Focused on dairy nutrition

SAUK CENTRE, Minn. — April Klaphake was trying to study for her biology and pre-med major finals when she found out she had been named a top 10 finalist for Princess Kay of the Milky Way. The future family medicine doctor plans to make sharing about dairy nutrition a top priority as a dairy princess.

“Our dairy farmers, they work so hard, and they make these amazing products that are so nutrient-packed,” Klaphake said. “It is worth people’s time to promote.”

Klaphake, who just finished her freshman year at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, is the daughter of Mark and Jennifer Klaphake of Sauk Centre. Klaphake did not grow up on a farm, but family ties, dairy experiences in 4-H, and helping as a relief milker at a local dairy farm connect Klaphake to the dairy community as a Stearns County Dairy Princess.

“Dairy princesses, they can be the face for the farmers,” Klaphake said. “They’re a very approachable, respectable person who knows what they’re talking about. … They can be the bridge between the farmers because the farmers are always working hard on the farm. They don’t have the time to go interact with consumers.”

Klaphake said if she is named Princess Kay, she wants to prioritize connecting with current and future health professionals.

“I would love to talk to more college students, especially pre-med students like me, as well as other health care providers, about how nutrient-rich dairy is,” Klaphake said.

Klaphake said she sees the role of Princess Kay as conducive to sharing these messages.

“Princess Kay is such an available person to go talk to people, especially in the cities, who don’t know a lot about dairy farming,” Klaphake said. “It makes them feel so much (safer) as a consumer … knowing where their food comes from. … (Nowadays), people are more worried about where their food comes from and how it affects their health.”

When it comes to health and nutrition, Klaphake said she wants to share a simple message.

“Milk has 13 essential nutrients with large amounts of calcium and vitamin D,” she said. “There are so many health benefits that correlate with all of those, especially the calcium and bone strength for young people and our elderly people.”

Klaphake has been surrounded by the dairy community her entire life. Both her parents grew up on dairy farms, and today, five of her uncles and two of her cousins operate dairy farms in her hometown area. In third grade, Klaphake began showing dairy in 4-H.

“My very first year … I had this tiny little Jersey calf,” Klaphake said. “I ended up winning the junior Jersey champion of the show and getting really high up in the state fair lineup. But for me, none of that mattered. I was just really happy to be there with my calf.”

Klaphake has shown dairy calves and heifers in 4-H and participated in dairy judging and dairy quiz bowl.

This winter, Klaphake worked on a local dairy farm over her 6-week winter break as a relief milker to replace one of the farmers who was recovering from an injury.

The farmer she milked with this winter encouraged her to compete as a dairy princess.

“I would milk cows with (the farmer) four mornings a week, and he looked at me one day, he’s like, ‘You can do it, just go for it,’” she said.

Klaphake’s mom also encouraged her to be a dairy princess.

“They don’t have as many agriculture opportunities at St. Thomas,” Klaphake said. “(The dairy princess program) sounded really fun to connect back to agriculture and have that connection while I’m still going to school in the city.”

Now, as a finalist for Princess Kay, Klaphake said she is looking forward to the opportunities that come with the role, such as sharing about dairy at the Minnesota State Fair and having her likeness sculpted in butter.

When she receives her buttery twin, it will be the second butter sculpture at the Klaphake home. Klaphake’s mom, who was a finalist in 1997, still has her sculpture in the freezer.

The Klaphakes plan to have a butter sculpture party, with sweet corn and pork chops served with butter.

Looking to her future, Klaphake said, as a medical doctor someday, she will be able to promote dairy on a daily basis in her work.

“If you hear it from your doctor, you’re more likely to do it,” Klaphake said. “They’re the people you trust about your health.”