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Princess Kay wants to be a voice for dairy farmers

One of the great traditions in Midwest Agriculture is the selection of Princess Kay of the Milky Way at the start of the Minnesota State Fair, and the 63rd Princess Kay wants to be a voice for farmers.

Haley Hinrichs of Goodhue County says as fewer people have direct connections to agriculture, those that are connected need to speak up.

“Our farmers are out farming, and honestly they don’t have all the time in the world to go out and share with people about their life and about their dairy community.  So we need people who are willing to take that time off of the farm, who have still been on a farm, and share their story and share the good message of the dairy community.”

The 19 year old is pursuing a degree in agriculture education at Iowa State University.

Her first job as Princess Kay will be telling attendees of the Minnesota State Fair about the state’s more than 3,000 dairy farms.

“There will be plenty of conversations with people and (I’ll) be able to spread this good news about the dairy industry and share why I’m so passionate about it.”

As Princess Kay, Hinrichs will spend the next year making public appearances connecting consumers to dairy farm families and promoting the Fuel Up to Play 60 program.