Fulfilling a dream

SLEEPY EYE, Minn. — Since she was 5 years old, Gracie Sellner has dreamed of becoming a Princess Kay finalist. Now, that dream is reality.

“(My siblings) were up at the state fair, and I remember my mom took me to the Princess Kay coronation, and just seeing that whole event, I got so excited because it was something I always wanted,” Sellner said.

Sellner, the daughter of Loran and Heidi Sellner, was selected as a Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalist in May. The sixth generation on her family’s 200-cow robotic dairy farm, Sellner grew up feeding calves, helping with fieldwork during harvest and assisting her parents with feeding the cows.

“If I could choose how I live my life, I would 100% choose living on my family’s dairy farm,” Sellner said. “I would not change how I grew up at all; I love my dairy farm.”

Sellner currently attends South Dakota State University, where she will be an incoming senior majoring in agricultural education. After graduation, she hopes to become a high school agricultural education teacher.

During the school year, Sellner often came home to help on her family’s farm — especially around harvest time. Over the summer, she continues to work on the farm. She also works at the Farmers Golf and Health Club — a golf course in Sanborn — and has an agricultural education internship at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart High School through the Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council.

“One of my favorite things about the internship, besides working with the kids, is that I love planning the events and making the advertisements for the FFA program,” Sellner said. “Being able to help out in the community there is so much fun.”

While living and working on her family’s dairy farm started her interest in agriculture, Sellner credits FFA and similar programs for deepening her passion.

“I got my very first FFA polo for joining the high school FFA officer team and once I put that polo on, the realization really hit me, like, ‘OK, I want to be an agricultural education teacher for high school students,’” Sellner said.

Growing up, Sellner was heavily involved in 4-H and FFA, while also being a part of her county’s dairy ambassador and junior dairy princess programs. She has been a Brown County dairy princess for the past three years as well.

“One of the things that all these organizations have in common is they helped me find my passion for educating others about the agricultural industry,” Sellner said. “I want to inspire those who come from a farm or live in town that everyone has a place in agriculture.”

Sellner was first introduced to the dairy princess program by her mother and older sister — both of whom were dairy princesses for Freeborn County and Brown County, respectively. Throughout her time in the program, Sellner’s childhood dream of becoming a finalist stayed with her.

“Being an ambassador, and then being a princess, I was able to build connections with a lot of people — whether it was other dairy princesses, other dairy farmers, other ag businesses — and then also talking to the general public, especially at the state fair,” she said. “It just made me realize there are a lot of things that people don’t really know about what dairy farmers do, and I would like to share my passion (and) experiences from living on a robotic dairy farm.”

When the 10 finalists were announced, Sellner was getting in her car to head to work. Filled with nerves, Sellner said she did not want to watch the video. But her mother came out of the house and pulled her back in.

“My mom was just jumping for joy, and then I realized that I got it — I made it as a finalist — and I burst out into tears,” Sellner said. “If there is one thing I could tell people, it’s to have patience and to never give up. My fourth-year triumph, seeing that I finally made it as a finalist, brought me some joy.”

Sellner, along with the other finalists, will have her likeness carved into a 90-pound block of butter at the Minnesota State Fair.

“Not to state the obvious, but having my likeness cut and carved in butter, that is super exciting,” Sellner said. “We still don’t know where we’re going to put my butter sculpture.”

With a few months left until the Minnesota State Fair, Sellner said she is looking forward to sharing the experience with friends and family.

“Being able to stand up there with the other girls and for all of us to be able to represent Minnesota dairy farmers, that’s really important for me to be a part of,” Sellner said.