Dairy Star Special Iowa Dairy Princess Edition 2023

Special Iowa Dairy Princess Edition

DAIRY ST R

A charcuterie board of advocacy

Scott promotes dairy industry as princess through variety of events

By Amy Kyllo amy.k@star-pub.com

WESTGATE, Iowa –Not everyone knows that there are 2,000 varieties of cheese, but for the 69th Iowa Dairy Princess Naomi Scott, her liking for cheese and extensive dairy knowledge are all part of what she brings to the crown.

“I’ve always looked up to the Iowa dairy princess and thought that’s a pretty cool role,” Scott said. “(I’m)

just excited to be able to meet people, advocate for the agriculture industry as a whole and then promote dairy products.”

Scott is the daughter of Mike and Kathleen. The Fayette County native grew up near Westgate on her family’s robotic dairy farm where she feeds calves. She also milked cows before her family installed a robotic milking system. Scott is studying at Iowa State University, majoring in dairy science with a minor in agriculture entre-

preneurship.

Since being crowned the Iowa Dairy Princess Aug. 10, 2022, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Scott has been attending events across the state, promoting the dairy community.

“The Iowa dairy princess is a great platform to reach consumers and do it in a fun way,” Scott said. “We get to do a lot of neat activities and events that are pretty special.”

One such event series has been her charcuterie board and cheese pairing workshops. At the rst event June 29, Scott featured six types of cheese to taste and gave tips and ideas for pairings for charcuterie boards. Scott also shared about the cheese-making process.

The event attendees were mostly non-dairy farmers.

“That’s a good audience to hit,” Scott said. “They’re having fun with cheese. They’re nding different ideas for cheese, different ways to present it, different ways to pair it.”

After the rst event, Scott had the opportunity to visit with two women who drove 45 minutes to attend. One of the women talked about her respect for the entrepreneurial spirit of dairy farmers.

“That was a unique interaction, seeing that from somebody who isn’t in the dairy industry but has so much respect for the dairy

industry,” Scott said. Scott works to connect with consumers by nding relatable topics to start a conversation and eventually

Recent IOWA DAIRY PRINCESSES

Meghan Hettinga Iowa Jersey Cattle Club

Amber Engelken Iowa Holstein Association

Raegan Kime Iowa Guernsey Breeders Association

Naomi Scott Iowa Holstein Association

Hillary Burken Clinton/Jackson County

Emily Manweiler Iowa Jersey Cattle Club

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Naomi Sco , daughter of Mike and Kathleen Sco , is the 69th Iowa Dairy Princess. Sco grew up feeding calves and milking cows on her family’s dairy farm near Westgate, Iowa.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Naomi Sco stands with schoolchildren April 14 at Resurrecon Elementary School in Dubuque, Iowa. Sco did mul ple school visits in connec on with the schools’ par cipa on in the Adopt-A-Cow program.

Turn to SCOTT |

moving the conversation toward dairy.

A dream come true

Manweiler reects on reign as princess alternate

By Alex Middendorf Staff Intern

SUMNER, Iowa – Having served as the Bremer County Junior Dairy Miss when she was 11 years old and the Iowa Jersey Princess in 2021, Emily Manweiler’s next step was to contend for the title of Iowa Dairy Princess.

“This has been my dream since I was crowned as the Bremer County Junior Dairy Miss when I was young,” Manweiler said.

Her biggest dream came true when the crown was placed on her head and she was announced as the 69th Iowa Dairy Princess Alternate last September.

Manweiler, the daughter of William and Karen Manweiler, grew up on a farm that raises and sells registered dairy animals near Sumner. The family keeps a few cows as well that are housed and milked at AJH Dairy in Nashua.

Looking back to the coronation, Manweiler said she vividly remembers the ood of happy tears that came after she was crowned.

“After the coronation was over, I made sure to spend time and take pictures with the people who helped me fulll my biggest dream,” Manweiler

said. “I then went to visit my cows because I couldn’t have gotten here without them.”

