Hadrich follows in sister's footsteps as dairy princess
By Carol Stender
cstender@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 07/01/2010 9:12 AM
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HOLDINGFORD, Minn. — The students of Holy Family School in Albany watched Joylynn Hadrich of Holdingford with awe.
The Stearns County dairy princess and finalist for Princess Kay of the Milky Way visited each classroom. She told students about dairy production and the wholesomeness of dairy products.
Some were simply mesmerized by her crown.
"They all asked me if I was a real princess," Hadrich said. "They called me the 'dairy queen.' I told them I am actually a princess but as long as they kept the dairy in there, that's OK."
Hadrich enjoys such presentations, but the youngest of Corrine and Dale Hadrich's five children admits she wasn't always comfortable talking to kindergartners. She credits the training programs offered through the Midwest Dairy Association's May Event for confidence and abilities she's gained.
"It really helped me prepare for the classroom visits," she said. "It helped me become more talkative. Being a dairy princess helped me to go up to people and start a conversation."
Her sister, Joleen, can relate to the experience. She was a Stearns County princess and participated in the Princess Kay program in the late 1990s before it switched to its current May event format. Joleen, now an ag economics professor at North Dakota State University, helped Hadrich prepare for the May event and offered advice.
"She kept telling me to be myself throughout the competition," Hadrich said. "...She told me to just go in and talk about what I love —the dairy industry."
Hadrich heeded the advice and was named one of the 12 finalists for Princess Kay. Her family was thrilled, especially Joleen.
"She said she'd live the experience through me when I'd get my butterhead," Hadrich said. "But she wouldn't have to be interviewed."
Hadrich's summer will be busy. She's promoting the dairy industry at events and parades as she prepared for the Princess Kay coronation in late August.
She's also helping on the family's 100-cow dairy near Holdingford. Her parents grew up on Stearns County dairy farms and purchased their own more than 20 years ago, Hadrich said. They raise all livestock on the farm and milk cows in a double-eight parlor. They farm 300 acres of corn and alfalfa.
Hadrich has been in charge of the calf raising, but, when she started college last year at the University of Minnesota-Morris, she turned her job over to her mother. She's resumed those duties for the summer and helps on the farm when needed.
She is majoring in economics and management and plans to work in a local bank and work with farmers.
"It means a lot to me to promote the dairy industry and to promote all that dairy farmers do," she said. "I want to show people that we are taking care of our animals and all the work we do to give the public a safe dairy product."