Fourteen colleges and universities from the United States and South Korea participated in this year’s contest, WCMA noted. In addition to South Dakota State University, schools competing at the contest included Aims Community College in Colorado, California Polytechnic State University, Clemson University, Cornell University, Iowa State University, Michigan State University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Minnesota, the University of Missouri, the University of Tennessee, the University of Wisconsin, Washington State University/University of Idaho and South Korea‘s Seoul National University.

For the second year in a row, Clemson University placed second in the All Products category, while the University of Tennessee took third, WCMA said.

Established in 1916 by several universities, the Collegiate Dairy Product Evaluation Contest initially was designed to identify quality defects in dairy products throughout the country so defects could be corrected. It has expanded over the years to recognize those students and dairy product judging teams that have mastered the ability to identify high-quality dairy products, WCMA said. The contest gives students the opportunity to showcase their evaluation skills and prepare for careers in the dairy industry.

Students test their sensory abilities against professional judges in six different dairy products: fluid milk, butter, yogurt, cheddar cheese, ice cream and cottage cheese. Dairy industry judges from around the country review eight representative samples of the six different dairy product categories and score each sample based on sensory attributes and the severity of their departure from the ideal. The students are challenged to present scorecards with answers that come as close as possible to the judgments of the experts, WCMA explained.

All Products winners

In the All Products individual undergraduate category, Megan Struss of South Dakota State University won first place; Kaylie Senn of Clemson University earned second place; and Greg Reeter of South Dakota State University won third place, WCMA said.

In the All Products individual graduate student category, Tyler Harper of the University of Missouri won first place; Trenton Kerley of the University of Tennessee took second place; and Jaya Banjade from the University of Minnesota earned third place, WCMA noted.

Product category winners

First, second and third place winners (as well as team category winners) were named in each of the six product categories, WCMA said. The winners were: 

Butter

• Third place, Allison Shaunak from the University of Tennessee
• Second place, Anna Hemenway from South Dakota State University
• First place, Greg Reeter from South Dakota State University
• Graduate winner, Melanie Franks from Cornell University
• Overall team winner, South Dakota State University

Cheddar Cheese

• Third place, Sarah Hansen from Iowa State University
• Second place, Emily Kirisits from the University of Missouri
• First place, Reanna Cummings from the University of Tennessee
• Graduate winner, Ana Karina Garcia from California Polytechnic State University
• Overall team winner, University of Tennessee

Cottage Cheese

• Third place, Caroline Cate from the University of Tennessee
• Second place, Sarah Hansen from Iowa State University
• First place, Reanna Cummings from the University of Tennessee
• Graduate winner, Sonali Raghunath from the University of Minnesota
• Overall team winner, the University of Tennessee

Ice Cream

• Third place, Jonathan Counts from the University of Idaho
• Second place, Caroline Cate from the University of Tennessee
• First place, Kaylie Senn from Clemson University
• Graduate winner, Ahmed Hammam from South Dakota State University
• Overall team winner, South Dakota State University

Milk

• Third place, Megan Struss from South Dakota State University
• Second place, Kaylie Senn from Clemson University
• First place, Jonathan Dillard from Clemson University
• Graduate winner, Jaya Bangade from the University of Minnesota
• Overall team winner, Clemson University
•  

Yogurt

• Third place, Anna Hemenway from South Dakota State University
• Second place, Greg Reeter from South Dakota State University
• First place, Kaylie Senn from Clemson University
• Graduate winner, Trenton Kerley from the University of Tennessee
• Overall team winner, South Dakota State University

To learn more about this competition, visit www.dairyproductscontest.org.