Michigan 4-H'ers Travel to Madison for National 4-H Dairy Conference
Seven Michigan 4-H'ers traveled to Madison, Wis. to participate in the 60th annual National 4-H Dairy Conference Sept. 28 - Oct. 1, 2014 thanks, in part, to MMPA's support. In total, the educational program attracted approximately 200 youth and adult delegates from across the U.S. and Canada.
"We continue to sponsor five Michigan 4-H'ers' trip to the National 4-H Dairy Conference because we see the value in exposing our future dairy leaders to the global scope of today's dairy industry. The conference gives the next generation of dairy farmers, researchers and agribusiness professionals the chance to get hands-on education and the opportunity to network with counterparts from across North America," Ken Nobis, MMPA president, says. "The sooner we can get students interested in dairy, technology and global cooperation, the better."
Five delegates Jacob Arens of Portland, Lance Frahm of Frankenmuth, Lauren Heberling of Carsonville, Madeline Meyer of Ionia and Cassidy Polzin of Saline earned their sponsored trip to the conference through participation and interviews following the MMPA 4-H Milk Marketing Tour in June. Meyer was also selected as one of two youth delegates asked to return and serve on the planning committee for the 2015 conference.
A 2013 MMPA-sponsored attendee, Courtney Heisler of Springport, was also in attendance and served on the 2014 planning committee. Another 4-H'er, Josh Hengesbach of Portland, joined the MMPA delegation to attend the conference.
Throughout the four-day conference, 4-H members were exposed to new dairy science technology and dairy-related careers. A combination of workshops, speakers, educational field trips and networking with other dairy-oriented youth helped delegates strengthen their futures in the dairy industry.
"Thank you to MMPA for taking me on the National 4-H Dairy Conference in Madison. It was a great experience that opened my eyes to a lot of different jobs in the dairy industry," Arens says.
Dairy science and industry information was conveyed through interactive experiential learning workshops spanning topics from biotechnology to genetics, foods evaluation to animal nutrition, marketing to reproduction. Students experienced a taste of postsecondary education, traveling to the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to learn from nationwide industry experts and professors.
"I met many new people at the National 4-H Dairy Conference and stepped out of my comfort zone. My favorite part was World Dairy Expo; seeing all the gorgeous cows blew my mind! But really this whole trip opened my mind to the dairy industry and made me realize the way we do it in Michigan isn't the way they do it everywhere," Heberling comments.
Delegates toured an assortment of dairy farms and related agribusinesses during the conference, including: ABS Global, Crave Bros. Farm and Homestead Cheese LLC, Hoard's Dairyman, Hoard's Dairyman Farm, Chason Acres, Nasco International, National Dairy Shrine Museum and World Dairy Expo. The tour presentations and accompanying question and answer sessions helped delegates understand the breadth of career opportunities in dairy.
The National 4-H Dairy Conference has been providing hands-on dairy education to nationwide delegates since 1954. Thousands of students have traveled to the conference, held concurrently with World Dairy Expo, to network with other dairy youth and build the knowledge and skills needed to become future leaders in the industry.
For more information on the National 4-H Dairy Conference and other Dairy Youth Programs, please contact Michigan State University Dairy Youth Educator Melissa Elischer at Elischer@anr.msu.edu or 517-432-4306.
MMPA is a member owned and controlled milk-marketing cooperative serving approximately 2,000 dairy farmers in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana.10.22.2014