Students from South Dakota State University earned all top honors at the 94th annual Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluations Contest held during the International Dairy Show in Chicago this week.

According to show producer the International Dairy Foods Association, the university earned its ninth consecutive All Products team title, while students Nicole Jax captured first place in the All Products undergraduate category and Dikshi Bawa earned the top spot in the graduate category.

Established in 1916, IDFA says the contest was designed to identify quality defects in dairy products throughout the country so they could be corrected. It expanded over the years to recognize those students and dairy product judging teams that had mastered the ability to identify high-quality dairy products. The contest gives students the opportunity to showcase their evaluation skills and prepare for careers in the dairy industry.

Twelve schools from the United States and Canada participated in this year’s contest. In addition to South Dakota State University, 10 U.S. colleges and universities competed: Clemson University, Iowa State University, Michigan State University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Missouri, the University of Minnesota, the University of Tennessee, the University of Wisconsin, Washington State University/University of Idaho and Aims Community College in Colorado. Canada was represented by The University of Alberta.

The Clemson University team placed second in the All Products category, and the University of Tennessee team took third place.

Students tested their palates against judges in six different dairy products, fluid milk, butter, yogurt, cheddar cheese, ice cream and cottage cheese. To begin, judges review eight representative samples of the six different dairy products and render judgments on each of dozens of possible attributes and the severity of their departure from the ideal. Students then are challenged to present scorecards with answers that come as close as possible to the judgments of the experts.

In the All Products individual undergraduate category, Nicole Jax of South Dakota State University won first place, Valerie Nettle of the University of Tennessee earned the second place award Kinsey MacDonald of Clemson University won third place.

In the All Products individual graduate student category, Dikshi Bawa of South Dakota State University won first place. Carrie Yard of the University of Tennessee earned the second place award, and Kangzi Ren of Iowa State University won third place.

First-, second- and third-place winners were named in each of the six product categories. The undergraduate winners are:

Milk

First place: Lindsey Jenkinson, Clemson University

Second place: Nicole Jax, South Dakota State University

Third place: James Strelow, University of Wisconsin

Butter

First place: Katherine Lowe, University of Tennessee

Second place: Nicole Jax, South Dakota State University

Third place: Paige Lindquist, Clemson University

Yogurt

First place: Kinsey McDonald, Clemson University

Second place: Nicole Jax, South Dakota State University

Third place: Valerie Nettle, University of Tennessee

Cheddar Cheese

First place: Kaylee Wagner, South Dakota State University

Second place: Valerie Nettle, University of Tennessee

Third place: Eleanor Miller, University of Wisconsin

Ice Cream

First place: Yingxin Zhong, University of Minnesota

Second place: Kaylee Wegner, South Dakota State University

Third place: Valerie Nettle, University of Tennessee

Cottage Cheese

First place: Lauren Celmer, Washington State University/Idaho State University

Second place: Nicole Jax, South Dakota State University

Third place: Adam Berge, University of Missouri

The graduate student winners are:

Milk

First place: Hong Jiang, University of Wisconsin

Second place: Geoff Dubrow, University of Minnesota

Third place: Kangzi Ren, Iowa State University

Butter

First place: Amy Haile, Clemson University

Second place: Dikshi Bawa, South Dakota State University

Third place: Geoff Dubrow, University of Minnesota

Yogurt

First place: Carrie Yard, University of Tennessee

Second place: Hong Jiang, University of Wisconsin

Third place: Dikshi Bawa, South Dakota State University

Cheddar Cheese

First place: Zachary Cartwright, Washington State University/University of Idaho

Second place: Carrie Yard, University of Tennessee

Third place: Kangzi Ren, Iowa State University

Ice Cream

First place: Dikshi Bawa, South Dakota State University

Second place: Abhi Datta, University of Missouri

Third place: Zachary Cartwright, Washington State University/University of Idaho

Cottage Cheese

First place: Hannah Damiano, Washington State University/University of Idaho

Second place: Zachary Cartwright, Washington State University/University of Idaho

Third place: Dikshi Bawa, South Dakota State University

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