The Northeast Student Affiliate (NESA) of the Student Affiliate Division (SAD) of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) annual meeting will be hosted by the Veterinary and Animal Sciences (VASCI) faculty and students on Saturday, February 8. UMass will host teams of students from the University of Rhode Island, Rutgers University, University of Maryland, University of Delaware, University of Connecticut, University of Maine, University of Vermont, University of New Hampshire, Pennsylvania State University and Delaware Valley College. Organizers expect 250 guests and plan the event to be both educational and fun providing opportunities for students from eleven universities interested in animal science and agriculture to share ideas and compete.
All participating students will individually judge dairy cows, beef cows, pigs, horses, sheep and a “mystery” class at the Hadley Farm.
Each participating school will also enter teams of four students in the Quiz Bowl competition. During the Quiz Bowl, questions of progressive difficulty submitted by VASCI faculty are answered and scored in four elimination rounds. The very challenging and competitive Championship Round will entertain all attendees and will determine the team that moves on to the national level.
One student from each team will also present a research paper on a current animal science or agricultural topic to a panel of judges. The top six presenters go on to a final round where their PowerPoints presentations are shown to all attendees and a panel of judges. Students who are participating in original undergraduate research are eligible.
An Outstanding Senior nominated by faculty at their school will be determined by a select committee.
As the host school, UMass students are assisting in coordinating and directing all the events but are not participants. All awards will be announced at the culminating banquet to be held in the Student Union Ball Room. Sponsors include Farm Credit East, Purina Animal Nutrition, a division of Land O’Lakes, Inc. and Phoenix Feeds & Nutrition.
