2009 South Dakota Dairy Princess Edition

Special EditionCelebrating 54 Years of South Dakota

Dairy PrincessesCelebrating 54 Years of South Dakota

Dairy Princesses

DAIRY ST RDAIRY ST R★★

Inside:Princess for a year ..................... Pages 2-3

This year’s candidates ............... Pages 4-5

53 years of South Dakota Dairy Princesses .................................. Pages 6-7

Promoting the goodness of real dairy products ............................ Pages 8-9

Past South Dakota Dairy Princess relives experience through daughter ... Pages 9-10

PhoTo by Jerry NelSoNStephanie Nussbaum, 2008 South Dakota Dairy Princess, holds the halters of two of her favorite cows, Mikala, a Holstein and Bonnie, a Jersey, at her parents’ farm near Garret-son. “Being Princess has been a wonderful experience, one that challenged me and made me even more passionate about our industry,” she said.

Page 2 • South Dakota Dairy Princess Special Edition • Dairy Star • March 2009

By Jerry NelsonStaff Writer GARRETSON, S.D. – even though her main role was to educate people about the dairy industry, Stephanie Nuss-baum has learned a number of things during her reign as the 2008 South Dakota Dairy Prin-cess. “I learned that you should always bring an extra shirt when you’re attending an event that involves ice cream,” said the bubbly 19-year-old. “And that you need to know some-one who can clean a sash in 24 hours. Also, you should always wear your hair up when you’re attending an outdoor event.” Nussbaum, the daughter of brad and Monica Nussbaum, was crowned South Dakota’s 53rd Dairy Princess on March 18, 2008 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. She is a sophomore at SDSU and is majoring in dairy production with a minor in ag business. Another lesson Nussbaum learned regarded the chal-lenges of communicating with people who ranged in age from preschoolers to the elderly, and with backgrounds that ran the

Princess for a year

PhoTo SUbMITTeDStephanie Nussbaum put on a milk mustache contest during a recent Calcium Festival at Colman. Nussbaum had to re-late with people who ranged from preschoolers to housewives to politicians during her innumerable appearances as 2008 South Dakota Dairy Princess.

Stephanie Nussbaum looks back on her reign as South Dakota Dairy Princess

gamut from housewife to poli-tician. “you have to train yourself to modulate the way you pres-ent things,” she said. “For in-stance, I was talking to a class of grade schoolers and trying to explain what a TMr is. I told them that a TMr is sort of like taking all the food on your dinner plate and mixing it to-gether. one little boy’s eyes lit up and he exclaimed ‘I made a TMr today out of my mashed potatoes and beans.’” Nussbaum would explain to youngsters how the grain mix her parents feed to their herd contains a balance of pro-tein, vitamins, and minerals. “I would relate to the kids how these same things are es-sential to their growth and gen-eral good health. Kids love it when you can relate things to their own experiences,” Nuss-baum said. During her innumerable appearances as dairy princess, Nussbaum found herself fight-ing some preconceived notions regarding dairy products and the dairy industry. “People from the city of-ten have a mental image of a

cartoon cow that is very round and very fat,” she said. “When they see a real dairy cow up close, they sometimes ask why she is so skinny and how come they can see her ribs. I would explain that it’s because she’s a good cow who puts all her calories into producing milk. A high-producing dairy cow is just like a highly-trained ath-lete. “People are also gener-ally unaware that not all dairy cows are holsteins. They were surprised when I told them that dairy cattle come in a wide va-riety of colors.” At a June Dairy Month event at the brookings hy-Vee, Nussbaum was approached by an elderly woman from Dela-ware. “She asked if she could pet the cow we had on display,” Nussbaum said. “She came back a minute later and said ‘Can you believe how long her eyelashes are?’ She stayed at the event almost the entire day and eventually asked if she could milk the cow. I said of course. She then had a photo taken with her and me and the cow, which she turned into a greeting card.”

Nussbaum continued on next page

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South Dakota Dairy Princess Special Edition • Dairy Star • March 2009 • Page 3

Nussbaum said she received a few princess pointers from her aunt becky Thyen, who served as South Da-kota Dairy Princess in 1984. She also gleaned some tips from several former princesses. “you’re bound to run into former princesses when you attend all those dairy cattle shows,” said Nussbaum. “you feel an instant sisterhood with them. I got a lot of valuable advice from Katie Norling, Sarah Johnson and Jenna Mueller.” Perhaps one of Nussbaum’s most challenging events was a Calcium Fes-tival held at Colman. “There were people there from ev-ery age group,” Nussbaum said. “The older folks tended to want dairy foods cooking tips, which I was glad to pro-vide. little kids, girls especially, would stop and ask if I was a real princess and if those were real diamonds in my crown. I also spoke with some high school students who are athletes. They were amazed at all the muscle-building components that are available in dairy foods.” Nussbaum’s reign was sprinkled with a number of open houses showcas-ing new or expanded dairy facilities. “It was great to work with the folks at Ag United for South Dakota. At the open houses, I had the opportunity to interact quite a bit with dairy produc-ers. The non-holstein producers were gratified to learn that I have a depth of knowledge regarding other breeds, in-cluding each breed’s milk components and so on.” Nussbaum’s dairy bona fides were recently challenged by an Elkton fifth-

grader who lives on a dairy farm. he didn’t quite believe that a princess would do some of the same chores that he does. “he asked what sort of things I do on my parents’ dairy farm,” she said. “So I told him what chores I do and went into detail about how I use the skid loader to clean the barn, then take the manure spreader out to the field. It made him smile when he learned that we do many of the same things.” Nussbaum’s promotional efforts often extended to the dairy princess program itself. “I’ve been telling prospective can-didates about what a great honor and a huge opportunity it is to be dairy princess,” she said. “I think I’ve got-ten several girls seriously interested in participating who hadn’t considered it before.” As she looks back on her reign as dairy princess, Nussbaum has advice for future princesses. “Always stay positive and have a smile on your face. If you can go to an event, by all means go. Don’t be afraid to be outgoing and start conversations. blaze your own trail and get the mes-sage out,” Nussbaum said. Nussbaum said serving as dairy princess was a life-changing event. “It’s been a wonderful experience, one that challenged me and made me even more passionate about our in-dustry. It’s been an honor to represent South Dakota’s dairy industry and to spread the word about the goodness of dairy products and the importance of Three-A-Day,” Nussbaum said.

Nussbaum continued from previous page

PhoTo SUbMITTeDStephanie Nussbaum got a helping hand from Kelly Ripp when she handed out awards at the Central Plains Open Holstein Show last June in Sioux Falls. During her reign as 2008 South Dakota Dairy Princess, Nussbaum made a concerted effort to recruit future princess candidates.

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Congratulations to the South DakotaDairy Princess Candidates

DFA Members Spadgenske Dairy Menahga, Minnesota

Midwest Dairy Association is offering a free workshop for dairy producers leading up to the opening reception of the 2008 Central Plains Dairy expo in Sioux Falls on March 31 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. The workshop, called Telling your Story: Why your Image and Actions have Impact, will give producers a chance to receive training and resources to help them engage consumers online, get involved in speaking to local community groups or develop their own farm’s public relations plan. The day’s events begin with registration at 11:15 a.m. followed by a free lunch at 11:30 a.m. During lunch, a panel of speakers will share their

experience about the importance of dairy farmer image and actions. Presenters are: Ginger Post, a Volga, S.D., dairy producer who reaches out to community leaders through Midwest Dairy Association’s Speakout! program; rodney and Dorothy elliot of Drumgoon Dairy, lake Norden, S.D., who have implemented a variety of public relations tools to gain acceptance of their dairy in their community; and Cindy Cunningham, assistant vice president of communications for the National Pork board, who helped an Iowa pork operation rebuild its

Producer workshops on PR, SpeakOut! and online advocacy offeredcredibility after undercover video that aired nationally called into question animal treatment practices. Participants can attend one of three breakout sessions from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., led by checkoff staff. In addition, the online workshop will feature Willetta McGhee-Wills, senior vice president and partner, Fh Digital, Kansas City. She leads the team that is developing Midwest Dairy Association’s comprehensive social marketing plan. Workshop descriptions are as follows: Telling your Story online: exploring how to “tell your dairy story” in this new media

landscape and introducing a new program call myDairy; Connect with your Community: helping each participant to develop their own public relations plan, from mission statement and tag line to ideas for community and neighbor outreach; and Speakout! with local leaders and the Media: joining the ranks of more than 150 dairy producers who receive tools, training and scheduling for presentations they can give to local community groups. To participate, e-mail [email protected] or call 1-800-338-5160 to register.

Danielle Dunn, 18, of Vale SD, is the daughter of Daniel and Wanda Dunn. Danielle is a high school senior at Newell high School with plans to attend Mitchell Tech Institute in Mitchell, SD. her major will be Culinary Arts/Dairy Management and Production. Activities include Green hand Award in FFA, State FFA Dairy Cattle judging and placed first in the Parliamentary Procedure team. She has been active as a FFA Chapter officer, Cyo, one Act plays, basketball, volleyball and band. hobbies include reading, baking and collecting stuffed frogs.

Plant representative: DairiConcepts of Pollock, SDDiSTRiCT 1

Joni Martinmaas, 18, Orient, SD, is the daughter of Rick Martinmaas and the late Janet Martinmaas.

Joni attends Presentation College in Aberdeen, SD majoring in nursing. She was in 4-h for six years, plays softball for orient co-ed softball, volunteers in Faulkton’s 4th of July rodeo, Spurs and the yMCA. She has participated in the all school play, one act play and oral interp. She lists her awards and activities as Grand Champion Dairy, reserve Dairy Showmanship, reserve rabbit Showmanship, best Poultry, Special horse Award and received superior

ratings in the many plays she has participated in. hobbies include reading, cooking, spending time with friends and family, watching movies, riding horses and 4-wheelers and hunting.

Plant representative: AMPI – Dawson, MNDiSTRiCT 2

2009 South Dakota Dairy Princess Candidates

Meet the CandidatesDanielle Dunn, 18

Joni Martinmaas, 18


South Dakota Dairy Princess Coronation & Banquet

Sioux Falls Convention Center 1211 N West Ave- Sioux Falls, SD

Wednesday - April 1, 2009 - 6:30 p.m.

Stephanie Nussbaum 2008 South Dakota

Dairy Princess!

South Dakota Dairy Princess Coronation & Banquet

Sioux Falls Convention Center 1211 N West Ave., Sioux Falls, SD

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 • 6:30 p.m.

Opening Remarks Rich Hansen Central Plains Dairy ExpoPresentation of Cheese Judging Contest Dr. Bob Baer – SDSU Dairy Judge

Invocation Stephanie Nussbaum 2008 SD Dairy PrincessDinner

Presentation of Gift to Stephanie Nussbaum Jim Neugebauer, Chair Midwest Dairy AssociationAddress by current Dairy Princess Stephanie Nussbaum

Presentation of Candidates J.P. Skelly

Announcement of Miss Congeniality J.P. Skelly

Announcement of 1st Runner Up J.P. Skelly

Crowning of 2009 Dairy Princess

• Stephanie Nussbaum• Kathy Tonneson• Rich Hansen• Gustaf Greenery• Committee members of the Central Plains Dairy Expo• Parents, family & friends of princess candidates• Sponsors and Plant Representatives from: ~ DariConcepts of Pollock, SD ~ Valley Queen Cheese of Milbank, SD ~ AMPI ~ Land O’Lakes

