2019 September Board Book

2019 College Dairy Advocates – Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Three agriculture students have been selected to serve as CMAB’s College Dairy Advocates for the 2019-2020 school year. This is the first year of the program and the students will participate in events on Cal Poly campus, in the local community and social media to advocate for the dairy industry. CMAB will offer a mandatory training in September to prepare them to be advocate for the dairy industry for the next year.

Kiara Gilardi is in her third year as a dairy science major with a pre- veterinary emphasis. Growing up in Los Banos, Kiara served in leadership roles with the California Junior Holstein Association and was a member of the Dairy Bowl judging teams. At Cal Poly, she has held leadership roles in Los Lecheros Dairy Club. Upon graduation, she plans to attend University of California, Davis or Cornell University to become a large animal veterinarian. Kiara has chosen to pursue a career as a veterinarian so she can assist California dairy farmers in improving herd health and milk quality, therefore increasing overall profitability. She has spent her summer working in two veterinary clinics so she could gain some strong hands-on experience. Robee Knoch is a second year animal science major at Cal Poly. He is a seventh generation ranch and farmer in Fall River Mills, CA. While in high school, Robee participated in multiple sports, holding leadership positions and was an active member of FFA. At Cal Poly, he has participated in multiple enterprises and is currently a student employee for the beef unit. In addition, Robee has had the opportunity to educate the public about agriculture by chairing an elementary Ag Day and running the Rancho Frontier tent at the Mid-State Fair where he milked cows, made butter and demonstrations throughout the day. Upon graduation from Cal Poly, Robee plans to attend University of California, Davis to pursue a veterinary medicine degree and eventually move back to Fall River Mills to open up his own veterinary clinic. Samantha Schuessler will be going into her third year at Cal Poly, San this fall. She is a dairy science major with a minor in agricultural communications. Samantha is the secretary of Los Lecheros Dairy Club and is the current communication intern at CentralStar Cooperative in Waupun, Wisconsin. This cooperative is a territory of Select Sires so she has been working closely on the reproduction side of the dairy industry. Samantha is originally from Antigo, Wisconsin where she grew up on her family dairy farm where they milk 420 Holstein cows, with the exception of a few of her Jerseys. This fall, Samanth will be a member of the Cal Poly dairy judging team and competing at World Dairy Expo. She hopes to stay in the dairy industry working either with genetics or communications.