Wisconsin’s dairy industry is a powerhouse generating more than $45 billion every year and is known for driving innovation. For individual businesses, that means constantly seeking improvements to processes, products and promotion.
Last spring, two Wisconsin dairy companies garnered fresh ideas for innovation from UW–Madison seniors. The Renk Agribusiness Institute in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AAE) collaborated with the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance, a partnership between the Center for Dairy Research and the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, to connect classroom education with real-life business goals in the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea.
Senior “capstone” courses ask students to integrate their knowledge to make a real-world impact. For the AAE Senior Capstone Experience course, students worked with companies on specific projects that would address industry goals while also giving students a chance to apply skills and create professional networks.
“Like other capstone courses, this one serves as an opportunity for students to use their technical education to impact their communities,” says Jeremy Beach, associate director of Renk and instructor of the course. “These opportunities develop students’ interpersonal skills, which are translatable across industries and will help them in their careers.”
Marieke Gouda, a cheese manufacturer based in Thorp, worked with a student team to develop a cost-effective manufacturing and stocking plan designed to reduce losses, increase capacity and improve profitability. Meister Cheese, a manufacturer based in Muscoda, wanted to develop a marketing plan for launching new retail products.
“This partnership provided an irreplaceable opportunity to gain real-world experience through a hands-on project,” says Morgan Knilans, a senior double majoring in AAE and life sciences communication. “I was able to work with other UW students, benefit from the knowledge and mentorship of instructors, and directly engage with business partners.”
Knilans worked on the project with Meister Cheese. She and her teammates helped the company identify target markets, consumers and outlet channels to increase the visibility of their new products.
“Meister Cheese was fortunate to work with the students who provided a marketing plan,” says Alex Meister. “The group was thorough in developing a comprehensive plan supported by data to help us build our organization to support the next exciting opportunity for Meister Cheese.”
Under the guidance of Beach and Jeff Schwager, outreach program manager and mentor at the Center for Dairy Research, each team of four students worked with company leaders over ten weeks. At the end of the spring 2024 semester, teams submitted final reports and presented their projects. The audience for the presentations included Renk Agribusiness Institute members and representatives from the wider dairy industry, providing additional networking opportunities.
“We worked with incredible students. Their hard work, dedication and innovative ideas truly impressed everyone in attendance at their presentations,” says Marieke Penterman, founder and owner of Marieke Gouda. “It was inspiring to see their passion and creativity. I hope they saw just how exciting and wonderful the dairy industry is.”
Students were also given the opportunity to tour each company’s facilities and received marketing information from Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, which provided valuable insights into market demands and allowed the teams to tailor their efforts to align with those insights. As a result of these projects, the students were exposed to the wide variety of career opportunities in the industry.
“This project provided me with priceless experience, expanded my knowledge of the cheese industry and inspired me to seek a career within agriculture,” says Knilans. “I will always be thankful for this opportunity.”
The program has continued with new companies and students this fall. In the future, organizers hope to expand the program to students with other majors and add opportunities for follow-up internships.
“Student and industry partner feedback has been really positive with both sides acknowledging the impactful outcomes from these mutually beneficial partnerships,” says Beach. “Students are given the ability to practically apply their education while our project partners receive free consulting services through direct engagement with the next generation’s workforce.”
Source : wisc.edu