Special thanks to:• Midwest Dairy Association Staff: ~ Char Hovland – Princess Coordinator ~ Dawn Conrad – Program Manager/ Nutrition Communications – SD ~ Roger Scheibe – Director of Industry Outreach & IR for SD ~ Brad Gronli – IR Manager – MN ~ Donna Moenning – VP, Industry Image & Relations

Kori Wieting, 20, Milbank, SD, is the daughter of Loren & Marsha Wieting

Kori is a graduate of Milbank high School and attends Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD. She is majoring in elementary and special education. Activities include Student Senate Stipends, Student Senate President and Dairy Foods coach. She is also involved in Student Senate, Parking Committee, President’s leadership Council, Technology Committee and Junior holstein Association. hobbies include hanging out with friends, reading and meeting new people.

Plant representative: Valley Queen CheeseDiSTRiCT 5

Kori Wieting, 20


Shelby Lunden, 17, Toronto, SD, is the daughter of Greg & Sherry Lunden Shelby will graduate from Deubrook Area high School in White this spring and will then attends SDSU in brookings majoring in Animal Science. Shelby has been a member of several dairy cattle judging teams throughout high school and placed at many local and state competitions. She also competed at the national 4-h contest at the World Dairy expo. She has been very active in 4-h and FFA for several years and has

held several officer positions in both organizations. She is also a competing member of the South Dakota rodeo Association. hobbies include 4-h and high school rodeo as she loves being around and working with horses. She competes in barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying and breakaway roping. She also enjoys training, fitting and showing dairy cattle and judging dairy cattle for 4-h and FFA.

Plant representative: AMPIDiSTRiCT 6

Ana Schweer, 19, Watertown, SD, is the daughter of Randall and Diane Schweer Ana is a graduate of Watertown high School and is presently a freshman at South Dakota State University in brookings, SD majoring in Dairy Production/Pre-veterinary Medicine. Ana lists many activities and organizations including 4-h Dairy Showmanship, Girls States where she held offices; 1st Chair Violin in her high school orchestra; 3-year participant of All-State orchestra, National honor Society and

many other clubs and organizations. She is in the SDSU Civic Symphony, a member of the SDSU Dairy Club and Pre-veterinary Club and is pledging to omega Chapter of Sigma Alpha of SDSU. hobbies include playing violin, playing cards and board games, watching movies and working on the farm. She is talented at playing the violin, showing cattle, power lifting and holding leadership positions in clubs and organizations.

Plant representative: land o’lakesDiSTRiCT 6

Natalie Thyen, 17, Waverly, SD, is the daughter of Dan & Becky Thyen Natalie is a senior at Waverly South Shore high School with future plans to become a veterinary technician. She was involved in numerous high school activities including volleyball, basketball for which she served as captain; was homecoming queen, Codington County Jr. Snow Queen; received many awards in dairy showmanship, several 4-h awards and an honor roll student. She has held offices in the SD Jr. holstein Association, a National holstein Quiz bowl member and

served as a volunteer for a number of dairy association projects in Codington County. hobbies include basketball, volleyball, showing cows and horses.


Amber Krogstad, 18, Baltic, SD, is the daughter of Ron & Kristi Krogstad Amber is a sophomore at the University of Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, SD majoring in elementary education. When she was a student at baltic high School, she was a 4-H officer, junior leaders, 4-H dairy shows, judging and open class, homecoming queen, Miss Sweetheart at FCClA and FFA Valentine Dance. She was also involved as a cheerleader, participated in basketball and volley ball and at USF she is in track. She is

also involved in National youth Convention, Girls State, wellness committee, Drama in Action and FCCLSAS officer. Hobbies are running and working with children.

Plant representative: land o’lakesDiSTRiCT 9

Brittany Hanten, 19, Goodwin, SD, is the daughter of Todd & Monica Hanten brittany is a student at South Dakota State University in brookings, SD majoring in mathematics. She has been a junior and senior Snow Queen, listed in Who’s Who among American high School students; two-time Deuel high School Female Athlete of the year, and senior class salutatorian. She has also been involved in basketball, volley ball, track, Key Club, National honor Society, Teens loving Christ and other numerous

activities. At SDSU she is on the Jackrabbits women golf team. hobbies include scrapbooking & crafts, ballet, tap and jazz dance.

Plant representative: Valley QueenDiSTRiCT 6

Shelby Lunden, 17 Ana Schweer, 19

Natalie Thyen, 17 Amber Krogstad, 18

Brittany Hanten, 19Larissa Neugebauer, 18, Dimock, SD, is the daughter of Jim & Ellen Neugebauer larissa will graduate this spring from Parkston high School with plans to attend SDSU in brookings majoring in Dairy Science. larissa has lettered four years in golf, received awards in FCClA, band and DAre. She has been involved in TorCh, FFA, lyo, band, church choir, Sunday School teacher, volunteer for plays and assisted for many years at the princess contest with Midwest Dairy Association. Hobbies include golfing, playing various

music instruments, scrapbooking, traveling, reading, spending time with friends and family and riding horses.


Larissa Neugebauer, 18

53 Years of South Dakota

1955 Ruth Twombley

CrawfordSt. Onge

1956 Arlene Andrews

MewingClaremont

1957 Peggy Riggs Steffel

Spearfish

1958 Shirley Gustafson

HeierClear Lake

1959 Marleen Smidt

SellevoldFreeman

1960 Lucille Lee Reed

Arlington

1969 Joni Ytterness

Beresford

1970 Kathleen Knut-

son TuckerVolga

1971 Kathy Krehbiel

HackingFreeman

1972 Gail

Schroedermeier StrasserDavis

1973 Barbara Bolton

WalderColome

1983 Dana Merrill

MatthiesParker

1983 Kristine Bjorun

1983 Pam Tiezen

1983 Sandra Kott

1984 Becky Dayton

ThyenStratford

1994 Pandianne PittmanNisland

1995 Lynn Iverson

SpomerFlandreau

1996 Jennifer Fieber

ZirbelGoodwin

1997 Heather Pinkert

LieserBig Stone City

1998 Kristin Sharp

JohnsonBath


1961 Jerrie Lea Oakes

HopfSioux Falls

1974 Judy Tarrant

SmithWhite Owl

1975 Pam Osness

Burke

1985 Ronda

Scharffenberg Rinehart

Bridgwater

1986 Tamra Hanten

ChingBemis

1999 Melissa Pinkert

WirtBig Stone City

2000 Stacy Mueller

CampbellBig Stone City

2001Ann HarveyRee Heights

Dairy Princesses

1962 Janet Anderson

MeliusClear Lake

1963 Sharon Trautman

Herrick

1964 Mary Myler

Hoven

1965 Avis Larson Georgeson

Hurley

1966 Jeannie Guthmiller

JenningsFairfax

1976 Darlene Jongeling WarrenParker

1977 Chaundra

Meyers WilliamsVeblen

1978 Marcia Friesen

HellevangFreeman

1979 Marla Uhrich

Roscoe

1980 Lisa Berwald

AbelerToronto

1987 LeAndra Bietz

MogckTripp

1988 Lynn Trefz JohnsonOnaka

1989 Londa Jensen

HexumVolga

1990 Jill Jorgenson

AndersonTrent

1991 Laurie Rennick

KoernerHarrisburg

2002 Kayleen Chipman MeyersHuron

2003Jennie Patrick

White

2004 Sarah Johnson

SappWhite

2005 Stephanie

Vostad MattsonVolga


1967 Jean Huls

RasmussenSalem

1968 Lola Sigdestad

KleinWebster

1981 Diane Lau SchweerArmour

1982 Mary Tschetter

Chaney

1992 Becky Heggen

Brandon

1993 Lisa Feterl Muth

Salem

2007Katie Norling

Beresford

2008Stephanie NussbaumGarretson

2006 Jenna Mueller

BuyckBig Stone City


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By Jennifer Borash Staff writer WAVERLY, S.D. – When becky Thyen entered the South Dakota Dairy Princess contest in 1984, she did not think she stood a chance against the other five girls. “My family had the smallest herd of all the contestants,” she said. but when she received the crown and sash – and the honor of representing the dairy farmers of South Dakota for a year – Thyen learned a valuable lesson. “I discovered it wasn’t the size of my herd that mattered, but how much I wanted to represent the industry,” she said. Thyen grew up on her fami-ly’s dairy farm near Stratford, S.D. her family milked a herd of 30 registered brown Swiss cows in a stanchion stall barn with a pipeline system. When she was named the 1984 South Dakota Dairy Prin-cess, Thyen was proud to serve the industry that had been such a big part of her life. “I was excited,” Thyen said. “The real Seal was our promotion at the time. That’s how we pushed the importance and goodness of dairy products.” Thyen said much of her year as a dairy princess was spent pro-moting dairy products and their nutritional benefits one-on-one to consumers through parades, ra-dio interviews, farm shows and

the South Dakota State Fair – at which she also showed cattle. Dur-ing her appearances, Thyen said she served up a lot of cheese and malts, and often handed out edu-cational material. “I talked to a lot of people about the goodness of real dairy products,” Thyen said. “It was sometimes surprising how many people didn’t know where milk comes from.” Although Thyen enjoyed visiting with people of all ages and spreading the dairy message,

she said the highlight of her year occurred during the 1984 World Dairy expo in Madison, Wis. “I was congratulating the win-ners of the brown Swiss show,” she said. “everyone was in tra-ditional Swiss clothing and there was a yodeler. I got to help carry a huge cowbell from Switzerland into the arena, following the yo-deler. I was just amazed at the quality of the animals around me. It was the highlight of my year.” Although her reign as the South Dakota Dairy Princess came to an end in 1985, Thyen’s passion for the dairy industry did not. She and her husband, Dan, now milk 120 cows on their farm near Wa-verly, S.D. – a mostly registered holstein herd with a few brown Swiss. “even though our cows are mostly registered holsteins, I’m still partial to my registered Swiss,” Thyen said. becky, Dan, Dan’s mother, Clarice, and Dan’s brother, Jim, run the Thyen farm. becky also works off the farm as a veterinary technician at the local vet clinic. Thyen continues to promote the dairy message wherever she goes, whether it is in her role as president of the District 6 Ameri-can Dairy Association, as a mem-ber of AMPI and the AMPI young Cooperators (yCs), when she and Dan served as assistant superinten-dents of the dairy barn at the South

Dakota State Fair, or in reaching out to the youth as a 4-h leader for Codington County and through working with the junior members of the South Dakota holstein As-sociation. Thyen, her husband, and their family – Natalie, a senior in high school, Andrew, a freshman in high school, and Alex, a fourth-grader – have also remained active

in the show ring. “We still show at county fairs and at the state fair,” she said. “While at the fairs, we try to entice kids [who are visiting the fairs] to help us. They help milk and get to pet the cows.” Although her oldest son, Na-

Promoting the goodness of real dairy productsThyen watches daughter follow in her footsteps

PhoTo SUbMITTeDToday, Becky Thyen (center), continues to promote the dairy industry wherever she goes. She is president of the District 6 American Dairy Association and a member of the AMPi Young Cooperators. Thyen milks 120 cows near Waverly, S.D., with her husband, Dan, and children, from left, Nathan, Natalie, Andrew and Alex.

PhoTo SUbMITTeDBecky Thyen was named the 1984 South Dakota Dairy Princess. She grew up on her family’s dairy farm near Stratford, S.D. where they milked 30 registered Brown Swiss.

