2024 National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program Winners Awarded

The NMPF Board of Directors selected five graduate students actively pursuing dairy related fields of research that benefit dairy cooperatives and producers to receive scholarships as part of the 2024 NMPF National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program. Winners were announced June 4, at NMPF’s Board of Directors meeting in Arlington, VA.

Winners include:

Augustin Olivo, a doctoral candidate in Animal Science at Cornell University, where he is a part of the Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP). Olivo’s research and extension work focus is on evaluating and disseminating system analysis tools and performance indicators that support efforts to improve environmental sustainability in dairy systems for New York producers.

Megan Lauber is pursuing her doctorate at University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received her Master’s in Dairy Science under the advisement of Dr. Paul Fricke. Her dissertation focuses on integrating basic physiology, management practices and economics to optimize the use of sexed semen in dairy herds.

Grant Finchman is a Master of Science candidate in Ruminant Nutrition at University of Nebraska- Lincoln. His research involves the impact of feeding dried distiller grains with solubles to lactating dairy cattle, looking at whole animal energy utilization and manure biogas production.

Ana Beatriz Montevecchio Bernardino is a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on heat abatement strategies in dairy calves, udder health and pharmaceutical development. More specifically, her current research investigates the effect of a novel non-steroidal anti-inflammatory formulation on welfare of Holstein cows challenged with E. coli.

Lynn Olthof is a doctoral candidate under Dr. Barry Bradford studying dairy management at Michigan State University. Her research studies the economic implications of dairy farm management decisions.

NMPF’s Board of Directors offers scholarships each year to qualified graduate students enrolled in master’s or doctoral programs who are actively pursuing dairy-related fields of research that are of immediate interest to NMPF member cooperatives.

The scholarship program meaningfully assists graduate students and promotes research that benefits the entire dairy community. Donate today to support the National Leadership Scholarship Program.