South Dakota State University takes ‘All Products’ honors at 2018 Collegiate Dairy Contest

Fourteen colleges participated in this year’s contest, held during the International Cheese Technology Expo in Milwaukee.

South Dakota State University (SDSU) was the 2018 All Products winning team. Pictured are (l to r): Megan Struss (first place All Products, SDSU), Greg Reeter (third place All Products, SDSU), Anna Hemenway (second place yogurt, SDSU), Tori Boomgaarden (Kemps LLC, contest coordinator) and John Allen (IDFA, contest sponsor).

South Dakota State University took All Products honors at the 96th Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest (CDPEC). The competition was held on April 18 in conjunction with the International Cheese Technology Expo, hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA), in Milwaukee.

South Dakota State University student Megan Struss was the All Products winner, WCMA said, while Taylor Harper from the University of Missouri was the winner in the graduate student All Products category.

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