Agriculture and Biological Sciences

Dairy, Meat teams excel in contests

Two of the College’s judging teams are experiencing a winning season. The Dairy Products Judging Team won the All Products category at the 2009 National Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest. The Meat Judging Team finished first in a major contest in Texas in November.

Dairy: The team placed first in the cheddar cheese, milk, yogurt and butter competitions and second in ice cream and cottage cheese in the national contest held Oct. 31, 2009, at Kraft Foods in Glenview, Ill.  SDSU team members are: Cassey Utke, Brandon, who placed first overall among undergraduates; Jordan Dorneman, Milbank, second overall; Nicole Stevens, Pipestone, Minn., third overall; and Oliver Janevski, Skopje, Macedonia, who won the graduate student division.

The team, coached by Professor Bob Baer, became the first entrant in the contest’s 88 years to sweep the top three places in the overall undergraduate competition.

Meat: The SDSU Meat Judging Team placed first overall at the Cargill Meat Solutions High Plains Contest in Plainview, Texas.  This is the first time an SDSU team has won this competition. The team placed first in reasons, pork judging, and total beef.

Team members are: Emily Evans, Pipestone, Minn.; Amanda Stade, Jackson, Minn.; Drew Edleman, Willow Lake; Tyler Grussing, Chamberlain; Matt Altman, Lismore, Minn.; and Ashley Roelfs, Sanborn, Iowa. The team is coached by Sarah Wells and Matt Grussing and advised by Keith Underwood.

The College’s current priorities:

• Beef Cattle Innovation Complex — SDSU aspires for national prominence with a pre-eminent program in the applied science of beef cattle production. This program will provide undergraduate and graduate students with handson training, research opportunities, and enhanced learning experiences. Two facilities will serve as core components of the Beef Innovation Complex: a new cow/calf unit and an expanded research feedlot.
• Dairy Plant Renovation Project: The College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences is fundraising to renovate its 44-year-old Dairy Plant. The College is seeking nine partners to commit $35,000 annually for 10 years to join the Jackrabbit Dairy Council. Six of the Council members have already been recruited.
• McCrory Gardens Education and Visitor Center — The 9,350-square-foot facility will further enhance educational and programmatic activities at McCrory Gardens and the South Dakota State Arboretum. The facility will include a gift shop and space to host educational and social events. Construction will begin in fall 2010.
• Seed Technology Laboratory: Construction began in April 2009 on the Seed Technology Laboratory at the SDSU Innovation Campus, the only university-affiliated research park in the state. Once completed, the laboratory will enhance the research, teaching, extension outreach and technical service capabilities in seed and crop science, technology and biotechnology at SDSU.
• Steers for State: The Steers for State program has been revived to raise scholarship funds for the SDSU rodeo program.

Opportunities Farm

The Opportunities Farm is a gift given to the SDSU Foundation in the spring of 2001. Valued at $1.6 million, the 1,120 acres of land and feedlot facilities provide an outstanding opportunity to conduct research and education for SDSU students. LeRoy Poppens, the benefactor of the farm gift, envisioned the Opportunities Farm as a working farm where students can experience a hands-on livestock and agronomy research and teaching facility.

A grant from the state of South Dakota in 2003 and an investment by the SDSU Foundation enabled the Opportunities Farm to construct three types for feedlot systems (confined, partially confined and open) to compare environmental impacts, livestock performance, physiological stress measurements, and selected nutritional trials. Costs of operating each of these systems along with performance data will be shared with South Dakota producers through the SDSU Cooperative Extension Service specialists and educators.

For more information, visit www.opportunitiesfarm.com.

For more information about Giving Opportunities in the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, please contact: