Early in 2021, twenty college students from across the Midwest Dairy 10-state region were selected to serve as state-specific Midwest Dairy Ambassadors. Throughout the year, this group promoted the dairy industry and supported Midwest Dairy’s mission to give consumers an excellent dairy experience at a variety of industry and consumer events across the region.
Events that the ambassadors attended included dairy farm open houses, different State Fairs, Marcoot Cheese Fest, Kilgus Breakfast on the Farm, Harvard Milk Days, University of Illinois football and basketball games, NEBRASKAland Days, Classic Dairy 25th Anniversary Open House, Cream of the Crop Dairy Show, Omaha Baseball Village Booth during the College World Series, Nebraska Extension Ag Literacy Festivals and much more. This group also promoted dairy through several social media opportunities.
The 2021 calendar year Dairy Ambassadors were recently awarded scholarships of $1,000 each to go toward their education in recognition of their efforts over the course of the year. The 2021 Midwest Dairy Ambassadors included:
• Rachel Scidmore, Illinois
• Justin Huff, Illinois
• Briley Lenkaitis, Illinois
• Jessica Schmitt, Iowa
• Megan Kueker, Iowa
• Taylor Klipp, Kansas
• Ashley Hagenow, Minnesota
• Alison Smelter, Minnesota
• Emily Popp, Minnesota
• Rachel Nelson, Minnesota
• Aveary Cable, Missouri
• Abigail Langdon, Nebraska
• Whitney Hochstein, Nebraska
• Faith Junck, Nebraska
• Jordan Wilbur, Nebraska
• Olivia Ruffner, Ohio (Iowa)
• Morgan Kohl, South Dakota
• Kerstin Thoms, South Dakota
• Johanna Nielsen, South Dakota
• Katherine Czarny, Wisconsin (Illinois)
Midwest Dairy’s Dairy Ambassador Program is an educational and leadership opportunity for students who are passionate about dairy, are enrolled in post-secondary school, and possess strong communication abilities. To learn more about the Midwest Dairy Ambassador program, visit www.midwestdairy.com.
Midwest Dairy® represents 4,600 dairy farm families and works on their behalf to build dairy demand by inspiring consumer confidence in our products and production practices. We are committed to Bringing Dairy to Life! by Giving Consumers an Excellent Dairy Experience and are funded by farmers across a 10-state region, including Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. For more information, visit MidwestDairy.com. Follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook at Midwest Dairy. For relevant conversations about issues and trends in the dairy community, listen to Your Dairy Checkoff podcast.