Are you a student interested in a milk quality career but not sure which path to take? As someone interested in animal science and/or food science, maybe you haven’t considered exploring a milk quality career. With a plethora of milk quality careers available, NMC: The Global Milk Quality Organization will feature a few professions and professionals during its Nov. 4 webinar, which starts at 3:30 p.m. Central time (USA/Canada).
Milk quality is a critical aspect of the dairy industry, affecting product safety, consumer satisfaction and overall dairy farm profitability. The “Exploring careers in milk quality” webinar will provide a comprehensive overview of various career paths within milk quality management, the skills required and how to get started in this rewarding field. The webinar panelists addressing these topics include Tammy Edmonds, Northwest Dairy Association, Keith Engel, GEA Farm Technologies, Quinn Kolar, Cornell University, and Blaine Nicks, Jager Ag, LLC.
To register for the webinar, go to: https://bit.ly/CareersMQWeb.
Edmonds grew up on a dairy farm in West Central Vermont, where she developed an early appreciation for dairy farming and milk quality. She studied animal science and dairy food science at the University of Vermont before earning a master’s degree in animal science from Washington State University. Over the past 30 years, Edmonds has built her career in the dairy industry through roles in sales and customer service, providing her with the opportunity to work with producers and customers throughout the dairy supply chain. Today, as director of farm practices at Northwest Dairy Association, she works on milk quality initiatives at the local, regional and national levels, with a particular focus on milk sample integrity.
Engel joined GEA Farm Technologies (Westfalia-Surge at the time) in 2000 and has an extensive background in milk quality and milk harvest. He grew up on Luck-E Holsteins, a registered Holstein dairy in Hampshire, Ill., currently milking 150 cows with his parents and four brothers. After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in animal science, Engel worked as a field representative for Mid-West Dairymen’s Cooperative, working with milk quality, patron relations and milk procurement for seven years. Today, he is responsible for supporting the U.S. GEA hygiene specialists and working with GEA’s hygiene product management and hygiene research and development teams.
Kolar joined the Cornell University’s department of animal science in 2023 as the Dairy Fellows Alumni senior lecturer in dairy herd management. Her teaching efforts are focused on dairy herd management with an emphasis on integrating the science of dairy cattle production with herd management. Kolar’s teaching is focused on developing experiential learning activities to challenge students to apply their knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world herd management. Prior to joining Cornell, Kolar worked as a consultant for a dairy technology company before receiving her graduate degrees. She earned her PhD from Michigan State University and focused on the treatment of mastitis.
Nicks is the executive director of dairy operations at Jager Ag, LLC and executive director of dairy operations at Hunter Ridge Dairy, Ault, Colo. Previously, he worked as a veterinarian for The Dairy Authority, Greeley, Colo., veterinarian for Vet Outlet in Bakersfield, Calif., and veterinarian for Veterinary Associates, Hazel Green, Wis. Nicks earned his bachelor’s degree from Loras College in biochemistry and molecular biology, and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree from Iowa State University.
NMC: The Global Milk Quality Organization is a non-profit professional organization devoted to reducing mastitis and enhancing milk quality. NMC promotes research and provides science-based information to the dairy industry on udder health, milking management, milk quality, animal welfare and food safety. Founded in 1961, NMC has about 1,000 members in more than 40 countries throughout the world.
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