Thyen to Represent South Dakota Dairy Industry at State Fair « Back

HURON, S.D. – South Dakota’s Dairy Princess will be a familiar face to those attending the State Fair in Huron this year.  The princess, 19-year-old Natalie Thyen of Waverly, represents dairy farmers as she reaches out to fair-goers at a variety of venues during the Fair.

“I’m excited to share with consumers how dairy is important in my life and how it’s important for theirs, too,” said Thyen. “Not only does milk taste great -- it has the nine essential nutrients that everyone needs.”

On the fair’s opening day, Sept. 1, Thyen will serve up ice cream and milk in the Dairy Bar Building. On the same day, dubbed Value-Added Day, Thyen will offer samples of a new low-sugar, fat-free and low-fat chocolate milk called TruMoo, a new Land O’Lakes product.  The sampling takes place in a tent near the Freedom Stage. 

If fair-goers visit the fair’s Wine Pavilion, located next to the Freedom Stage, they’ll find her serving South Dakota cheeses from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Aug. 1 to Aug. 4. On Sept. 5 serving ends at 6 p.m.

She’ll also hand out milk at the Century Farmer Awards picnic, sponsored by the South Dakota Farm Bureau and the South Dakota Department of Agriculture.

On Sept. 2 and 3, Thyen will present awards at the open class dairy shows, which begin at 10 a.m. on both days. The Guernsey, Jersey and Milking Shorthorn breeds will be exhibited on Friday with the Brown Swiss and Holstein dairy breeds on Saturday. The Supreme Champion will be selected on Saturday as well.

Among other duties, Thyen will also pass out milk and ice cream at the 4-H Barbecue in the 4-H Building at the conclusion of the 4-H events.

Thyen will continue her duties until next March. Until then, she will represent South Dakota dairy farmers at speaking engagements and events, educating consumers about how dairy farmers provide great care for their animals, resulting in safe, wholesome milk.

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Midwest Dairy Association is a non-profit organization funded by dairy farmers to build demand for dairy products through integrated marketing, nutrition education and research. Midwest Dairy is funded by checkoff dollars from dairy farmers in a 10-state region, including Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. For more information, visit www.midwestdairy.com. Follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook at Midwest Dairy.