Wordless Wednesday: Princess Kay

Our county dairy princess Kelsey Sellner, who will be running for Princess Kay of the Milky Way next Wednesday!  We wish her well as she represents the dairy farmers of our county!

Princess Kay....our calf !  Born on the same day that Kelsey was named a finalist...she's so big now!

More Videos from the Princess Kay of the Milky Way Coronation!

In addition to celebrating a Princess Kay Finalist from our county, we also celebrated 2 finalists that were from the neighboring, Nicollet County.  Ashley Swenson and Megan Herberg were great canidates for Princess Kay as well!  While they did not earn the title of Princess Kay, both accomplished young women were awarded 2 of 3 scholarships for leadership in the dairy industry.  These young women are examples of all that is good and wonderful about growing up on a dairy farm!  Check out the videos from their big introductions!





Also, finally...the big coronation, which announced Katie Miron as the 57th Princess Kay of the Milky Way!  We wish Katie a great year promoting the Minnesota Dairy Industry, and we also look forward to bumping into her at various dairy events this coming year!  Check it out!!!

Videos from the Princess Kay of the Milky Way Coronation

Me and My Sister Angie!

Angie and Princess Kay of the Milky Way Katie Miron, of Hugo MN

Our family, gathered to support Angie!

I know I haven't been blogging much lately, but I have been recovering from a whirl wind of activity surrounding the Minnesota State Fair.  We, in Minnesota, lovingly call the State Fair the Great Minnesota Get Together...and for good reason, it is a great opportunity to connect with many fellow farmers and also with consumers.  There were so many opportunities to connect, and I did partake in a few of these events.  So, to highlight these events, I will be blogging the next few entries about all that I was part of or observed.  First on deck, is the Princess Kay of the Milky Way Coronation.  This year, my youngest sister served as a finalist for Princess Kay of the Milky Way.  She was not chosen for Princess Kay, but she did have a blast serving the dairy farmers of Minnesota at the State Fair.  She also had the opportunity to have her likeness carved in a 90 pound block of butter (more about that to follow). 

So to start out my blogs, below is a video from the beginning of the coronation, which showcased each finalist, sharing a valuable message about dairy products and dairy farmers.  Here's Angela's message:



Next up, a video of introductions from fellow SDSU student Brittany Morse, of Lyon County and Angela Sellner:

Where has the summer gone?

As I write this short blog, I am pondering where in the world has the summer gone?  Seems like just weeks ago we were still in June, enjoying June Dairy Month & various promotions, but now we are closing in on August, including county fairs & the great Minnesota State Fair.  Our summer has definitely not decreased in "business"!  In the coming weeks I will be working diligently on my various projects for the Brown County Fair, mainly around the 50th Anniversary of the Brown County Dairy Princess Program.  To learn more about this great program, check out our blog at http://cowsncrowns.blogspot.com/. So...If I am a little slow at blogging, please bear with me =)

Back at the farm things have been incredibly busy as well.  July was our busiest month of the summer for calvings.  We had 14 cows have calves, 10 of which were heifers.  This means that I have almost quadrupled my calf chores.  I am not complaining, but merely stating that I have more chores.  Those calves, especially the youngest ones, require lots of time and care to make sure they have an excellent start.  I can proudly say that my new girls have been doing great!  Lucy, our first registered (full bred Holstein with papers to prove her family tree) even calved in with a beautiful heifer calf, which I have named Luciana.  I will try to get some pictures posted. 

We have been getting a LOT of rain at the farm.  A couple of nights we had some flash flooding, but all in all the cows and corn have been doing great!  Our silage corn is putting out ears & in full tassel.  It has stretched out to almost 10 feet tall!

I hope to post pictures of these events soon! 

I'm a PROUD Older Sister today!!!

I don't know how any day this week could top the excitement we had today!  Today was the "big" announcement of the Finalist for Princess Kay of the Milky Way.  12 young women involved in the dairy industry we chosen from almost 90 candidates to compete at the MN State Fair in August to be Princess Kay of the Milky Way.  8 years ago to the date, I was honored to be one of these finalists, and I had the time of my life.  My youngest sister, Angela,  was there along the way, and I guess she might have learned something from me...or she made her own way to being chosen today to be a Finalist!  Needless to say, I was overjoyed!!!!!  One of the best honors of this role is having your likeness carving in a 90 pound block of butter at the MN State Fair.  I can't wait to be there, watching it! 
I don't know if I will ever forget the phone call I received from her this afternoon.  Angela has earned many state and national honors and has always called me to tell me about it, but this time, today, was the first time that she was crying on the other end of the line.  My little sister was so joyful in her achievement that she was actually crying tears of joy!  I was so moved, I wished that I could have been there to give her a much earned hug.  So via cell phone I sent my love, and sent her off to have her pictures taken for the press.  She is a bright young lady, with a great future ahead of her! 
So if you would like to learn more about her, my sister Angela has a video up on YouTube from last June where she shares about our family's farm.  She is an inspiration for me.  She always remains calm and cool under stress.  Her big sister was panicking this week, as we prepared for her events, but she never faltered.  Even after forgetting a very important piece of her wardrobe for the weekend, she remained calm.  I know personally, that she is an excellent AGVOCATE for the dairy industry!  So....

Congratulations & Love You Angela from your Big Sister, Shannon!!!!! 

Inspired by Youth

It was another busy weekend at the farm. Besides the usual milking and feeding chores we have been trying to haul out some manure to the fields when the soil is frozen and solid or where we have dry hills. The top soil is drying nicely and it looks that we may be planting corn on time this year, with little risk of snow. The flood waters are disappearing as quickly as they appeared...but in places, especially near the Minnesota River, the flooding is still very present. I saw some awful sights of flooding while driving north this Saturday.

I had the honor of judging a local dairy princess contest on Saturday afternoon. I didn't know what to expect, as this was the 1st time that I actually judged a contest. Don't get me wrong, I think I was qualified to judge, I was a "butter head" in 2002, I have been a county princess coordinator for 3 years, and I have been actively involved in the dairy industry since birth ;) I have just never been on the other side of the table. It was a HARD job to judge those candidates. Each of them had such great skills and talents, each different and valuable. Some were great speakers, others were so genuine, and others were extremely knowledgeable. But ALL of them had passion and dedication for the dairy industry. Their positive attitudes were so contagious! Even though judging them was hard work, I left filled with pride in the princess program and the great connections it makes on behalf of dairy farmers.

These 4 talented women also gave me reinforcement that this blog has value, that giving tours to school aged kids has value and that each positive connection that I make as a dairy producer will hopefully help a consumer make the right choice at supper or dinner time.....I hope they choose dairy. Dairy foods supply so many valuable nutrients that the average consumer doesn't get enough of during the day....so have you had your 3 servings today???? If not...make sure you start Monday out with a glass of cold milk and a cup of yogurt! Thanks!

Meet Brown County Dairy Princess Angela-my little sister :)

Meet Brown County Dairy Princess Angela Sellner. She's my youngest sister. We are so proud of her and the good work that she does! Check it out!