KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A group of students at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture are among the best in the nation when it comes to knowledge of consumer dairy products.

 UTIA’s Dairy Products Evaluation Team won first place at the 95th Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation contest in mid-April in Madison, Wis. Two of the contestants, Michael Luethke from Knoxville and Katie Magee of Buffalo, N.Y., won the top undergraduate and graduate student awards, respectively.

 

 UTIA was tops among 14 participating teams, representing universities from across the country and one from France. It’s the first time UTIA has won the top honor. Previously the team’s highest finish was second place.

 

The students judged six types of products – milk, cottage cheese, vanilla ice cream, butter, cheddar cheese and yogurt – evaluating eight samples of each item. The samples were pre-judged by industry officials and coach judges were assigned to each product type. The students with scores most closely matching those of the official judges were declared the winners. The top three students in each product category were recognized, along with the top 10 students in the All Product category.

 The students are in UTIA’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) and its food science department. Luethke, a junior, was named the overall winner, and also placed first in cottage cheese and second in the milk categories. Rand Clapp, also from Knoxville, finished fifth overall, and Kindal Tatum of Murfreesboro finished seventh.

 

Other team members who served as alternates and made the trip were undergraduates Bailey Brown from Jackson, Michael Lawrence from Perry County and Quint Gasque from Kingston. Food science graduate student Magee finished first in the graduate competition, first in ice cream, second in yogurt and third in cottage cheese.

 

The team was coached by Charles White, adjunct professor of food science. Trent Kerley, a senior in food science, served as an assistant coach. Travel expenses were paid by the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Assoc. and the Tennessee Dairy Products Assoc. In addition, the Department of Food Science received $500 for being the top team.

 

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. and the Public Lands Council’s government affairs office in Washington, D.C., has extended the law clerk application deadline for the 2017 fall semester. The new deadline to apply is June 1.

 

NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall said, “The clerkship gives law students the opportunity to work closely with NCBA’s environmental counsel and the executive director of the Public Lands Council on a wide range of regulatory issues that impact beef producers across the country.”

 

The fall law clerk will provide support to both NCBA and PLC staff on matters ranging from environmental legislation and regulations to issues relating to federal lands management, grazing, and the Endangered Species Act. The law clerk will have the opportunity to attend key hearings, evaluate detailed policy documents, research current and proposed federal regulations, and help inform industry response to new federal regulations. To apply, students must be currently enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school.

 The full-time law clerk position will run Aug. 28 to Dec. 22. To apply, visit www.beefusa.org