Thyen continued on next page


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than, is out of college and in the work force, all of Thyen’s children have played an inte-gral role on the Thyen farm. “Nathan sprays crops but helps on the farm when he can. Andrew does chores be-fore school and is back at chores again after school, while also being involved in basket-ball. Alex (10) now helps with morning and evening chores,” Thyen said, and laughed. “on my farm when you turn 10, your birth-day present is the privilege of doing chores before school as well as after school.” Natalie, Thyen said, has also remained active on the family farm, doing much of the preparation work on the show cattle. her involvement – as well as the dream of fol-lowing in her mother’s footsteps – has led Natalie to run for the 2009 South Dakota Dairy Princess title. “Natalie decided to run [for dairy prin-cess] on her own,” Natalie said. “She would always go through my books [from when I was a dairy princess] and say, ‘I’m going to do this.’ every year she would ask, ‘Can I run this year?’ but she never quite qualified. She was pretty excited about finally making the cut.” For Thyen, watching her daughter stand where she stood 25 years ago is a nostalgic yet exciting experience. “It is really interesting how much more involved [the princess program] is now. It is so much easier to get information now. When I ran, I didn’t really realize how big the dairy industry was because the informa-tion wasn’t available to me,” she said. “I’m impressed at how much these girls can learn now. The program has really evolved, yet we still have the same great cows and the

same great product.” looking back on her year as the South Dakota Dairy Princess, Thyen said the ex-perience has affected her entire life. “I think it made me more open and im-proved my confidence for promoting the dairy industry,” she said. “being a South Dakota Dairy Princess gave me a little extra pride in the dairy industry.” As she anxiously awaits the opportuni-ty to support her daughter at the 2009 South Dakota Dairy Princess banquet and Coro-nation on April 1 during the Central Plains Dairy expo, Thyen’s message to all dairy producers is this: “Promote, promote, promote! We can’t do it enough.”

By Jennifer BorashStaff writer WATERTOWN, S.D – “I couldn’t believe it when they chose me,” Diane Schweer said, recalling her first few mo-ments as the South Dakota Dairy Princess. Schweer was crowned in 1981, to represent the dairy industry as the South Dakota Dairy Princess. This year, she will be reliving those moments of excite-ment, nervousness, anticipation and joy as she watches her daughter compete for the 54th South Dakota Dairy Princess title. The banquet and coronation will be held in conjunction with the Central Plains Dairy expo, on April 1 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

For her dad Schweer grew up on a 35-cow dairy farm near Armour, S.D. even though she had always helped on the farm, Schweer said she never really considered running for dairy princess. As much as she loved people, she wasn’t one to get out in front of a large group to talk or lead. Unbeknownst to her, however, other plans were being made. During the summer before her junior year in college at South Dakota State Uni-versity, Schweer was home helping her parents, Ivan and Priscilla lau, on their farm. because there was not enough work for everyone on the farm, Schweer’s father got her a job at a local cheese plant where she worked between morning and evening chores. “one day my dad came up to me and said, ‘your boss [from the cheese plant] wants you to run for South Dakota Dairy Princess, and I told him you would,’” Schweer said. “So initially, I ran for my dad.” During the beginning stages of prepar-

Past South Dakota Dairy Princess relives experience

through daughter

Thyen continued from previous page

PhoTo SUbMITTeDAlthough her oldest son is out of college and in the work force, all of Thyen’s chil-dren have played an integral role on the Thyen farm. Shown front row, from left: Alex and Andrew. Back row, from left: Natalie and Nathan.

