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AVON, Minn. - Royalty came to Avon Elementary last week to talk about something very important to them - dairy farming.
Mary Zahurones of Pierz, Minn., the 2011 Princess Kay of the Milky Way, along with Stearns County Princesses Leah Middendorf of Sauk Centre, Minn., and Kirsten Meier of Cold Spring, Minn., talked to the students about their experiences growing up on dairy farms.
The Stearns American Dairy Association was also there to hand out dairy products to the students.
During the presentation to a group of third- and fourth-graders, Zahurones asked the eager crowd, "How much water does a cow drink?"
One of the children answered one, and Zahurones smiled and said, "35 to 50 gallons."
The princesses also got the children involved in unique activities involving dairy, like a butter carving contest and jumping jacks.
They also passed around photos from their own farms.
"Our main goal is to take care of our cows the best we can because that is our livelihood," Zahurones said to the students. "We appreciate our cows."
Like a fingerprint, Meier told the students that no two Holstein spots are the same.
The students roared in disbelief when she then told them how much an average Holstein weighs - 1,400 pounds.
Lisa Maus and Rosie Kerfeld of the Stearns Dairy Association said they hope presentations like this will increase children's dairy intake.
"We are hoping they'll try different dairy products and like them. Instead of candy, they'll ask for yogurt or cheese," Maus said.
"Our objective is for them to have a better lifestyle," Kerfeld added.
The stop in Avon was Zahurones's first elementary school visit, and she said it could not have gone better.
"Their enthusiasm and never-ending questions were great," she said. "They wanted to know so much and it made it fun for us to answer questions."
Zahurones is a freshman at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities in pre-nursing.
She said her interest in nursing sparked after her mother's diagnosis with cancer.
"She was diagnosed when I was 10 and I went with to her all her appointments and we fought the cancer together," she said. "It really got me interested in the field, and I wanted to help other people."[[In-content Ad]]

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