Greetings from the SDSU Dairy and Food Science Department!
As a parent of three school aged children (currently ages 14, 12, and 9), the end of this school year has truly caused me to stop and reflect about all the people who have positively impacted my kids throughout this past year. The end of the academic year on campus has also caused me to reflect on all the wonderful students that we have in our
department and all the great faculty, staff and supporters who have positively impacted them this year. Thanks to all of you for all your support in various ways, including hosting field trips, providing guest lectures, providing scholarships, and so many other things.
We have many exciting things occurring in our department, which are outlined in this newsletter. We are pleased to announce that in addition to offering our B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees, we are now offering an associates degree in Dairy Technology with a Dairy Production and Dairy Products track. More information on the new two year degree, which is designed to be completely stackable with our four year B.S. degrees, is available in an article below. We thank you all for sharing information about this new AS degree and all our degree programs with anyone that you know that might be interested. More information about how you can help us with student recruiting is included in the recruitment section below.
As we think about summer and the upcoming fall semester, we have many great events upcoming, such as Dairy Fest Day on the Farm and tours of the Davis Dairy Plant on June 6th, SDSU alumni and friends reception at ADSA Annual Conference on June 22, One Day for State on Sept 10th, and many more activities listed in the calendar below.
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any one you think might be interested.
Please contact me if you would like to visit about our department. I would be more than happy to visit with you!
David A. Thompson Endowed Department Head & Professor
NEW!
Associates Degree in Dairy Technology
In addition to the current undergraduate degree programs offered by our department (B.S. degrees in Dairy Production, Dairy Manufacturing and Food Science), our department was recently approved to offer an Associates of Science degree in Dairy Technology. Students can start enrolling now and can start classes in the fall of 2026. More information on the program is available from: Dairy Technology (A.S.) | South Dakota State University. There is a dairy production track that is completely stackable with our dairy production B.S. degree, so that students could get their A.S. degree in two years and then stay another two years and get a B.S. degree in Dairy Production. We also have a Dairy Products track of the A.S. degree that is completely stackable with the Dairy Manufacturing B.S. degree that they could complete in an additional two years. We are working on developing more materials to provide information about the program that we can share when they are ready, but we wanted to share this information with you now so that you could share with any prospective students that you know of who might be interested in this program. Please contact Dr. Londa Nwadike if you have any questions.
Staff and Faculty Updates
The department of Dairy and Food Science would like to welcome Jill Folsland! Jill started on May 18, 2026 as the research manager for the Davis Dairy Plant. Jill graduated with a B.S. in Food Science from our department in 2018 and worked in the Davis Dairy Plant as a student from 2015-2018, including working in research for the Institute for Dairy Ingredient Processing (IDIP) from 2017-2018. After graduating, Jill worked in yogurt production for Schreiber Foods in Wisconsin and for Royal Canin in North Sioux City and other jobs in the food industry. She earned her M.S. Degree in Food Science and Innovation from Manchester Metropolitan University. Welcome back, Jill!
Along with adding Jill to the team, Kaylee Sartell, who was serving as the Davis Dairy Plant Pilot Research Technician, is now serving as the interim Davis Dairy Plant Manager. We greatly appreciate all of the support of our alumni and friends during this period of transition.
Dr. Srinivas Janaswamy was named to the Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists List for the second year in a row. See the full article below for more details
Department head Londa Nwadike was recently interviewed for the Lawn Starter blog regarding food waste. Read the full article as well as Londa's comments below.
SDSU Dairy and Food Science Alumni Dennis Thomas succeeds retired leader Daryl Larson as the CEO of Bongards. Thomas assumed the role January 1, 2026. Thomas previously served as chief operations officer. Read the full article below.
Jake Anderson, a 2004 South Dakota State University Dairy Manufacturing graduate and current project director at Bel Brands in Brookings, shares insight into the company’s expansion, its strong connection to SDState and the impact of its workforce — with about 90% of upper plant management made up of SDState alumni. Full interview attached below.
The 2026 Dairy and Food Science Scholarships and Awards Banquet was held on April 13th at Club 71 at the Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on the SDSU campus. There were 155 people in attendance, including students and their families, alumni, producers, processors, supporting industry personnel, faculty, staff, university administration, and friends. Sixty-four scholarships and awards were presented directly from the Dairy and Food Science Department totaling over $185,000 to undergraduate and graduate students in the department.
Recruitment Updates & Opportunities
Share your story as an Alumnus or Industry Representative, inspire the next generation!
~A message from Cheyenne Edmundson, SDSU DFS Recruiter
This spring I delivered samples and oversaw many regional FFA milk quality contests, supporting team practices, and judged more food science presentations. We appreciate all the FFA advisors that let us support them during regional contests; it's a very natural way for our department to build a relationship with future students and their advisors. This led us to hosting a chapter for a Food Science Workshop this May through Dr. Janasamy's NSF Grant. We attended the State HOSA Conference for the first time, connecting with high school students exploring chemistry, microbiology, and nutrition all applicable to our programs. We hosted Sioux Fall's JAG students, who thoroughly enjoyed hearing our current students share personal stories about life as a Jackrabbit, making SDSU ice cream, and working on their family dairy farm. Our generous alumni, Bekki Flesner and Neil Kucker (pictured below), represented our department at the Minnesota FFA State Convention, a huge help with our team and students tied up with supporting the South Dakota FFA State Convention at the same time.
