Greetings from the SDSU Dairy and Food Science Department!
Spring semester classes started on Jan 12, which brings renewed energy and excitement to campus. Our first year students realize that they have already made it through a full semester and our final year students realize that they will only have one more semester on campus! We are thankful for all of our students in our department, as well as for all of the generous supporters of our department who
contribute to our department in many different ways- from hosting field trips to providing student scholarships- we are thankful for all of your support!
We appreciate your help with sharing information about our programs with any prospective students that you may know. Please also feel free to let us know if you would like us to follow up with any prospective students.
We are pleased to share with you many exciting things that have been and will be
happening in our department in this our sixth edition of our newsletter. Feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested.
Please contact me if you would like to visit about our department.
David A. Thompson Endowed Department Head & Professor
We Are Hiring!
Extension Food Processing Field Specialist I
SDSU is seeking a knowledgeable and collaborative professional to support dairy processors through hands-on training, outreach and technical assistance that strengthens food safety and processing practices statewide. This position is located in Brookings, SD and is a 12-month, full-time, benefits-eligible position. For questions on the position, please contact SDSU Extension Interim Director Alexander (Sandy) Smart or call 605-688-4940.
SDSU Extension is seeking a forward-thinking professional to lead innovative outreach and research-based education that supports dairy producers, industry partners and rural communities across the state. This position is located in Watertown, South Dakota and is a 12-month, full-time, benefits-eligible position.
On November 13, 2025, at the 2025 SDSU Fishback Honors College Convocation, Dr. Sanjeev Anand was honored with the 2025 Excellence in Honors Engagement Award. Congratulations, Dr. Anand!
When leadership shows up: How manager and owner involvement transforms dairy employee training
By Maristela Rovai,South Dakota State University, and Lynn Boadwine, South Dakota State University and Boadwine Farms Inc., Baltic, S.D.
Dairy farms invest time and effort in employee training, yet results often disappoint. Knowledge fades within weeks (70% of skills gained in training are lost within 4 to 6 weeks), procedures aren’t implemented consistently and operations quickly return to old patterns. The difference between training that creates temporary awareness and training that generates lasting transformation NOT only lies in the content but also in who participates, how the training environment is created and the quality of follow-up.
The SDSU Dairy and Food Science Department was included in a series of videos for the Ag Day College Roadshow published by Farm Journal. This video highlights the dairy industry and how it's growing here on campus and throughout South Dakota! Check it out!
Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Community Education Webinar Series
January 23, 2026
2:30 PM ET, 1:30 PM CT
12:30 PM MT, 11:30 AM PT
The Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Community is hosting a webinar series on why delivery multilingual farm safety and manure management training and communications is paramount to ensuring safer operations and reducing the risk of accidents, personal injuries and environmental mishaps. Maristela Rovai, South Dakota State University, Mario De Haro-Marti, University of Idaho, and Javier Nexticatan, Temme Agribusiness, will be the featured speakers. More information about participation and about the speakers below.
~A word from Cheyenne Edmundson, DFS Department Recruiter
We appreciate your support in reaching more prospective students and sharing your own stories as industry professionals and alumni. As we embark on 2026, we are expanding our outreach traveling more frequently to Wisconsin, with FCCLA and volunteering during the Wisconsin State FFA Milk Quality contest in April. Consider joining one of the events listed in the link below with our College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences recruitment team or Cheyenne. Cheyenne would be happy to send you recruitment materials to showcase at your own events or to share a booth at upcoming events. Feel free to contact Cheyenne with requests or to recommended events to visit, her contact information is listed below. She can also meet with a student virtually to start the conversation before traveling to campus.
Cheyenne visited various first-year seminar courses on campus, incorporating alumni into the visit virtually. We appreciate Katie Halgerson sharing her story in Dairy Manufacturing and Consumer sciences to first-year exploratory study students. In this exploratory seminar's final assignment, more than one student researched our academic programs and career opportunities. Your story inspires the next generation of dairy and food science trained employees. Thank you for kindly sharing your story virtually, as a social media post or as guest speaker on campus.
Junior Achievement Inspire Annual Fall Event in Sioux Falls, SD--over 3,500 8th graders from Sioux Falls and the surrounding area attended.
Alumnus virtually connecting with first-year jackrabbit students exploring careers in agriculture on campus.
Central Plains Dairy Expo
Come visit the SDSU Dairy and Food Science booth in the main hallway of the expo. We will have students, our recruiter and dairy specialists available to chat with. To learn more about, or register for the Central Plains Dairy Expo, please see the link below.
If there are any companies interested in receiving a pdf file of our current student resumes for hiring purposes, please contact Haley Eggebrecht or Kristi Prunty and we can send you the file.
Student Updates
Dairy and Food Science Student Ambassadors
The Dairy and Food Science Department has started a student ambassador program to assist with recruitment, outreach and department events for the academic year. The following students make up the first team, (left to right) Logan Guilette (DP, '28), Ian Hertenstein (FS, '28), Jessemy Sharp (FS & DM '26), Evelyn Scheffler (DP, '27), Emily Cummins (FS, '28), Anna Johnson (DP, '28), Hayley Daubert (DM, '26) and Raul Berrones Pedraza (DM, '28).
Events & Calendar
Calendar
February 10-12: World Ag Expo - Tulare, CA
March 17-19: Central Plains Dairy Expo - Sioux Falls, SD
March 27-28: Little International - Brookings, SD
April 13: DFS Scholarship Banquet - Brookings, SD
April 12-14: Dairy Challenge - Sioux Falls, SD
April 14: Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest @ Cheese Con - Milwaukee, WI
April 14-16: Cheese Con - Milwaukee, WI
April 20-22: SD State FFA Convention - Brookings, SD
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