Back to school with events too

This past month has been a whirlwind, but I have finally recovered from the busyness of the Minnesota State Fair. The day after the fair, my parents and I picked up the 90-pound block of butter and placed it in a chest freezer full of ice. The freezer was ratchet-strapped into the back of my dad’s pickup truck so that we could move me into college without having a deformed butter sculpture at the end of the day. However, this did prompt a few interesting comments and questions from my Wisconsinite friends, but the questions gave me an opportunity to share about this very fun opportunity that I have this year.
In September, I attended two events and also did a newspaper interview. The first event after the state fair was the Defeat of Jesse James Days celebration in Northfield, Minnesota. This event was special to me because my family and I would work the malt stand every year with the Rice County American Dairy Association. My duty at Jesse James Days was to share with the princesses and ambassadors my responsibilities as Princess Kay. The volunteers were kind enough to organize a horse-drawn carriage for me to ride in through the parade. But by far the highlight of the day was that I got to be with one of the Waseca County dairy princesses.
The next event was Autumn Fest at Autumnwood Farm in Forest Lake, Minnesota. At this event, I was joined by one of the Isanti County dairy princesses and three Washington County junior dairy princesses. I had the opportunity to interact with lots of consumers and kids who attended the event. It was fun to see how excited everyone was to visit the farm and see the animals. I took a walk around the farm and saw the operation too. There were lots of opportunities for people to see the farm and talk with industry professionals. Another cool part of the event is that they have an on-farm creamery that was open for tours as well. I appreciated the authenticity of the family and their willingness to start the relationship of trust between the farmer and the consumers. They did an incredible job of being informational while also being conversational. This is definitely a balance that I will try to model throughout my year as Princess Kay.
Now that the weather is getting a bit chillier, it is starting to feel like fall. Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons. Usually, it’s just cold enough to wear sweatshirts without it being too cold for it to be comfortable. I also found it was the best time to be milking in the barn, cold enough to be comfortable but not cold enough for my fingers to go numb. Some of my favorite memories also happened in the fall, like going apple picking in the pasture or riding in the combine with my dad and grandpa. I love watching the grain tank fill with corn.
When I was younger, it was so mesmerizing watching as the window slowly became a sheet of gold, not knowing that this was the corn that was going to feed our cows for the year to come. Harvest is one of the most stressful times in the life of a dairy farmer, but it’s also one of the most rewarding times too. It’s the time to see all of the work that dairy farmers put in all spring and summer pay off. Thank you to all of the farmers who are putting in the work to feed the world.
Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Emma Kuball, serves as the Minnesota dairy community’s goodwill ambassador. Emma grew up in Waterville, Minnesota working on her family’s 6th generation dairy farm assisting with cow milking, cow care, and calf feeding. She attends University of Wisconsin-River Falls, studying agriculture education, and looks forward to also becoming an FFA advisor. In her free time, she enjoys reading, crocheting and baking. Her parents are Nate and Shannon Kuball.
Princess Kay is very active doing school visits, representing dairy farmers, and sharing the importance of dairy farming and dairy foods at appearances across Minnesota.