Serving alongside Naomi Scott, the 69th Iowa Dairy Princess, Manweiler has been traveling around Iowa, connecting with consumers to share information about dairy farming and the benets of wholesome and nutritious dairy foods.

At the beginning of her reign, Manweiler quickly learned how to

Naomi & Emily!

navigate her royalty duties while also attending her senior year of high school at New Hampton High School.

“It was a crazy year,” Manweiler said. “It was hard to nd a good balance between being a senior and the Iowa Dairy Princess all at once.”

Luckily, Manweiler’s school schedule worked well for squeezing in numerous events. Her employer was also willing to work with a busy schedule.

“The dairy farm was also accommodating to my hectic schedule,” Manweiler said. “It was very helpful.”

Being a dairy princess is not Manweiler’s only connection to the

dairy industry. Her father grew up on a dairy farm and wanted those same experiences for his children, although not milking cows himself.

This led Manweiler to start showing dairy cattle at the age of 8, which is where her passion for the industry blossomed. Her experiences while showing allowed her to nd further connections within the dairy industry, she said, and showing cattle is something that will be with her for the rest of her life.

“I want my future kids to show dairy animals,” Manweiler said. “I’m denitely never getting out of it.”

While serving Iowa’s dairy farmers, Manweiler said she has seen support from people within the dairy industry.

“It’s crazy to me just how huge the dairy community is,” Manweiler said. “The farmers have been so supportive of the events that Naomi and I are doing to spread the word to everybody about how good and amazing dairy is.”

Some of the events that Manweiler has attended during her reign include classroom visits, bank events and farm open houses.

“I’ve taught elementary students about how dairy calves grow up and what that looks like,” Manweiler said. “I have served ice cream and been at farms when they’ve opened their doors and let the public in to view their farm.”

While serving as a dairy princess, Manweiler has also learned about animals that are new to her.

“One of my very rst events was at Hanson’s dairy in Hudson, Iowa, where they have wallabies on their

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Emily Manweiler stands with her Jersey cow, Shimmer, in October of 2022 near Sumner, Iowa. Shimmer is the granddaughter of the rst Jersey cow that Manweiler purchased and was Manweiler’s partner in her win at the Intermediate Showmanship contest at the 2019 Iowa State Fair.

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Emily Manweiler smiles next to a calf in September 2022 at the Iowa Dairy Center in Calmar, Iowa. Manweiler has spent the last year serving as the Iowa Dairy Princess Alternate and will be passing along her crown at the Iowa State Fair in August.

“That one-on-one interaction is really important,” Scott said. “They will most likely tell that conversation they had with you to another person. ... You’re using those consumers that you interact with to also advocate for the dairy industry.”

Scott’s favorite events to attend are school visits. This past winter, she connected with schools across Iowa through the Adopt-A-Cow program. Scott sent out two emails every week for two months to the participating schools, updating them about their calf. Some of these schools also hosted her for classroom visits.

“They asked a lot of fun questions, a lot of innocent questions, and ... I really enjoyed it,” she said.

Scott has attended county banquets, dairy breakfasts on the farm, dairy farm open houses, the Iowa Junior Holstein Convention and more while also managing the Iowa Dairy Princess Facebook and Instagram pages. Last fall, one of the events Scott attended was a butter-making event with kids. She made homemade butter with them and shared dairy trivia. The princess said she would have been a little lost in her role if she did not have the trivia knowledge gained in dairy quiz bowl.

Before being crowned, Scott was active in 4-H, showing at the local and state levels. She was part of dairy quiz bowl through the Iowa Junior Holstein Association and also participated in dairy jeopardy and other events through their organization. In 2022, she served as one of the two Iowa Holstein Association princesses. In Fayette County, she has served as Little Miss Squirt, the Fayette County Dairy Princess and the Fay-

ette County Fair Princess.

“I liked the role of interacting with people and especially kids,” Scott said.

She has also participated in sev-

THANK

eral internships. Last summer, she interned at Rolling Lawns Farm in Greenville, Illinois. This farm owns its own creamery just a few miles from their farm site. Currently, Scott is interning at Moore Local in Maquoketa, a shop which features milk and meat from the store’s local farm and other local products.