Summer is the season to regroup on my end and ensure our marketing materials are up to date and plan a vision for the following academic year. With our new two-year program and the realities of the 2026-2027 enrollment cliff, we need your support and creativity to reach greater audiences more than ever. Many of our alumni and industry partners ask about ways to support our recruitment efforts; cost, timing, and bandwidth are our biggest constraints. Linked below is a document created to reflect exactly how we plan to use any financial support contributed towards recruitment this summer and as we approach One Day For State on September 10th, 2026. This is a resource applicable to a wide range of supporters, including me who donates during One Day For State but also likes to know exactly how the donation will be used. This can serve as a guide or talking point for greater conversations beyond One Day For State. Summer is the season to have recruitment conversations, reach out any time to share your ideas or to learn more.
The Dairy Challenge Team recently participated in the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge that took place April 12th-14th in Sioux Falls, SD, which marked the largest event in its 24-year history. Dairy Challenge is a national collegiate competition where students evaluate real dairy farms, analyze herd and management data, and present recommendations to a panel of industry judges. SDSU was pleased to be one of the co-hosts of the events. Thanks to all the South Dakota farms who agreed to be the competition farms for the event and all the other volunteers who assisted with the event!
Representing South Dakota State University, our student team included Andrew Czech, Emma Mullhern, Evelyn Scheffler, and Dillion Sparrgrove. In addition, our Academy participants were Ian Spoke, Wyatt Glessing, and Rylie Sexton. The Academy provides a structured, mentored environment within the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge for students to develop core skills before competing in the main contest.
Lynn Boadwine and Dr. Maristela Rovai coached the team. We would also like to recognize Emma Eggenberg, who served as class TA and played a key role as Farm Organizer and mentor for the Academy program.
Dairy Products Judging Team
South Dakota State University’s Dairy Products Judging Team placed fifth overall at the 2026 102nd National Collegiate Dairy Products Judging Contest, held on April 15 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin. The contest evaluates students’ ability to judge the appearance, texture, and flavor of six dairy products—milk, butter, cheddar cheese, ice cream, yogurt, and creamed cottage cheese—through individual and team competitions. A total of 41 undergraduate and graduate contestants from nine universities in the U.S. participated in the contest.
SDSU was represented by undergraduate students Jenner Menezes, Vanessa Gonzalez, Anna Johnson, and Raul Berrones Pedraza, along with graduate student Priyamvada Thorakkattu. The team was coached by Dr. Maneesha Mohan, SDSU Alfred Chair in Dairy Education and Associate Professor in Dairy Manufacturing, assisted by undergraduate students Jessemy Sharp and Brianna Moss.
Junior Dairy Cattle Judging Team
A total of 9 universities and 56 individuals competed in the 4-year collegiate contest in Normal, IL for the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Judging Conference.
Our junior dairy cattle team competed in this contest, including team members Logan Guilette, Rebecca Murphy, Ian Spoke, and Jellie Waterlander. The team is coached by Dr. Turner Swartz. Vanessa Gonzalez, a member of the Senior Dairy Cattle Judging team, also practice judged in the contest.
Our team placed 2nd overall.
Individual overall scores include:
Logan Guilette 4th
Jellie Waterlander 6th
Rebecca Murphy 7th
Ian Spoke 12th
Congratulations to Grant McMillan,B.S. in Food Science, May '26, who was recently awarded the 2026 SDSU Schultz-Werth Award. Grant completed his outstanding research project under the mentorship of Dr. Sanjeev Anand last fall.
Free tours of the Davis Dairy Plant and Day on the Farm- June 6
Everyone is welcome to join us for free tours of the Davis Dairy Plant from 10:30-noon on June 6. You can then take a free shuttle bus to Crosswinds Jerseys in Elkton, SD for a free Day on the Farm. More information about all the activities of South Dakota Dairy Fest is available here (Join Us For Day On The Farm - FREE TO ENJOY! - South Dakota Dairy Fest). If you would like to volunteer to help with Dairy Fest, please contact Olivia Dinse.
SDSU Alumni and Friends Social at ADSA Annual Meeting- June 22
All SDSU alumni and friends are welcome to join a reception at the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, WI at the Baird Convention Center on June 22 from 3-5 PM. We will share the specific room information when we have it. We hope to see many of you there!
Calendar
June 6: Dairy Fest-Day on the Farm - Crosswinds Jerseys - Elkton, SD
June 21-24: American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) annual meeting- Milwaukee, WI
June 25: I-29 Legend-Dairy golf tournament- Lake Poinsett, SD
We encourage sharing this newsletter with classmates and colleagues with ties to our department. Subscribe and stay in the loop on our upcoming events, opportunities, and updates!
