College of the Ozarks dairy takes home top awards at Missouri State Fair

POINT LOOKOUT, MO — The College of the Ozarks W. Alton Jones Dairy, supervised by Dairy Manager Ryan Bilyeu and Assistant Dairy Manager Dylan Erwin, attended the Missouri State Fair Aug. 8-18, in Sedalia, Missouri. Bilyeu and Erwin traveled with students to present the best Holstein and Guernsey dairy cattle. Senior Layla Giorgianni, mathematics education major; senior Morgan Winebold, animal science major; senior Lexie Ashlock, animal science major; junior Jaedyn Browning, animal science major; and sophomore Owen Pritchett, agriculture education major, were chosen to represent the work of the dairy on this trip.

“Winning these awards gives the students a sense of accomplishment and recognition for their hard work,” Erwin said. “It was encouraging to see the students who attended come back and report on all they had achieved. They were able to show the rest of the student workers that their work does not go unnoticed and that every task matters.”

The dairy garnered four first place awards, including the following categories: Fall Heifer, Holstein Daughter/Dam, Holstein Four-year-old, and Holstein Winter Heifer: Honorable Mention Junior Champion. They also took home four second place awards and a total of 14 awards at the Missouri Fair.

“These awards not only show the quality of the animals but are a testimony to the hard work our crew puts in every day,” Giorgianni said. “Dairy workers must be dedicated and must love their job. It isn’t easy and neither are the hours, but we know we are doing something big. We must be able to work as a unit even though there are so many moving pieces. It’s a family, and I’m thankful to be part of it.” 

There are approximately 30 students working in the dairy, and each student works two or three shifts each week. The students in the dairy farm workstation perform many tasks, including caring for the cows, bottle-feeding, milking, mixing of feed for the cows, and more.

Bilyeu, also an alum of the College, shared about the diversity of tasks in his workstation: “What is unique about our farm is that we are a college campus, and we have a processing facility. The processing and bottling are done by the students, which is another added level to our dairy farm. The great thing is that students get to see it full circle. They see the baby calf born, grow up, calve for the first time herself, start milking, and the milk being processed and delivered to the consumer.”

After completing their time at College of the Ozarks and working in the dairy, most graduates hold positions such as herd managers, feed salespeople, loan officers, agricultural teachers or professors, and veterinarians.

College of the Ozarks rankings at Missouri State Fair
 

Missouri State Fair

• First Place Guernsey Fall Heifer
• First Place Holstein Daughter/Dam
• First Place Holstein Four-year-old
• First Place Holstein Winter Heifer: Honorable Mention Junior Champion
• Second Place Holstein Spring Heifer
• Second Place Holstein Summer Yearling
• Second Place Holstein Senior Three-year-old: Honorable Mention Grand Champion
• Second Place Holstein Three-year-old Futurity
• Third Place Holstein Breeders Herd
• Fourth Place Holstein Aged Cow
• Fifth Place Holstein Senior Three-year-old
• Fifth Place Holstein Aged Cow
• Blue Ribbon for Whole Milk
• Blue Ribbon for Chocolate Milk
• Blue Ribbon for Cappuccino Milk

For additional information, contact Public Relations Director Valorie Coleman at (417) 690-2212.

About College of the Ozarks

College of the Ozarks is a private, Christian, liberal arts college, located in Point Lookout, Missouri, on a 1,000-acre campus. Christian values, hard work, and financial responsibility comprise the fundamental building blocks of the “Hard Work U.” experience. The College earns numerous accolades yearly, including No. 2 Best Performers on Social Mobility-Regional Colleges in the Midwest and No. 4 Best Regional College in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report for 2024-2025 and No. 3 Best Bang for the Buck by Washington Monthly, 2024. To achieve its vision, the College pursues academic, vocational, Christian, patriotic, and cultural goals. These goals are mirrored in School of the Ozarks, a laboratory school that completes the K-college model.

The Keeter Center — the College’s award-winning lodge, restaurant, and conference facility — earns awards consistently, including the TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice Award 2024 and the Best of the Best and Readers’ Choice Awards 2023 from ConventionSouth magazine. The Keeter Center features historic lodging, fine dining, and meeting rooms. With more than 350 student workers, it is the largest workstation on campus.