Ag careers for Sioux Falls-area kids? Meet the Roosevelt alum finding fast success in the dairy industry

This paid piece is sponsored by South Dakota State University.

As Joey Otta prepared to graduate from Roosevelt High School in 2019, he’d gotten used to the reaction when he shared his next step.

“Even some of my teachers in high school looked at me like it was kind of crazy, like – ‘What do you know about dairy?’” said Otta, who grew up in Sioux Falls and acknowledges at first glance he probably didn’t appear like a future dairy manufacturing major.

“I couldn’t walk out in a field and tell you which was a dairy cow. I didn’t own any cows.”

But by the time he was an eighth grader at Memorial Middle School, the future co-captain of the RHS football team had been captivated by an early career experience.

“My dad grew up in Volga, and I had two uncles from small towns. They both had gone to SDSU for dairy manufacturing and have both been really successful in this career field. I look up to them a lot,” he said.

“I shadowed my dad, who was a pharmacist, and that didn’t interest me. But then, I went to a milk plant and was fascinated. I just went, ‘Wow, this is cool.’ This is unlike anything I’d ever seen.”

As students discover the department of dairy and food science at South Dakota State University, they’re drawn to the immersive experience and evolving field where there often are more careers than people to fill them.

“We’ve got a really strong program and I think a really bright future for our dairy program,” said Joe Cassady, the South Dakota Corn Endowed Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.

SDSU’s dairy program has been an industry leader for more than a century, which is reflected in its 100 percent job placement for graduates. The paths students follow after graduation run the gamut from agricultural communications to ag banking, the sciences and, of course, working directly for dairy producers and manufacturers.

You’ll regularly find SDSU grads working for industry leaders locally and beyond, everywhere from Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Agropur and Bel Brands USA to Associated Milk Producers Inc., Saputo Cheese and more.

“We could have three times as many students and still wouldn’t be able to meet the industry’s demands,” Cassady said. “Many struggle as high school students to wrap their head around what it is.”

But, like Otta, once they discover the experience offered at SDSU, they’re sold.

“It’s such a great degree, and it’s honestly overlooked,” he said. “Dairy makes people think you have to know about cows. They introduce you to farm-to-plate, but you don’t have to know about cows to be successful. You can be just like me, learn how milk is produced and then get into more tailored classes where you’re utilizing the machines and lab tools that are used in the industry.”

It’s an industry that’s continually changing. Recently, SDSU made the difficult decision to close the SDSU Dairy Research and Training Facility  after it was unable to utilize appropriated money by the state from the 2021 legislative session.

“I understand the passion and the appreciation and the symbolic nature of that farm, but the fact remains it does not represent the modern growth of the dairy industry and what our students need to be successful five, 10 or 15 years down the road,” Cassady said.

“The newest part of the farm is 30 years old, and the oldest part of it is 60 years old, so instead we’re looking at how we can partner with local, more modern dairies to provide the learning outcomes our students need as they enter the industry.”

That does not impact another significant facility in SDSU’s program: the SDSU Davis Dairy Plant, which is adjacent to Alfred Dairy Science Hall on the SDSU campus. It processes approximately 18,000 pounds of milk a week. Dairy products manufactured include cheese, butter, beverage milk and more than 60 flavors of ice cream and sherbet.

Otta began working there his freshman year and continued until graduation.

“It’s a great training ground because you enter the field and already have knowledge on the basics of dairy processing,” he said. “And several of our classes involved formulating an ice cream batch and then going out there to actually make it, or receiving milk all the way to finishing cheese production.”

The plant employs 40 people and brings in researchers from major manufacturers and even internationally who use the facility in their work.

“From my perspective, we’re very unique,” said Steve Beckman, manager of the Davis Dairy Plant. “We’re one of very few places around the country where students really get involved in day-to-day operation and even management of food for human consumption.”

On any given day, Beckman could be overseeing the production of anything from 250 pounds of cheese in signature flavors like Prairie Fire, made with cayenne pepper, to SDSU’s signature ice cream – which will continue to be available in Sioux Falls retail stores such as Lewis and Hy-Vee, at events and other appearances through the SDSU Ice Cream food truck and on campus at the popular SDSU Dairy Bar.

“During our high-production season, we’re making up to 1,500 gallons per week,” Beckman said. “The facilities here are second to none, and what’s so powerful is that students can apply their knowledge from class directly into the application and then watch people eating ice cream we might have made a week before.”

While the Davis Dairy Plant has used milk from the SDSU Dairy Research and Training Facility, Beckman plans to work with local dairies to source milk going forward to continue to produce items such as SDSU ice cream, butter and cheese.

“A lot of people are asking if we’re still going to have the ice cream. The answer is yes,” he said. “My priorities will be sourcing milk from local South Dakota farms to maintain the true South Dakota State brand and advance our land-grant university mission of supporting local agriculture. We have excellent quality suppliers around here, and I don’t foresee any significant changes to our products.”

SDSU benefits from multiple dairy industry partners who have invested in its facilities, programming and graduates. The Davis Dairy Plant was renovated in 2011 and will continue to see improvements, Cassady said.

“I think you’ll see some significant investment there in the next few years,” he said. “The dairy manufacturing industry is advancing, and we need to upgrade some technology and equipment and modernize.”

On a personal level, Otta also benefited from the support of the dairy industry.

“The industry partners support SDSU dairy and food sciences,” he said. “I got amazing scholarships throughout my time at SDSU, which financially supported me.”

Not only was there financial support, but also the connections between industry leaders and SDSU continue to create pathways to careers for students.

For Otta, who graduated in 2023, it was a matter of choosing among many opportunities.

“It’s not like my brother, who was an advertising major and competed with 15 other interns for a job,” he said. “In this field, you have people who come and interview you because the program is so renowned in the dairy industry, and they hire you before you graduate.”

In his case, it led to a production supervisor trainee role in Texas, where he joined a corporate leadership development program at Saputo.

“But you can go into sales, chemical research – there are so many paths within this field,” he said. “I think it could be a big draw for the Sioux Falls area. People just need to know how this program sets you up for success.”

To learn more about the SDSU department of dairy and food science, click here.