As of July 24, the Iowa Dairy Princess Program, which includes Scott and the Iowa Dairy Princess Alternate Emily Manweiler, has attended 66 events and will attend eight full days at the Iowa State Fair. However, while Scott said she is eager to make even more appearances, she said she has felt hindered by the fact that an Iowa dairy princess can only attend an event if she is requested.

“It could be more of a full-time role where the princess gets to attend not just dairy events,” Scott said. “Why not see the princess at nondairy events bringing dairy to the event? ... We’re kind of being held back. ... We have girls who are super passionate and want to get out there and promote.”

Scott will pass on her crown to the 70th Iowa Dairy Princess at 7 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. The public is welcome to attend.

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PHOTO SUBMITTED

Naomi Sco smiles next to a young girl June 4 at the Jones County Ag Breakfast in Mon cello, Iowa. Sco said she enjoys opportuni es to interact with kids.

farm as the farm mascot,” Manweiler said. “I got to meet a wallaby for the rst time, and they let me look to see the baby inside the pouch.”

Manweiler said that meeting the wallabies has been one of her favorite experiences so far during her reign. Another event she attended that was memorable was the Jones Dairy open house in western Iowa.

“The dairies are very different in western Iowa compared to where I live in eastern Iowa,” Manweiler said. “This particular farm had a rotary barn, which I had never seen before.”

At that event and others, Manweiler was able to interact with many people and said that it was a good experience getting to learn new things. She was also able to speak with consumers about all of the benets of dairy, which she said is her favorite dairy message.

“The most important thing is that dairy is good and healthy,” Manweiler said. “Dairy is good in all aspects, and whether you are doing sports or everyday activities, dairy products are going to help boost what you are do-

ing.”

In the fall, Manweiler will be heading to Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids to double major in education and animal science. From there, she plans to transfer to Iowa State University. She is hoping to become an animal nutritionist or agriculture teacher.

“If I do become an animal nutritionist, it will probably be specically for dairy animals because that is what I have grown up with and that is what I know,” Manweiler said. “I hope to be deep into the industry and never leave it.”

As the Iowa State Fair creeps closer, Manweiler is looking ahead to the moment when she will pass along the crown to the 70th Iowa Dairy Princess Alternate.

“I’m going to be sad when it’s over, but I am always looking ahead,” Manweiler said. “This will be an experience that I will cherish forever, and I have gotten so much out of it and learned a lot this past year. I’m denitely going to miss it.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Emily Manweiler feeds a wallaby Sept. 17, 2022, at Hansen’s Dairy Farm near Hudson, Iowa. Manweiler has embraced opportuni es to learn about new animals throughout her year-long reign.

“I’m going to be sad when it’s over, but I am always looking ahead. This will be an experience that I will cherish forever, and I have gotten so much out of it and learned a lot this past year.”

EMILY MANWEILER, 2022 23 ALTERNATE IOWA DAIRY PRINCESS

FOSSUMElizabeth

Allamakee County Dairy Promotion Board

Parents: Kevin & Julie Fossum

Hometown: Waterville, Iowa Iowa 18 years old 18 years old

Tell us about yourself and involvement in the dairy industry. I live on a dairy farm in Waterville, Iowa. We milk around 220 Holstein cows. My involvement on the farm consists of milking, herd management and feeding calves. I am also actively involved in the industry outside of the farm as well. I am a member of the Iowa Junior Holstein Association as well as the Wisconsin Holstein Association. I exhibit my dairy animals at local, state, regional and national shows through these associations.

What is one memorable interaction that you have had with a consumer that has allowed you to share your dairy story? When I was at our local ice cream shop, there was a group of second graders there. I was in my farm clothes, and one of the teachers recognized that I was the dairy princess. The teacher asked me if I could tell the kids about dairy, and the kids all said I looked like I just got done working on the farm. It was memorable to me because the kids realized that the dairy princess works on a farm and I wasn’t just a princess.

