{"id":13946,"date":"2026-08-17T09:43:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:43:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/?post_type=campus_story&p=13946"},"modified":"2026-08-17T09:43:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:43:26","slug":"dairy-youth-camp-returns-to-uw-madison","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/dairy-youth-camp-returns-to-uw-madison\/","title":{"rendered":"Dairy youth camp returns to UW\u2013Madison"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Photo:<\/a>
Badger Dairy Camp campers listen to undergraduate camp counselor Nick Needham as he helps lead a dairy judging and linear evaluation activity at UW\u2013Madison’s Dairy Cattle Center. Photo by Michael P. King\/UW\u2013Madison CALS.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In mid-July, 63 high school and middle school students attended the four-day Badger Dairy Camp on the University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison campus, where they learned about the breadth of areas that contribute to Wisconsin\u2019s dairy industry, and the higher education and career opportunities available to them. The programming, for youth ages 12-17, included hands-on workshops and visits to multiple campus labs, the UW School of Veterinary Medicine and a nearby dairy farm \u2013 plus college prep sessions and recreational activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of my favorite sessions was learning about the reproductive tract. That was pretty cool,\u201d says Grace Elmhorst, a high school freshman from Granton, Wisconsin whose family runs Romadka View Holsteins. \u201cWe got to see the reproductive organs, and one of the cows was pregnant with twins, so we got to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s Badger Dairy Camp is a revival \u2013 and expansion \u2013 of a popular summer program that was last offered 2018. The Covid pandemic waylaid earlier efforts to bring back the camp. Funding to re-launch the camp came from a UW Dairy Innovation Hub grant, as well as contributions from Compeer Financial, Hoard\u2019s Dairyman, UW\u2013Madison Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences (ADS) and other sponsors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were thrilled to bring back Badger Dairy Camp and see such a positive response. The feedback we heard at check-out was overwhelmingly positive, with students sharing how much they enjoyed the hands-on experiences, new friendships, and career exploration opportunities,\u201d says event co-organizer Eric Ronk, a member of ADS\u2019 teaching faculty. \u201cIt truly took a village to make this camp a success, and we are grateful to everyone who contributed their time, talents and other support to create such a meaningful experience for these students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The camp is unique from other dairy youth camps because the programming covers the four key priority areas of the Dairy Innovation Hub: stewarding land and water resources; enriching human health and nutrition; ensuring animal health and welfare; and growing farm business and communities. Campers also participated in more traditional dairy youth activities such as dairy judging and linear evaluation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done linear evaluation before as part of a 4H judging team, but it\u2019s cool to get to learn from the UW\u2019s dairy judging coaches and members of the team,\u201d says Evan Brey, a rising freshman at Southern Door High School whose family runs Brey Cycle Farm in Sturgeon Bay. \u201cThey\u2019re obviously a lot more experienced at contests, and the Wisconsin judging team is pretty prestigious \u2013 so it\u2019s exciting to learn from them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campers had the full student experience, staying and dining in a campus residence hall. There were opportunities to interact with peers, current UW students and faculty during recreational activities including volleyball, bowling and a bonfire at campus\u2019 scenic Picnic Point. The majority of attendees were members of farm families, but the programming was designed for all interested learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to recruit students from both agricultural and nonagricultural backgrounds to sustain the dairy workforce and local communities in Wisconsin,\u201d says co-organizer Laura Hernandez, professor of animal and dairy sciences. \u201cThat\u2019s the long-term goal of this program \u2013 to inspire, prepare, and support young people as future leaders in Wisconsin\u2019s dairy sector.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe engagement among camp participants, undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, and industry professionals was phenomenal,\u201d says ADS graduate student Megan Lauber, who led planning and coordination for the camp. \u201cIt showcased how strong the dairy community is here in Wisconsin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Written by UW-Madison<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/news.cals.wisc.edu\/2026\/07\/16\/dairy-youth-camp-returns-to-uw-madison\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In mid-July, 63 high school and middle school students attended the four-day Badger Dairy Camp on the University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison campus, where they learned about the breadth of areas that contribute to Wisconsin\u2019s dairy industry, and the higher education and career opportunities available to them. The programming, for youth ages 12-17, included hands-on workshops and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":13947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[103],"story_category":[147,150],"class_list":["post-13946","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-madison","story_category-community","story_category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/13946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=13946"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=13946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}