Kylei Klein of Connersville was selected as the 2015-16 Dairy Princess for the American Dairy Association Indiana. The crowning took place before a crowd of dairy industry members and the candidates’ families and friends, on Tuesday, July 21, at the Embassy Suites North in Indianapolis. Kylei, age 17, is the daughter of Rodney and Kelly Klein. She represented the Indiana Ayrshire Breeders Association in the 2015 Indiana Dairy Princess Scholarship Program. Miss Klein will be a junior at Lincoln High School. Following a personal interview, Kylei gave a presentation called “It’s Not About the Money” about why dairy farmers choose to farm.
Retiring Princess Kamille Brawner of Hanover, ended her reign by turning over the title to Kylei and wished her well as she represents Indiana dairy farmers throughout the coming year. Kylei will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for Indiana’s dairy farmers during the year by making a number of public appearances and participating in promotional events. As the Indiana Dairy Princess, Klein will receive a $1000 scholarship from the American Dairy Association along with other gifts of appreciation from Dean Foods, Foremost Farms USA, and Dairy Farmers of America.
Contestants were judged on poise, personality, speaking ability, education, and dairy knowledge. Judges for the contest included Kimmi Devaney –livestock programs director at the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Christy Coon – manager of Indiana State Creamery License Division, and Dave Blower – editor of Farm World publications.
This year’s Dairy Princess Scholarship Contest featured stiff competition from five excellent candidates. The other Dairy Princess candidates were Christy Mote (Indiana Milking Shorthorn Society), Cheyanne Bowman (Dean Foods), Shelby Nierman (Indiana Brown Swiss Association), and Michaela Alexander (Indiana Guernsey Breeders Association).
Indiana has approximately 1200 dairy farms that produce wholesome, nutritious milk. Indiana dairy farmers produce over 3.5 billion pounds of milk annually and the state is the second-largest producer of ice cream. As Dairy Princess, Kylei will be educating the public and her peers on the importance of dairy to Indiana’s economy and to Hoosier health.
Source: ADAI