Scott is crowned Iowa Dairy Princess

DES MOINES, Iowa – Naomi Scott believes she has attended every Iowa Dairy Princess coronation for the last 10 years. In 2022, her attendance was different; it was coupled with representing the Iowa Holstein Association in the contest. And, she was the winner.
Scott, the 19-year-old daughter of Mike and Kathleen Scott of Westgate, was chosen as the 69th Iowa Dairy Princess from a field of seven dairy enthusiasts pursuing the role of spokesperson for the state’s dairy farmers. The coronation took place Aug.10 in Des Moines.
Selected as Iowa Dairy Princess Alternate was Emily Manweiler, 18, the daughter of William and Karen Manweiler of Sumner, who represented the Iowa Jersey Cattle Club. She will join Scott in appearances throughout the year.
Scott said her favorite part of the contest was getting to know the other contestants.
“The group we had were really good advocates, and I could see any one of them doing a great job,” Scott said.
Even so, Scott said she is honored and excited for the coming year.
“I’m pretty excited that it’s me,” she said.
Scott was also named miss congeniality by her fellow contestants. Haily Backer, daughter of Benjamin and Jennifer Backer of Greene and representing Butler County, won the public speaking portion of the contest.
Scott said she waited to pursue the title until after completing her first year at Kaskaskia College in Centralia, Illinois.
“I wanted to be a little more mature,” Scott said. “I’m viewing (the role) as more of an internship.”
Scott spent her summer in Illinois, working at Rolling Lawns Farm in Greenville, which bottles fluid milk and makes ice cream. She worked on the farm and in the creamery.
After completing this fall semester at Kaskaskia and competing in dairy judging, Scott intends to transfer to Iowa State University – a plan she made prior to becoming the state’s dairy princess.
As one of the eight children who have been home schooled, Scott has been active milking, feeding calves and doing other chores on the 120-cow dairy called Scottmore Holsteins.
Scott said a highlight of her coronation at the state fairgrounds was receiving the crown from her best friend, Reagan Kime of Waucoma. Kime was the outgoing Iowa Dairy Princess and grew up showing and participating in dairy youth activities with Scott in Fayette County.
While Scott was only acquainted with the newly crowned princess alternate, Manweiler, Scott said she expects to work closely with her in the coming year.
“We’ve talked before and she showed Jerseys, but I feel like we’re going to get a lot closer,” Scott said.
Manweiler is also looking forward to becoming more familiar with Scott.
“We’ve crossed paths quite a few times,” Manweiler said. “But I’m excited to get to know her personally.”
Manweiler is a senior at New Hampton High School and said she found the days of the princess contest and coronation much different than her usual second week in August.
“It was so very weird, because I’m used to bringing cows down Monday and being (at state fair) Tuesday, clipping on Wednesday and Thursday,” she said. “This time, I showed up after the coronation and all the work was done.”
Her father and her older sister, Megan, took care of settling in and preparing the Manweiler cattle, which included a Brown Swiss that placed first in 4-H and second in the open show.
While her father grew up on a dairy, he and the Manweiler family now bring their heifers to AJH Dairy in Nashua, owned by Andy and Jen Hauser, for milking.
Manweiler said her father was moved by seeing her crowned.
“My dad actually started crying,” she said.
While Manweiler represented the Jersey breeders in the contest and gave up that crown last spring, she currently holds the title of Iowa Brown Swiss Princess. She also served Bremer County’s dairy promotion group as a young girl, handing out ice cream at various events.
Scott’s and Manweiler’s reigns begin Sept. 1 when they take over from the outgoing princess and alternate, Kime and Hillary Burken, respectively.