A dairy princess is chosen to represent the number one agricultural industry in NYS, officially and publicly.

A dairy princess is selected based on speaking ability, knowledge of the dairy industry, poise, personality, and appearance. The judges look for who will best represent the county's dairy industry and dairy farmers in local promotions to consumers.

In addition to the dairy princess, the program consists of dairy ambassadors and alternates. When requested, dairy ambassadors will work to help and support the dairy princess and her alternate(s) as follows:

a) Make school presentations for or with the dairy princess.
b) Participate in special events.
c) Attend county promotion meetings.

Qualifications for ambassadors are as follows:

1) Must have a sincere desire to promote dairy products and be a USER of REAL dairy products.
2) Must be willing to learn about dairy products in order to be an informed promoter.
3) Must be at least 12 years of age or older.

County Dairy Princess Qualifications

1. Be a legal resident of NYS and reside or own land in the county in which they are running.
2. One of the following:

*Be a daughter of a dairy farmer.
*Be a daughter of a dairy farm manager or herdsman.
*Be a daughter of someone employed in a dairy-related industry (dairy farm store, dairy feed supplier, veterinarian, milk inspector, milk truck driver or dairy cooperative such as Dairylea or Genex).
*Be employed herself as one of the above, or the owner of at least two dairy cows in a 4-H or FFA club, or have served her county a full year as an alternate, dairy maid or ambassador.
*Sponsored by a farm within the county limits.

3. Be at least 16 years of age, but not exceeding 24, before the state pageant competition in February.

4. If under 18 years of age, must have parental consent.

5. Be single, never married, have no children, and must not marry or become pregnant during her reign.

6. All county dairy princesses must attend the July Training Seminar in order to be able to qualify as a state princess. If a county princess does not attend the July seminar, she is not eligible to become a member of the State Dairy Princess Court. Extreme cases can result in exemption of this rule. Exemption can ONLY be granted by ADADC's Corporate Communications Specialist.

Requirements During Reign

School Programs:

These are where the princess and her court go to schools and make an educational presentation about dairy products and the dairy industry. The princess creates this program herself; it should be creative and fun for her and the kids. The dairy court must complete at least 10 school programs during their reign.

Newspaper Articles:

The princess and her court must have at least six published articles by the end of their reign. These articles have to include something educational about dairy products; usually there is a greeting, a recipe and a fact.

Farm Meetings:

The purpose of these are for the princess and her court to meet with farmers personally and explain how they are promoting their products. It's a great way to get feedback on how they're doing and ideas for future events. The court has to go to at least two of these meetings.