Com-mittee, Historian Committee Chair,

Vice President I and Vice President II.I was also very involved in the club with Small Animals Day, Autumn Fest, “Sparticipation”, organized the 2009 Chili Cook-off, painted the rock all 4 years, the Annual Hayride, participated in Calf Sale, invented “Dairy Awareness Day,” volunteered at Elementary School Tours, went on Farm Tours and organized the 2010 Annual Cheese Sale. Favorite DC Memory: My favorite memory defi-nitely has to be the 2008 Spartan Spectacular Calf Sale, which was my first year in Dairy Club. It was

Michigan State University Dairy Club

really my first experience with handling dairy cattle and did I get a run for my money! I had never led a cow anywhere before, especially one that wasn’t broke! Everyone felt bad for the city girl and tried to help me but I was too stubborn. I wanted to do it my-self. At the end of the day, I had tons of blisters on my hands but I didn’t care. I had already decided to love dairy cattle so I needed to do what I had to do to learn more about them. Later that day, I slept happily in straw, between two warm baby calves. Plans upon Graduation: My plans are to pursue a career in the Agriculture field.

Allan Mergener Degree: Animal Science/Production Medicine Scholars Number of Year in Dairy Club: 2 years Activities: Cheese sale packing, over-the-counter sales and pick-ups. Helping milk and wash cattle during

calf sale. Favorite DC Memory: Calf and cheese sales during the two years I have been a member have always been a lot of fun. Plans upon Graduation: Attending Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in the fall.

Beth Motz Degree: Animal Science and Agri-business Management Number of Year in Dairy Club: 3 Activities: I was active in dairy club and helped with most of the events from cheese sale to calf sale. I went

on the trip to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, which was an awesome experience to understand the industry better and get to know other students within the club. Favorite DC Memory: Sitting in the dairy club room in Anthony is where many friends were made, many topics were discussed, and lots of Panda Express was eaten. It was nice to have a place to relax in between classes, with good friends who understood what you were talking about when you were trying to figure out what to feed your cow, or what bull to use, or just how to get through classes.

Plans upon Graduation: I am hoping to obtain a job in the agriculture industry with an emphasis in dairy.

Sara Mowry Degree: Agribusiness Management Number of Year in Dairy Club: 4 Activities: Collegiate Dairy Judging Team, MSU Block & Bridle Club, MSU Dairy Club: 2009-10 Histo-rian, Spartan Spectacular, Cheese Sale, and Dairy Awareness Day.

Plans upon Graduation: Working for JBS, a meat packing and processing plant.

Lynnae Slavik Degree: Animal Science, ABM Spe-cialization Number of Year in Dairy Club: 2 Activities: Collegiate Dairy Judging Team, MSU Block & Bridle Club, 2008 Senior Michigan Dairy Ambas-sador, MSU Dairy Club: 2010-11

Technology Chair, Spartan Spectacular catalog and advertising chair. Favorite DC Memory: Some of my favorite memo-ries, to name a few, would include: guarding and painting the rock, as well as working and hanging out at the PAV for calf sale. They were some very fun and memorable times! Plans upon Graduation: Working for NorthStar Co-operative as an Agricultural Sales Specialist.

Hannah Tucker Degree: Animal Science Number of Year in Dairy Club: 2 Activities: Club Historian Favorite DC Memory: I loved be-ing able to have dairy store ice cream at every meeting and all the different types of speakers we were able to

have. Plus being able to be dragged by a cow or two was always a good time. Plans upon Graduation: Attending graduate school for mammary physiology.

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