How has being involved in the dairy industry shaped you as a person? Being involved in the dairy industry has taught me the value of hard work and the importance of family. It also showed me how to be caring and have passion for the things I participate in.

What is the value of having dairy princesses representing the dairy industry? Dairy princesses are important to the industry because they give the industry a unied voice. As a dairy princess, I not only promote dairy products but the producers in my county as well. Dairy princesses can be the point of contact for consumers in many cases and can help spread the story of multiple dairy farmers.

If you had the chance to speak with government representatives, what would you choose to tell them about the dairy industry? If I had the chance to speak with government ofcials, I would start by sharing the truth of dairy farmers in my county and state. I would help them understand the type of people dairy farmers are – kind and caring. I would express the hard work they put into their operation 365 days a year to feed America. I would also emphasize the economic importance of the industry to better help them understand why dairy is vital to Iowa.

You’ve been chosen to develop a social media campaign promoting dairy. What platform would you choose and how would you develop the campaign? My campaign would be Buzzing About Dairy, an educational opportunity for families in urban areas. Part 1 of the campaign would be a webinar focused on teaching students in urban areas about dairy. This would be a recorded tour of a farm for elementary-aged children. There is a large disconnect in urban areas to agriculture. To help bridge this gap, it is important to start with youth as they are the future of those urban areas. I would get the webinar to teachers in urban areas by reaching out to the school districts. I would offer this webinar twice a school year and provide promotional items for the students. Part 2 of the campaign would be to target the parents. To do this, I would create social media posts on Facebook and Instagram on both the princess page and other pages that my target audience looks at, like a sports page for dads or a recipe page for moms. Part 3 of this campaign would be to utilize TikTok to share fun facts about dairy and interview farmers with the goal of targeting urban areas. This is just a glimpse into the ideas I have about a campaign to promote the dairy industry. I believe educating urban areas is vital for the future of the dairy industry.

DEMMERSydney

Delaware County Dairy Princess

Parents: Chad & Stacey Demmer Chad & Demmer

Hometown: Dundee, Iowa Iowa

18 years old 18 years old

Tell us about yourself and your involvement in the dairy industry. I am the third daughter of Chad and Stacey Demmer. I have three sisters: Tehya, Laney and Maleah. We live on a dairy farm outside of Dundee, Iowa. We are milking about 180 Holsteins with three DeLaval robots. We also have a small farrow-to-nish operation. I have been involved in 4-H and FFA where I showed Holstein heifers. I was also a part of dairy quiz bowl and dairy judging, and I was the 2022 Delaware County Dairy Princess.

What is a memorable interaction you’ve had with a consumer that allowed you to share your dairy story? I have had many memorable interactions with many consumers as the Delaware County Dairy Princess and living on a dairy farm. My favorite interaction was at a day care in Manchester, Iowa. At the day care, I read books to the kids and talked about my dairy farm.

How has being involved in the dairy industry shaped you as a person?

The dairy industry has helped me grow into the person I am today. Living and working on a dairy farm has taught me many skills such as hard work, communication and adaptability.

What is the value of having dairy princesses represent the dairy industry? It is valuable to have a dairy princess represent the dairy industry. A dairy princess is a real person people look up to. They can educate consumers about the dairy industry in a fun way and tell their story.

If you had the chance to speak with government representatives, what would you choose to tell them about the dairy industry? If I had the opportunity to talk to a representative, I would ask why they are trying to take avored milk out of schools. Flavored milk has the same benets as regular milk, and if schools try to take avored milk away, what would they replace it with? Would they replace it with juice, which is a more sugary drink than avored milk with fewer benets? The U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking to implement only allowing avored milk to be sold in high schools in the 2024-25 school year.

You’ve been chosen to develop a social media campaign promoting dairy. What platform would you choose and how would you develop the campaign? At this time, TikTok is a very popular social media app that gets information out to many people at once. If I had to develop a social media campaign to promote dairy, I would use TikTok. I would post several informational and interesting videos about the dairy industry.

