POINT LOOKOUT, MO. — The College of the Ozarks W. Alton Jones Dairy received the No. 2 national ranking in the Top 10 BAA Herds for Colleges & Universities category for 2019.

“The ranking means the students are raising heifers of great quality,” said Ryan Bilyeu, dairy manager at C of O. “When the heifers mature into great milk cows, it will help the students and the dairy to market our herd genetics in the future. The dairy provides students with hands-on learning in areas such as nutrition, grazing management, animal health, leadership, and product manufacturing. It greatly benefits students in the agriculture industry after graduation.”

The College is the smallest school to receive a ranking out of the top ten colleges and universities. The ranking represents the students’ hard work with the College’s herd of 36 Holsteins. This is the third consecutive year the dairy has received a ranking from Holstein Association USA.

“The ranking is a representation of our students’ hard work, and they can take pride in all they do – early mornings, late nights, rain or shine,” Bilyeu said.

Holstein Association USA

Holstein Association USA, the world’s largest dairy breed association, was established in 1885.

The Holstein Breed Age Average (BAA%) value provides a way to compare the score of an animal (and herd average) to the average of the breed. All animals receive an individual BAA value on herds classification reports, and herds participating in the Classic or Standard options of the Holstein Classification program receive an overall BAA for the herd. To appear on these lists, a herd must have at least 10 cows included in the BAA calculation.