The World Dairy Expo took place in Madison last week, and the events in close proximity to the University of Wisconsin campus did not go unnoticed. UW faculty and students were invited to work and volunteer at the biggest all-dairy expo in the world.

More than 65,000 people from 79 countries crowded into the Alliant Energy Center for the Expo.

Marjorie Stieve, marketing manager for the World Dairy Expo, said UW students helped with various tasks throughout the Expo. Veterinary students helped check cattle in the exhibition area, other students helped decorate the facilities prior to the events, and UW faculty and staff were asked to participate in the experts area.

The student-run Badger Dairy Club, consisting mainly of students from the UW’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, also participated in events. The club was paid to help with a variety of activities including: decorating the cattle-showing area, cleaning up after the animals and operating a cheese stand that helped to raise money for club expenses.

Stieve noted that UW students made up the majority of volunteers and workers at the World Dairy Expo.

“Based on past anecdotes, students are important to the Expo,” Stieve said, adding that it is important for students to be able to interact with attendees and to provide knowledge and assistance.

UW also set up two booths of the 1400 booths included in the Expo. One booth was run by the Babcock Institute, which runs a course in conjunction with the Dairy Expo.

“We time our course for the Dairy Expo,” associate director of the Institute Karen Nielson said. The Babcock course informs guests of new technological advances and better techniques for dairy-herd management. The booth also sells publications dealing with the dairy industry.

However, not just UW students are involved in the Expo; students from across the country participated in the many cattle-judging competitions. Ted Halbach, instructor of dairy science and coach of the UW dairy-cattle-judging team, explained that students were responsible for determining a point-value system on which various classes of cows and heifers could be judged for their best characteristics. The UW team compared its judgments with a professional judge appointed by the Expo and had two to two-and-a-half minutes to defend its stance.

“We did outstanding; we finished second,” Halbach said.

Cornell University took first place in the judging competition, but UW took first in oral defense out of the 24 entered teams from various universities. Halbach added that UW has continued its legacy for excellence in the dairy sciences by placing it in the top five for 19 consecutive years.

UW faculty and students were also involved in the Expo’s National AgriMarketing Association, which assisted in conducting a variety of surveys taken at the event and ran auctions to sell cattle, embryos and equipment.