2026 Western Regional Dairy Challenge- Volunteers and Mentors Needed

On behalf of the Western Regional committee of the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge, it is our privilege to invite sponsors from Canada, the Western US and the Midwest to participate in the 21st Annual Western Regional Dairy Challenge. The event will be held in Camrose, Alberta Canada March 5-7, hosted by University of Alberta and the Western Region and will include schools from Canada, the Western US and the Midwestern US. We thank you for your continued support of the Western Regional Dairy Challenge.

SPONSOR PARTICIPATION: We are building our list of volunteers to help with the event on Thursday evening through Saturday afternoon. Being involved and working directly with the students gives you a firsthand view of the students in action, plus a large volunteer pool helps the contest run smoothly.

SCHEDULE: A listing of the scheduled events for this year’s contest will be posted on the Western Dairy Challenge web page at https://www.dairychallenge.org/contests/western/

SPONSOR VOLUNTEER REGISTRATION: Please submit information for each volunteer from your company using this online form. Forms are due Thursday, February 5, 2026. You can indicate your interest using this form. Please forward this link to others who may be interested in supporting the Dairy Challenge. No Dairy Challenge experience necessary. Learn more about volunteer opportunities here: https://www.dairychallenge.org/volunteer/

HOTEL: Our headquarter hotel for this event is the Days Inn Camrose Norseman. A block of rooms is being held under “Dairy Challenge Volunteer Block” until Thursday, February 5, 2026. Please call the hotel directly to make appropriate reservations. All volunteers (sponsors, judges, mentors) are responsible for making their own reservations.

Days Inn Camrose Norseman

6505 48^th Avenue, Camrose AB T4V 3K3, Canada

+1 780-672-9171

Group name: Dairy Challenge Volunteer block

Arrival date: Thursday 03/05/2026

Departure date: Saturday 03/07/2026

Room rate: $151CAN, $110US including tax/room/night. Rate includes breakfast

Last date of booking: Thursday February 5, 2026

MENTORS: We are seeking a large number of volunteers to serve as Mentors. This is an important role as Mentors work side by side with the student teams to guide them through the farm analysis process. With enough volunteers, we hope to assign a Team Mentor to each team and have a pool of Roaming Mentors. This is a premium networking opportunity! If you are interested in serving as a Mentor, indicate as such when registering. Please note:

• Team Mentors: Mentors who wish to be assigned to a student team must be available starting with the Mentor Meeting at 6:30 PM Thursday until after your team presents on Saturday no later than 2:00 PM. Staying for the entire event (through presentations early afternoon on Saturday) allows for more interaction and provides cohesiveness for your team. Mentors will review data with students Thursday evening, tour the dairy on Friday morning, offer guidance while assembling their presentation on Friday afternoon, oversee team prep on Saturday, direct your team to their presentation room on Saturday, be present during the presentation, and be their guide to debriefing.
• Roaming Mentors: If you are interested in serving as a Mentor but not able to commit to the entire event, we suggest signing up as a Roaming Mentor or other volunteer role.

Mentors are asked to bring a camera or camera-capable phone to take pictures for their groups and be willing/able to download the pictures.

Mentors should be committed to the event and willing to work with students in a positive and supportive manner, encouraging participation and guiding them in their dairy assessment.

Qualities of a Good Mentor

• Relevant Expertise or Knowledge

2. Enthusiasm for Sharing That Expertise
3. A Respectful Attitude
4. Eagerness to Invest in Others
5. Ability to Give Honest & Direct Feedback
6. Reflective Listening & Empathy
7. Willingness to be a Sponsor

There are several other areas where assistance is needed including Manager Interviews on Friday, March 6, and presentation room and debriefing volunteers on Saturday, March 7. Please indicate your plans on the volunteer registration form. For a description of volunteer opportunities, visit the volunteer page on our website at https://www.dairychallenge.org/volunteer/

MEAL TICKETS: Meals are a great opportunity to interact with students and other volunteers. To partially defray the cost for sponsors’ meals, we kindly ask that you purchase meals tickets for $20/meal for each meal you plan to join. Meals tickets are available for purchase with your registration.

FRIDAY NIGHT STUDENT SPONSOR MIXER. On Friday night, we encourage you to join us for a fun night of networking with students, coaches and industry colleagues. Tickets for this event are $30 per person and include dinner and activities with students for the evening. This is a great recruiting opportunity to get to know the students in a fun, relaxed, informal setting.

SPONSOR DISPLAY: On Saturday, March 7 sponsors at the Gold level or above ($5000 or above) are invited to set up a complimentary company display. Please indicate your desire to reserve a display spot using the online registration form. Electricity will be available, but you will need to supply your own electrical cords. All sponsors are encouraged to interact with students and University coaches and view student presentations on Saturday. Remember because of the number of teams, presentations will be going simultaneously.

DAIRY CHALLENGE T-SHIRT: show your support by purchasing a Dairy Challenge shirt. Shirts are $15. Shirts can be ordered when registering as a volunteer and will be distributed onsite during the Western Regional event.

TO REGISTER: We kindly ask each individual attending from your company to register using this form. Forms are due Thursday, February 5, 2026. Go to the Western Contest Page at https://www.dairychallenge.org/contests/western/ for complete details.

If you have questions about volunteering your company’s time at the event, please contact us.

On behalf of the steering committee, we thank you for your time, energy and commitment to the Dairy Challenge!