ELSBERNDAshley

Winneshiek County Dairy Princess

Parents: Peter & Kristi Elsbernd

Hometown: Calmar, Iowa Iowa

19 years old 19 years old

Tell us about yourself and your involvement in the dairy industry. Right now, I am interning at my family’s farm for this summer, seeing what our operation is day to day. Back at school, I have been a dairy science major with an agribusiness minor, so I am focusing a lot on my dairy inuence and on the farming aspect of managing a farm. I worked on a dairy in the Platteville area while going to school and exploring my exposure up there.

What is a memorable interaction you’ve had with a consumer that allowed you to share your dairy story? Having the opportunity to take consumers to my farm has been the most inuential experience I’ve had. Being able to show them what happens on a dairy farm, how farms are run, what they look like and hearing their comments about a farm is always an exciting and entertaining time. When younger kids are around the farm to see the animals and tractors, they learn so much from the experience.

How has being involved in the dairy industry shaped you as a person? Working in any eld in agriculture is denitely a hard job, but it builds a lot of

strong characteristics and leadership skills. Working in the dairy industry alone has taught me work ethic, the importance of being punctual and staying on top of tasks as well as appreciation of what the industry is.

What is the value of having dairy princesses represent the dairy industry?

The dairy industry is mainly built around the men and women who have their nose to the grindstone and are working hard. Being able to have someone to represent those people who is working countless hours to talk about what they do, how they do and why they do their job day in and day out is so important. It gives those hard-working men and women a voice to share their story.

If you had the chance to speak with government representatives, what would you choose to tell them about the dairy industry? First, I would ask what their experience on the farm is. Everybody has grandparents or great-grandparents or someone in their family who worked on the farm at one point. I would like to see what their connection to a dairy farm is. Then I could see how my knowledge and experience connects to their life. Once I know what the knowledge difference is, I can explain why teaching about agriculture, teaching about dairy and teaching about food processing is so important for consumers to understand. Having agricultural classes and teaching about agriculture is so important to me. You’ve been chosen to develop a social media campaign promoting dairy. What platform would you choose and how would you develop the campaign? One of the biggest social media platforms right now is TikTok with its short videos. They are quick attention grabbers, and it’s something you can pack a lot of information into in a short amount of time. I would focus on the great benets dairy products have. I would emphasize to the demographic of TikTok, teenagers and young adults, that dairy isn’t just an option, but it’s a necessity to get daily nutrients.

SPARRGROVE NELSON Taylor

Iowa Milking Shorthorn Society

Parents: Amanda Sparrgrove Amanda & Justin Nelson

Hometown: Washburn, Iowa Iowa

18 years old 18 years old

Tell us about yourself and involvement in the dairy industry. I recently graduated from Don Bosco High School in Gilbertville, Iowa, and will be a freshman at Iowa State University in the fall. I was involved in FFA, 4-H, volleyball, large group/individual speech, basketball as a manager and 4-H youth council. I have been involved in the dairy industry for my entire life. I am able to be involved in the dairy industry because my grandparents own and operate a dairy farm in north-east Iowa in Fayette County. When I was younger, I would go to the barn and help my grandma as she fed calves. On my grandparents’ farm, they milk 225 cows that consist of all seven breeds. Over the last seven years, I have spent the summers on my grandparents’ farm helping feed calves, working with show heifers and cows, deep cleaning the parlor and barn, and regis-tering calves through their respective breed associations. I started showing in the peewee show when I was 4 years old at the Fayette County Fair. Once I decided that I wanted to continue showing dairy cattle, I joined 4-H in Fayette County when I was in fourth grade and have been involved in 4-H ever since. I started out showing Holstein then moved to Jersey, Guernsey, Red and White, and Milking Shorthorn. I stay involved with the Holstein and Jersey breeds by being a part of the Iowa junior associations, and I stay involved with Milking Shorthorn by being a part of the Iowa and national junior association.

What is one memorable interaction that you have had with a consumer that has allowed you to share your dairy story? One memorable interaction I have had with a consumer is when I helped at Dairy Story at the Iowa Dairy Center in Calmar, Iowa. I really enjoyed getting to see the kids’ faces light up when they got to interact with the calves and cows.

