“I was apprehensive at first,” Sneller said. “But it was one of the best experiences I’ve had.”

The competition requires students to take on the role of a dairy consultant and evaluate a real dairy farm on aspects including nutrition, reproduction, finances and management. In the Midwest Dairy Challenge, students had to present the information to a panel of judges. Although in the real world, evaluating a farm takes a few days, contestants had only eight hours to evaluate a farm and design their presentation, said Sylvia Kehoe, a professor of dairy science at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in River Falls, Wisc., which hosted the competition this year.

“They get thrown in with people — they have no idea who they are — and they’re on a tight time schedule,” Kehoe said.

Despite not knowing each other previously, Sneller and his other teammates were named winners from the 64 other students competing during the weekend. Aside from MSU, 15 other universities were represented in the competition.

For students, the competition serves not only as a place to prove their skills as a dairy consultant but as an opportunity to network with companies.

The competition is funded by several sponsors who come to the challenge hoping to recruit future employees and interns, said Mark Clarke, general manager of World Dairy Expo, which provided management service to the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge.

“We put on a small career fair,” Clarke said. “(Companies) have the opportunity to come and sit down with these kids and get to know them.”

Miriam Weber-Nielsen, an MSU professor of animal science, said in the past several years two students have found jobs in the industry as a direct result of the competition.

“(The competition) gives students more exposure to what their job might be like in the real world,” Weber-Nielsen said.

Sneller said he talked with several employers at the competition and is waiting to hear from them.

“A lot of employers like to see (that) you participated in the dairy challenge,” Sneller said. “It’s a highly regarded asset to learning.”

Apart from the regional challenges, there also is a national competition taking place at the end of March. MSU will send four students to the competition in North Carolina.

Sneller said it meant a lot that he was able to attend the regional competition and do well.

“The people are great, the industry is great,” Sneller said. “You can make so many friends in so many areas being in the dairy industry. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.”