March 2026

We appreciate all of you who share information about our department with prospective students and we are happy to follow up with any prospective students as well.

We appreciate all the generous supporters of our department and appreciate your continued support in the future as well. Our students have been going on field trips and visiting farms and processing facilities which is wonderful experience for them. We also appreciate all of our scholarship donors and other supporters of our department.     

We are happy to share all the great things that our students, staff, and faculty are doing in our newsletter.  Feel free to forward it to anyone you think might be interested.  

Please contact me if you would like to visit about our department. I would be happy to visit more with you!

Thank you for all your support and all the best,

Londa Nwadike, Ph.D.

David A. Thompson Endowed Department Head & Professor

We Are Hiring!

Research Manager - Davis Dairy Plant

The Dairy & Food Science department at SDSU is looking to hire a Research Manager for the Davis Dairy Plant. This position will work with faculty, students (graduate and undergraduate), and industry to coordinate and manage day-to-day research activities and enable the successful completion of research projects in the SDSU Davis Dairy Plant. The research projects may be research projects that a company wants to accomplish, or may be research conducted by SDSU faculty and students. This position is located in Brookings. This position is a 12-month, full-time, benefits-eligible position. 

Making their mark: How Jackrabbits are helping build community in Milbank

Our department, as well as all of SDSU, has a strong connection with the community of Milbank, SD. More information on the support that our department and university receive from Milbank is available in this article: Making their mark: How Jackrabbits are helping build community in Milbank | South Dakota State University.

Recruitment Updates & Opportunities

Share your story as an Alumnus or Industry Representative, inspire the next generation!

~A message from Cheyenne Edmundson, SDSU DFS Recruiter

The establishment of a Dairy & Food Science ambassador team will be greatly appreciated this spring as they support our visibility during Little I and the SD State FFA Convention through Davis Dairy Plant tours for visiting FFA chapters. Mid-February, Cheyenne connected with Modesto Junior college & Tulare FFA for class visits during World Ag Expo. Students loved to hear about our tuition, cost of living, and our variety in agriculture programs, particularly dairy and precision ag! Our best story tellers are our current students and our alumni! We hosted five alumni for a virtual Dairy Manufacturing panel discussion on February 25^th in collaboration with the Office of Career Development and the SDSU Alumni & Foundation. Our invites extended to teachers across the country and sparked greater understanding of the degree with influential teams on campus including Admissions Counselors and Academic Advisors. We want to continue sharing your stories through virtual panel discussions and on our social media pages. Our goal is to have a dairy production panel discussion this year and another geared towards dairy science with a pre-vet route. Contact Cheyenne with questions or opportunities for collaboration (you may need to call, text, and email as she'll be heavily traveling for Milk Quality regional contests this spring & FCCLA conferences).

Cheyenne Edmundson

Cheyenne.Edmundson@sdstate.edu

Phone: 605-688-5482

Cell Phone: 605-254-7818

SDSU Student Job Recruitment

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 Club and Food Science Club Officers

Congratulations to the new club officers of the Dairy Club and Food Science Club!

Dairy Club

• President: Dillon Sparrgrove

• Vice President: Emma Mulhern
• Treasurer: Logan Guilette
• Secretary: Evie Scheffler
• Clothing Manager: Allie Luedert
• Social Media Manager: Reilly Sexten
• Activities Mangers: Rebecca Murphy and Wyatt Glessing 

Food Science Club

• President: Rebecca Anderson

• Vice President: Emily Cummins
• Secretary: Addy Engel 
• Treasurer: Abigail Krcil
• Publicist: Hannah Jensen 

Dairy Club at ADSA USD

Congratulations to the Dairy Club with their success at the Midwest Regional American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) Undergraduate Student Division (USD) meeting that was held January 23-25 in Platteville, WI. 