How has being involved in the dairy industry shaped you as a person? The dairy industry has shaped me as a person because it has helped me decide what I want to do in my future. If I was never involved in the dairy industry, I don’t know what I would be going to college for.

What is the value of having dairy princesses representing the dairy industry? The value of having dairy princesses represent the dairy industry is very high. Younger children are more interested when they see someone wearing a crown and sash and want to talk to them. When a child comes up to a dairy princess, it then leads to the parents talking to us about the dairy industry.

If you had the chance to speak with government representatives, what would you choose to tell them about the dairy industry? If I had the chance to talk to government representatives about the dairy industry, I would like to talk to them about the importance of the dairy industry and how kids should be taught about the dairy industry in schools. It is important for kids to learn where their food comes from.

You’ve been chosen to develop a social media campaign promoting dairy. What platform would you choose and how would you develop the campaign? I have already used social media to pro-mote the dairy industry, and the platform I use is Facebook. I use Facebook because you can reach an audience of all ages. You can also add an unlimited number of pictures, unlike other social media platforms. I would develop a post for either a specic day like National Milk Day or a dairy related month, such as National Dairy Month or National Ice Cream Month. I would post a picture that would capture the attention of people and include a fun fact about the specic day or month that the post was made for.

Butler County Dairy Princess

Tell us about yourself and your involvement in the dairy industry. I did not grow up on a farm, but my grandparents own a small dairy farm about 10 minutes from my house. Growing up, I spent all my summers out there and even started showing dairy goats at the county fair. My goal is really to spread the message of dairy all over the world. This summer, I have judged dairy goat and cattle shows at various county fairs.

What is a memorable interaction you’ve had with a consumer that allowed you to share your dairy story? I was speaking with people in Des Moines, Iowa, about my upbringing and thought, “This is how I grew up, but it’s not how everybody else did.” While growing up, I helped at New Day Dairy, which is in Clarksville, and I would see the milk come straight out of the cow and go straight into the tank and then straight to the processing plant and straight into making cheese. I knew exactly where cheese came from. Most people in the world do not see that. They think that food is just shipped in from all over. I realized that I am able to explain to people, especially people who are in my classes at school who don’t understand, where their cheese comes from. It comes from right here in Iowa. That day was really eye-opening for me.

How has being involved in the dairy industry shaped you as a person? Being involved in dairy has denitely helped shape me into who I am today. 4-H and FFA have impacted my dairy experience. FFA especially has given me so many leadership qualities that I could not have gotten anywhere else. My FFA adviser my freshman and sophomore years was just amazing and engraved those leadership qualities into me. That combined with my dairy knowledge is important to me.

What is the value of having dairy princesses represent the dairy industry? It is really important to get new blood out there and have young people speak about it. I can only speak about my experiences and what I grew up doing. It’s important to have princess because they are trained to talk about it. But, it’s important to have people talk.

If you had the chance to speak with government representatives, what would you choose to tell them about the dairy industry? I actually got the opportunity to work in the Senate this past general session where I did have the opportunity to speak with legislators about the dairy industry. I was so excited that I got to speak with the chair of the new raw milk bill, and he truly let me speak. He let me speak about me experience and he asked for my input when constructing the bill. Being able to be in the Senate and watch that bill from the very start to seeing it pass through was just an unreal experience. I got to see it from the start to the nish.

You’ve been chosen to develop a social media campaign promoting dairy. What platform would you choose and how would you develop the campaign? I would use TikTok because it is the new thing. It has the most young people on it. That is what the dairy industry needs right now. The dairy industry right now has a lot of older people. The farmers are going into retirement age, and we need to get new blood in there before we don’t have a dairy industry anymore. I would go on TikTok and show what the dairy industry really is. Everybody thinks it’s a scary place and it’s not. Some people think that cows are mistreated or neglected, but that’s not true. We need to show how cows are actually being treated on farms because people don’t know.

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