Center For Dairy Excellence Foundation Of Pennsylvania

Programs: The organization invests in innovative, educational programs in strategic opportunity areas including youth development, consumer awareness, continuing education, and leadership development resulting in a vibrant and prosperous pennsylvania dairy industry. Dairy leaders of tomorrow: a high school curriculum specifically for those students who have an interest in working in dairy production and related careers. The program offers two industry certifications in dairy herd management and dairy business management, along with relevant coursework, to expose students to the skills and knowledge they need to work on or with dairy farm operations. The dairy leaders of tomorrow curriculum can be completed independently or included in coursework within an agriculture education class. Additional learning opportunities are also available through dairy leaders of tomorrow, including a farm tour and a monthly newsletter with dairy production-related articles and information. Currently, this program is influencing over 12,900 high school students in over 290 classrooms throughout the country. On the farm internship: the professional dairy managers of pennsylvania, pennsylvania dairymen's association and center for dairy excellence foundation of pennsylvania offer scholarships for farms and students to participate in a 10 - 12 week on-farm internship program, intended to provide on-farm learning experiences to the next generation of dairy managers in pennsylvania. To qualify for the internship, farms may be located within or outside of pennsylvania, but producers must agree to provide the intern with exposure to all aspects of a successful, progressive dairy operation. Eligible students must attend a pennsylvania university, a pennsylvania resident attending an out-of-state school or a recently-graduated pennsylvania resident with an interest in dairy production. In the past five years, over 40 students and 40 farms have participated in the program. Dairy leaders of tomorrow farm tour: high school aged students with an interest in dairy participate in a day-long tour of two pennsylvania dairy farm operations in the month of april. The tour is coordinated by the center for dairy excellence and supported by the center for dairy excellence foundation of pennsylvania as part of its dairy leaders of tomorrow program. The farm tour showcases two unique, innovative, profitable and multigenerational dairies in pennsylvania. The tour shows students the tremendous opportunities available to them in the future within the dairy industry. In four years of the tour being held, over 263 students and teachers have participated on the tour. Summit student scholarship: the pennsylvania dairymen's association and the center for dairy excellence foundation offer scholarships to attend the pennsylvania dairy summit each year in february. The dairy summit offers the opportunity for dairy producers, agribusiness leaders, and young dairy enthusiasts to learn and grow together. It is considered the premier dairy educational event in pennsylvania. Applicants for the scholarships must be between the ages of 17 - 25 must currently operate a dairy farm or be enrolled in an agricultural degree program at a college or trade school. Applicants must be residents of pennsylvania or enrolled in a college in pennsylvania. In 2017, 45 students attended the dairy summit on one of these scholarships. Summit raffle & live auction: the raffle and silent auction is held annually in conjunction with the pennsylvania dairy summit. Attendees at the summit are invited to bid on items donated by supporters of the center for dairy excellence foundation of pennsylvania to raise funds specifically for the foundation. The funds will directly support youth education, such as the dairy leaders of tomorrow and discover dairy programs, as well as other initiatives funded by the center foundation. Discover dairy: the discover dairy program currently has more than 900 educators, impacting over 78,000 students, registered to use this curriculum. It is an engaging, interactive, cross-curricular, multi-leveled educational series that shows upper elementary and middle school students where milk comes from and how dairy farmers contribute to our world. Five upper elementary lesson plans, complete with video motivators, reading guides and assessment-based learning tools, are available at www. Discoverdairy. Com, along with four two-part middle school lesson plans, with video motivators, guided reading selections, and lab-based instruction. Enrichment opportunities are also available on the website. Dairy leaders of tomorrow scholarships: the center for dairy excellence foundation offers two scholarships valued at $3,000 to students who have become certified in the dairy leaders of tomorrow program and who are pursuing secondary agriculture and are interested in a career in agriculture. Calving corner: the calving corner is a large exhibit at the pennsylvania farm show that uses the miracle of the birthing process to engage more than 100,000 farm show attendees in learning more about the dairy farm practices that happen day-in and day-out. More than 200 volunteers were involved in the project. Student leader scholarships: the center for dairy excellence foundation of pennsylvania offers two $3,000 student leader scholarships to undergraduate students for the 2016-2017 academic year to directly support student leader scholarships. One of the scholarships will be designated for an incoming freshman. The purpose of these scholarships is to provide recognition, encouragement, and financial assistance to outstanding students enrolled in academic programs that support the dairy industry. Forty students applied to receive this scholarship.