10 years ago....braces and all, I was a Finalist for Princess Kay of the Milky Way,
an experience I will never forget!

Wow has time flown by!  As I write this, we have finished 1st cutting of alfalfa.  Thankfully that frost earlier in April was not as detrimental as we expected it to be.  Thanks to lots of rain (5.25 inches in one week) we postponed planting our corn in exchange for cutting hay on May 12th...the earliest we have EVER cut alfalfa.  We also welcomed 13 new calves to the barn....all of which were born within the same week as making hay.  Now I am working on my presentation for the Dairy Princess event this weekend.  Here, talented dairy farmers' daughters and employees are competing to be one of the 12 Finalists for Princess Kay of the Milky Way.  The scary part is that I was one of these young ladies a mere 10 years ago!  Wow how things have changed, yet they are still the same!
The dairy princess program in Minnesota is still going strong, perhaps even stronger than ever, since so many young women are realizing the importance of sharing their stories with others.   Passionate doesn't even begin to describe these young women.  They are leaders, innovators, communicators, and most of all they LOVE the great community we call the dairy industry! 
10 years ago I had no idea how important the dairy princess program would be in who I am today.   Today, I am still advocating for dairy farmers like myself....using some of the same skills I had back then, with the same amount of passion, but with different tools...like this blog ;)
The final 12 will have the great experience of getting their likeness carved in a 90 pound block of butter at the Minnesota State Fair this summer!  A real honor!  (much like I did 10 years ago!)  We're wishing all these young ladies well, as any one of them would be an excellent Princess Kay!