MJC Dairy Science Group

09/10/2026

Meet Riley & Abigail

Riley Whisler, originally from Carmel, is a 2nd year Dairy Science major and Dairy Unit Intern pursuing her passion for agriculture. Actively involved in the school of ag including Young Farmers Club, Dairy Science Club and Dairy Judging. She also shows a small herd of registered jerseys in her free time. Her last year on West Campus, Riley looks forward to making new connections, expanding her knowledge, and making the most of this opportunity. She plans to transfer to a four-year university next fall to continue her studies to prepare her for a career within the dairy industry.

Abigail Avila is a first-year West Campus intern working on the Dairy Unit while pursuing a degree in Agricultural Communications. A Tracy, CA native, Abigail developed her passion for agriculture through FFA, dairy cattle showing, and competitive judging teams. She hopes to pursue a career combining agricultural marketing or news broadcasting and is excited to expand her knowledge of the dairy industry through her time on the internship.

09/01/2026

From MJC to the next level!

We’re proud to see Jack Van Warmerdam (Galt, CA) and Jada Systma (Lynden, WA) continuing their dairy education beyond Modesto!

After completing their MJC Dairy Science AS degrees in May 2026, Jack and Jada headed to Clovis, New Mexico, for the six-week U.S. Dairy Education & Training Consortium (USDETC). They are the first MJC students to apply and attend this national program.

USDETC provides an intensive, hands-on experience in large-herd dairy management, combining classroom instruction, dairy visits, laboratory work and industry interaction. Students dive into everything from herd health, reproduction and nutrition to genetics, calf and heifer management, milk quality and dairy HR.

We couldn’t be more proud of these two MJC graduates for investing in themselves and their futures in the dairy industry.

Keep learning. Keep growing. Keep leading.🐄💙

08/25/2026

Western Spring National Dairy Judging Contest
Richmond, Utah

🏆 1st High Team Overall

🏆 1st High Individual: Daniel Diniz

Also enjoyed having dinner and spending time with the Purdue Dairy Judging Team.

05/04/2026

Being normal in Normal!

04/30/2026

What a week! 4 states, 8 days, a college visit, Fair Oaks Farms, Wisconsin Dairy Showcase, Culver’s, daily ice cream stops and a 1st Place Dairy Judging Team! We packed it all in while enjoying the Midwest. Thank you to Gopher Dairy Club for the hospitality while visiting University of Minnesota. We were fortunate to practice at Erdman Dairy in Chenoa, IL with Purdue and South Dakota State Univeristy judging teams. And drove past Butler View Farm while they were loading up for the Wisconsin Spring Show.

NACTA DAIRY JUDGING CONTEST
Normal, Illinois

1st Place Team Overall
1st Place Team Reasons

Daniel Diniz
• 1st High Individual Overall
• 2nd High Individual Reasons

Jacob Ahlem
• 3rd High Indivdiual Overall

Other team members include Breanna Souza, Riley Whisler and Joshuah Michelena. This was the first official contest for this new dairy judging team. Excited to see them compete this fall.

04/10/2026

California Dairy Sustainability Summit

Dairy Management students attended this amazing event to learn more about dairy sustainability and working towards achieving carbon neutral for the California dairy industry. Also, so cool to hear from MJC School of Agriculture alum, Anthony Agueda presenting as a panelist.

“My experience at the sustainability summit, enlightened me about the future of California dairies and the mission to be net zero about 2030. It was an amazing opportunity to meet with individuals who have the same vision for the future and are helping to make our industry the most economically, feasible and environmental friendly as possible!”
- Mykel Mull, MJC Dairy Science Student

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to have attended this conference and learning about new practices that can aid in keeping our industry alive. I most enjoyed the break out sessions, asking questions to industry professionals and hearing other ways that dairymen can play a role in achieving a more sustainable future.”
- Mikayla Silveira, MJC Dairy Science Student

02/24/2026

Congratulations to our dairy science professor, Nicole Morris for being featured in Progressive Dairy magazine. The arrival was written by MJC Alum Frances Pierce ‘24.

An open mind to listen to others’ advice may steer you in the direction of a lifetime. Taking others’ advice led Nicole Morris to become a dairy science instructor at Modesto Junior College (MJC) as well as grow her social media platform beyond Instagram and into Tik Tok. Morris juggles those pa...

02/10/2026

ADSA - Midwest Regional Conference
University of Wisconsin - Platteville

It may have been -48 while we were there but we brought the California sunshine! A fun time in the Midwest with this crew learning more about dairy farming, research, networking and technology in dairy. We were fortunate to walk away with a couple honors as well.

🥇 1st High Dairy Judging Team - Mykel Mull, Riley Whisler, Adieson Glass and Betsy Theis

🥈 2nd High Dairy Bowl Team losing a close battle with University of Wisconsin - Madison - Mykel Mull, Mikayla Silveira, Maddie Zweegman & Jack Van Warmerdam

☀️ Most Miles Traveled Award

Mykel Mull
• 1st High Individual - Dairy Judging
• 2nd High Individual - Knowledge Exam

Allison Dutra
• 1st High Individual - Dairy Products Contest

Thank you UW Platteville for a great conference. Looking forward to attending next year at South Dakota State University. And special thank you to Mr. Macedo for joining us on the trip.

12/11/2025

⭐️ A NEW TRADITION BEGINS ⭐️

Introducing MJC’s Dairy Judging Jumpstart — a power-packed workshop designed to kick off your FFA dairy judging contest season the right way!

🔥 Expert coaching
🔥 Practice classes
🔥 Reasons help
🔥 Confidence boost

Friday, January 16th
MJC West Campus - Sierra Hall & Beef Unit
9:00am - Registration
9:15am - Breakout Sessions
10:15am - Judging Demonstration
11:00am - Practice Judging Contest
1:00pm - Lunch & Contest Awards

$10 per student - register on JudgingCard

Coaches invited to attend the coaches corner to hear from veteran FFA coaches Christie Hobby (Hilmar FFA) and Stu McCullough (Los Banos) to share resources and prepare you as your coach your team this season.

High school teams… this is where champions get their start. And we look forward to seeing you there.

12/03/2025

Oh the places we get to go in AGEC 280!

The Ag Sales & Services class spent the semester traveling throughout the Central Valley to explore so many sectors of agriculture. Thank you to all of the companies who opened their doors to us and the guest speakers who came in to present to our class. We truly appreciate your time and support.

Gonsalves Ranch & Bull Sale
The Judge Source, LLC
Celeste Settrini from The Bull Sale Bulletin
Gallo Winery
Del Mar Packing
Yosemite Farm Credit
Rivermaid Trading Company
The Gifting Company
Traina Foods
Tyler Blagg from Petersen & Company
Jenna Rose Potts from The Save Mart Companies