Students attending annual dairy consortium in Clovis

A number of students interested in the dairy industry are calling Clovis home for a few weeks as they attend the annual New Mexico State University Dairy Consortium.

According to Robert Hagevoort, NMSU dairy extension specialist, while classes are held at the Curry County fairground pavilion the students are staying at area motels and eating at Clovis restaurants. The program began May 16 and lasts six weeks.

“Students come here from all over the country,” Hagevoort said. “They come here to learn all about the dairy industry.”

Hagevoort said this summer’s session is being attended by 50 students.

The consortium has been happening for the past 14 summers, with the exception of the summer of 2020. Each session is attended by fifty to sixty students.

Hagevoort estimates in the past 14 years a total of 600 students from 57 universities have come to Clovis for the event.

Hagevoort says the students represent many majors including dairy science, animal science, ag business and other majors.

“The children of dairymen are here too,” Hagevoort said. “From feeding cows to treating cows, they come to understand everything about the dairy industry.”

Consortium students visit 20 to 30 dairies in eastern New Mexico and west Texas while they are here.

The point of such trips, according to Hagevoort, is to learn there are different ways things are done.