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Department of Animal Sciences

CFAES

Vita Plus Dairy Nutrition and Management Fellowship

Applications are now being accepted for the Vita Plus Dairy Nutrition and Management Fellowship.
 
As the dairies in our market area get more sophisticated, the skills to service their needs as a nutritional consultant increase as well. Their field nutritionists are highly skilled and technologically savvy – built greatly on experience. The challenge for a new college graduate to step into the role of dairy nutritionist and farm consultant is substantial.
 
Many graduates welcome additional training after completing a bachelor’s degree to prepare them for future employment in this dairy consulting role. However, the only graduate funds available within a university system are in support of a focused research program.
 
Vita Plus is dedicated to helping students prepare for a career in dairy consulting. By working cooperatively with the Department of Dairy Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, they can offer a balance of classroom instruction, practical dairy research experience and additional training in an employee-owned feed company. Students selected for this fellowship work side-by-side with both the scientists and instructors at the prestigious University of Wisconsin, but also with the dairy nutritionists at Vita Plus. The student has a college advisor as well as an advisor/mentor at Vita Plus. As a result, the student can not only learn in the classroom and laboratory, but also apply that knowledge in real-life situations on the farm, working with Vita Plus staff. This is a unique opportunity to prepare for a career in dairy consulting.
 
The details are on the attachment, but ,in summary, Vita Plus awards a fellowship every two years. They are now recruiting for the sixth student in this program to start in the fall of 2018. The student will attend classes at UW-Madison for three semesters and gain industry experience with Vita Plus on approximately a 35% full-time equivalency basis during the 18-month period. The student will be involved in a dairy science research project.
 
Applications must be submitted before February 1, 2018. The selection will be made shortly thereafter.