Highlights of the trip include:

• Current SDSU Dairy Club president Dillion Sparrgrove will be the president of the Midwest ADSA USD for 2026!
• Hayley Daubert placed first in the Skill-a-Thon competition.
• SDSU was the high team for the Dairy Products competition (team members: Ian Spoke, Allie Luedert, Vanessa Gonzalez, Hayley Daubert)
• Logan Guilette was the 2^nd place in the Dairy Judging competition
• SDSU earned 2^nd place in the Display competition

The club will be hosting the 2027 Midwest Regional ADSA USD meeting in Brookings! The last time SDSU hosted was in January 2017.

– Senior Highlights –

These seniors were asked some questions about why they chose SDSU and their experiences here. Please enjoy learning more about a couple of our seniors!

Jonah Hansen

Jonah is a Food Science student from St. Cloud, MN who will be graduating in May 2026. 

Why did you choose SDSU? "I got a chance to meet with Steve Beckman (the dairy plant manager) and see the Davis Dairy Plant which looked super cool to me as a high school student. Also Howard Bonnemann did an amazing job explaining the Food Science degree to me and my parents."

What drew you to your major? "I like food, and I like science, so I guess Food Science was just a natural major to latch on too."

What has been your most memorable SDSU experience? "As a freshman I joined the Arnold Air Society by going through candidate class, and the candidate class was super fun, challenging, and memorable!"

What activities are you involved in on campus?

Ping Pong Club – Founder and past president

Food Science Club

Jacks Jiujitsu

Arnold Air Society

Air Force ROTC

Navigators Campus Ministry

What has been your favorite class? Why? "My favorite class would have to be either Intro to Dairy Foods with Howard Bonnemann, because I learned so much about dairy processing for the first time, or Food Microbiology, because it made me paranoid to eat anything."

Where did you do your internship(s)? What did you gain?

"I interned at the Davis Dairy Plant and Saputo. I gained a lot of useful manufacturing experience and also experience working as a trainer for QA." 

Who inspired you the most at SDSU and in what way? "As a freshman, I was greatly inspired by the senior ROTC students. I remember looking up to them and thinking that they were so far ahead of me. Now that I am where they were, I shocked at how fast time flies."

Where to you see yourself in the future? "After college I will be going to Germany with the Air Force as a logistics officer! I can’t wait to try all the German food!"

Hayley Daubert

Hayley is a Dairy Manufacturing student from Dayton, VA who will be graduating in May 2026. 

Why did you choose SDSU? "I chose SDSU because I wanted a school in a different area of the country from where I grew up that had a strong dairy science program. The low cost of tuition and availability for scholarships were also key factors that drew me in."

What drew you to your major? "The dairy manufacturing degree allowed me to broaden my knowledge of the dairy industry through learning the science behind how dairy products are made and how the whole dairy industry is connected from field to fork."

What has been your most memorable SDSU experience? "My most memorable experience at SDSU has been placing second in the National ADSA Dairy Quiz Bowl Contest with my team last summer and practicing for the contest leading up to that.

What activities are you involved in on campus? "I am involved in Dairy Club, Little International, Emergency Medical Services Club, and Oasis College Ministry. I also work for the DFS Department as a student ambassador and for the University Police Department as a dispatcher.

What has been your favorite class? Why? "My favorite class has been Dairy Product Processing because we get to learn about the way that all major dairy products are made and it is a small, close group of students."

Who inspired you the most at SDSU and in what way? "Howard Bonnemann has inspired me the most because of his vast knowledge and wisdom in dairy processing and people management."

Where did you do your internship(s)? What did you gain? "I interned at Sargento in 2025 as a Food Safety Intern. I gained experience working in a food safety team in both the production plants and corporate office. I was able to lead my own research projects to benefit the company in continuing food safety and quality improvements."

Where do you see yourself in the future? "After graduation, I will start a role as a management trainee at Land O’Lakes in Wisconsin. From there I will move into a supervising role in the department where I fit the best. 

Events & Calendar

Calendar

• March 16-20: SDSU Spring Break

• 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 13-17: SDSU Ag Week
• April 14: Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest @ Cheese Con - Milwaukee, WI
• April 20-22: SD State FFA Convention - Brookings, SD
• May 9: SDSU Graduation - Brookings, SD
• May 12: SD Water Festival - Brookings, SD

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