Warren C. Winter Scholarship Winner
2024 Winner - Sophie Leach
Passionate about sharing her agricultural background and knowledge the 2024 Warren C. Winter Scholarship winner, Sophie Leach, quickly shares with peers the importance of supporting local agriculture producers and dairy farmers.
Sophie Leach, the daughter of Rob and Lisa Leach of rural Linwood, a 2022 graduate of Basehor-Linwood High School is currently completing her second year at Kaskaskia Community College, Centralia, IL.
“Looking into the future, I am eager to take on a career in the dairy industry that challenges me and pushes me to innovate and advocate for agriculture.””
As a college student, Sophie has been a memberof the Dairy Judging Team that placed first in three national competitions in the fall of 2023.
Individually, Sophie placed third at the All-American Contest in Harrisburg, PA; second at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI; and first at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, KY.
Sophie’s other activities at Kaskaskia Community College include raising funds for educational programs through the Ag Club.
Locally, Sophie maintains membership with the Kansas Holstein Association and the All-American Jersey Association.
A fifth-generation, dairy farmer, Sophie gained experience by taking care of and raising cattle on her parent’s Lin-Crest Dairy.
During her brief life, Sophie has learned many valuable lessons after a tornado destroyed the family dairy as the family chose to rebuild after the devastation.
Throughout her young career, Sophie has shown cattle at the All-Breeds Junior Dairy Show, Kansas State Fair, and the World Dairy Expo.
Additionally, Sophie challenged herself by competing as a Kansas Dairy Quiz Bowl Team member at the National Holstein Convention.
Sophie’s board-based experiences lead to Semex’s Solutions creating a new intern position to monitor the Semex’s AI24 collars during the summer of 2024.
She will collect data using this technology for rumination, heat detection, lactation and more with the key objective for detecting illness in advance of physical evidence.
Sophie says, “Looking into the future, I am eager to take on a career in the dairy industry that challenges me and pushes me to innovate and advocate for agriculture.”