PhoTo SUbMITTeDDiane Schweer was crowned South Da-kota Dairy Princess in 1981. This year, she will be reliving the excitement of her reign when her daughter, Ana, competes for the 54th South Dakota Dairy Princess title on April 1 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

ing for the dairy princess contest, Schweer said she was not very excited about it. however, her feelings changed as she be-came more involved in the program. “once I decided to run for dairy prin-cess, I got excited and gave it my best,” Schweer said. “by the time I got to the contest, I was there because I wanted to be

Schweer continued on next page



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there.” her pillars of strength prior to the con-test and during her reign were her father and her husband-to-be, randy Schweer. “I met my husband right before the contest,” Schweer said. “he encouraged me, and I became more excited about rep-resenting my father’s livelihood.” her excitement, however, did not quell the nervousness she felt when the crown was placed on her head. “I was scared somewhat; public speak-ing had never been my forte,” she said. “but I was also excited and honored to serve the dairy industry.” Schweer spent the majority of her reign attending dairy shows, speaking at meetings, farm shows and the South Dako-ta State Fair, and distributing information about the dairy industry. “I only attended one parade, and I loved it,” Schweer said. “It was for a gen-tleman’s retirement party and they treated me like royalty.” Throughout her year as dairy princess, Schweer said her dairy message often re-volved around the theme, “Cheese adds a slice to life.” “I wrote a poem [with this theme] combining romance and cheese,” Schweer said. Although much of her memorabilia was destroyed in an attic fire, she does re-call one line from the poem. “‘If you serve him up a sandwich of ham and swiss, he will surely give you a nice big kiss!’” she said, laughing.

Serving the industry in other ways Although Schweer no longer dons a crown and a sash to promote dairy, she is still actively involved in the industry. She and her husband own and operate their own dairy farm near Watertown, S.D., along with their six children. Three of their chil-dren are still on the farm. one is a college student and two are grown and have gone onto other careers. The student – Schweer’s third oldest daughter, attending South Da-kota State University for dairy production/pre-veterinary medicine – is 19 year-old Ana, who is vying for the title of the 54th South Dakota Dairy Princess. “I always hoped and dreamed one of my daughters would run for dairy prin-cess,” Schweer said. Schweer said although she and randy have encouraged Ana to run for dairy prin-cess over the past couple of years, it was Ana herself who made the decision to enter the contest. “In the past we have asked Ana if she

was ready to run, but she always said, ‘No, not this year,’” Schweer said. “When she announced her plans to run for princess in 2009, her dad and I were delighted.” Schweer has followed the princess program since ending her reign, through seeing dairy princesses at various events – such as the annual Cheeseburger Days in Milbank, S.D. – and by attending the annu-al banquet. She and randy have also stayed in touch with the program by inviting dairy princesses out to their farm during the an-nual “Adopt a First Grade” day, for which they act as one of the host farms. Schweer said her role as the 1981 South Dakota Dairy Princess has had a positive impact on her life, mainly in giv-ing her the confidence to get in front of a group of people as a leader. “I went from thinking I could never get up in public to having confidence,” she said. This confidence has led her in much of her work, both on the farm and off. For the past 20 years, Schweer has led praise and worship at her church and works as an independent reliv distributor – a program that helps people achieve life-changing re-sults with their health and finances. “As a South Dakota Dairy Princess I met many great people in the dairy busi-ness,” Schweer said. “I have always hoped that one of my children would continue in the dairy industry. I am looking forward to my daughter Ana’s involvement in the South Dakota Dairy Princess Program this April.”

Schweer continued from previous page

PhoTo SUbMITTeDToday Diane Schweer and her husband Randy own and operate a dairy farm near Watertown, S.D. Schweer said she has always hoped one of their six children would continue in the dairy industry. Pictured back row, from left: Samuel (14), Ana (19). Front row, from left: Elise (11), Randy, Diane, Elena (8) and Maria (22). Not pictured is daughter Joelle and husband Cam We-ber.

PhoTo SUbMITTeDOne of Schweer’s duties as South Dakota Dairy Princess included pos-ing with the Holstein show’s Grand Champion at the 1981 Watertown Winter Farm Show. Shown with Schweer is consignor David Joos Jr. of Hancock, Minn.


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Documents

2009 South Dakota Dairy Princess Edition