A very busy national dairy month

I hope all of you had a wonderful National Dairy Month. I know that I did. Of course, since June is Dairy Month, it gives you a free pass to eat as much ice cream as you want. I hope you indulged.

During June I was able to visit so many new places and meet so many awesome people. I kicked off the month by visiting a farmers market at what had been the last working dairy farm in Ramsey County. Although it is no longer a dairy farm it still does a wonderful job sharing the story of dairy with the people who visit the farmers market. There were games for the kids, plenty of vendors set up, and I was honored to read a dairy book to the kids during story time. I had a great time with the people at Bruentrup Heritage Farmers Market.

The next weekend I visited two community celebrations. First, I was invited to attend the 50th Adams Dairy Days. I helped to crown the Dairy Days royalty and also went through the parade with the Mower County dairy princesses. I had the honor of meeting Princess Kay number six, Betty Cole. She shared with me her experiences as Princess Kay and some of her favorite memories. The next day I attended one of my local celebrations, Bullhead Days. I visited with local royalty including the Waseca County dairy princess who I have been lucky to see many times. I participated in the parade as a way to thank the Waterville community for supporting me this year.

Next, I met several current and past dairy farmers at the Faribault Christian Women’s Connection luncheon. I spoke about my dairy farm and my experiences as Princess Kay this year. Afterward I was approached by several dairy farmers and I was honored because one of the women said that she made sure to finish chores early that morning so she could see me speak and meet me afterwards.

The following week I had six events all over the state. I started in Olivia, Minnesota, where I visited the BOLD summer preschool program. The students and I read a book, made and ate butter and played a game to help identify dairy products. We finished the visit by coloring thank you cards for dairy farmers. The next day I was in Faribault at the Compeer Picnic. I visited with several farmers including my neighbors, Saemrow Dairy, and Kasper’s, a dairy farm family from Medford, Minnesota. I loved getting to talk to some old friends and also making some new ones in the dairy world. Next, I attended Music in the Park in Benson, Minnesota, where I handed out cow hats to children at the event. The Benson community is making preparations to open an agriculture museum for children this fall. The next day I went to Dairy Night at the Rochester Honkers baseball game where I was joined by dairy princesses and ambassadors from several counties. It was so fun to make connections with the dairy farmers and dairy princesses that were there and also the people who had attended the game. The final two events this week were in Little Falls, Minnesota. I visited the Pine Grove Zoo for the ice cream social. I handed out ice cream to the families and I was able to have so many great conversations. Lastly, I visited the Morrison County Fair. I spent my time in the Ag Learning Center where the kids play at different ag stations. I was able to speak with lots of Fairgoers, several of whom are dairy farmers in the county.

I rounded off June with two virtual events, first with Big Stone County 4-H. I began with a virtual tour of my dairy farm and also shared some of my activities as Princess Kay. Next Iowa Dairy Princess Ashley Elsbernd and I met virtually with the Midwest Dairy staff. We gave an inside look at dairy farming in Minnesota and Iowa by sharing about our own dairy farms. We also talked about our experiences as Princess Kay and the Iowa Dairy Princess.

Finally, as promised I have a few more thank yous from students all over the state that I would love to share with you. One student wrote, “Thank you for all you do. I love the milk and many other things you give me in my everyday life. So, thank you so much.” Next Katie wrote, “Thank you for all that you do for our community, from the countless hours spent in the fields or time spent taking care of animals. You do a lot and I appreciate it.” Finally, Klaudia wrote, “Thank you for the hard work you put into caring for the animals and taking no day off. I really appreciate everything you do.”

As seen by these thank you notes, what dairy farmers do is noticed and appreciated. So, let’s celebrate with another serving of ice cream. July is National Ice Cream month after all.

Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Emma Kuball, serves as the Minnesota dairy community’s goodwill ambassador. Kuball grew up in Waterville, Minnesota, working on her family’s sixth-generation dairy farm. She attends the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, studying agriculture education, and looks forward to becoming an FFA advisor. She enjoys reading, crocheting and baking. Her parents are Nate and Shannon Kuball.

Princess Kay is active doing school visits, representing dairy farmers and sharing the importance of dairy farming and dairy foods at appearances across Minnesota.