By Blake Jackson
Two University of Kentucky students, Lillyah Snipes and Jillian Lujan, were selected to join the 2025 Undergraduate Development and Internship Research Experience (U-DAIRE) cohort.
The nine-week paid program offers students from across the Southeast a chance to gain immersive, hands-on experience in the dairy industry.
The program begins with two weeks of leadership and team-building training at the University of Tennessee Institute for Agriculture, followed by seven weeks working on a dairy farm in Tennessee, North Carolina, or Kentucky. Snipes and Lujan were placed at Chaney’s Dairy Barn, a full dairy operation near Bowling Green.
Their mornings began before sunrise, checking cows’ food, water, and health. “Every morning, we check the cows’ water, grain, how much they are eating and more we are making sure they are okay,” Lujan explained.
“Every day, the cows are waiting for us to come out here. They are excited to see us, and it makes you feel that you have a sense of purpose and that you are supposed to be here. It makes it all worth it.”
Along with feeding, cleaning, milking, and maintaining records in the Calf Book, the students witnessed the July 28 birth of two calves, logging the mothers’ information and vaccinations. Their work also extended to labeling bottles at the J.R. Chaney Bottling Co. and occasionally helping serve ice cream in the farm’s store.
“As someone without an agricultural background, this experience was truly eye-opening,” Snipes said. “I learned so much about the dairy industry from animal care to food processing and customer interaction. I'm especially grateful for the chance to work hands-on with the animals and gain insight into the hard work that goes into dairy farming.”
Both pre-veterinary animal sciences majors, Snipes and Lujan also operated robotic milking systems and observed milk processing from farm to consumer. They later shared their experiences at the Southeast Value-Added Dairy Conference, where their poster presentation capped off the internship.
“This year marked an important milestone for the University of Kentucky as we joined the U-DAIRE program for the first time,” said Kendriana Price, assistant dean at Martin-Gatton CAFE. “I’m so proud of Lillyah and Jillian for representing our college, the university and Kentucky in U-DAIRE.”
Photo Credit: gettyimages-baranozdemir
Categories: Kentucky, Education, Livestock, Dairy Cattle