By Roz Weis,
2024 Dairy Princess Kelsey Timp is the daughter of Robin and Brett Timp of Ossian. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Roz Weis)
Winneshiek County has a new princess.
As the reigning 2024-25 Winneshiek County Dairy Princess, Kelsey Timp will be visible across the area throughout the year promoting dairy and educating the public about the industry.
The daughter of Robin and Brett Timp, Kelsey will be a senior at South Winneshiek High School in the fall.
Those attending this year’s Dairy Banquet recently in Festina will recall from Kelsey’s speech that she knows dairy, and she’s passionate about educating the public on the benefits of dairy products. She is quick to point out the nutritional value of the dairy production industry and stressed the importance of being informed.
She said all too often she sees misinformation spread about the dairy products, and she strives to clear up any misconceptions about dairy.
In her Dairy Banquet speech she said, “Chocolate milk comes from brown cows, right? If you thought this, then you would be one of 16.4 million Americans that do!” She finds the ignorance of the American consumer is often mind-boggling.
“The misinformation about the dairy industry can be detrimental to many groups,” she continued.
She aspires to better educate people about dairy, shedding light on actual, factual statistics.
As the county’s new dairy ambassador, her goal is promoting the real face of the dairy industry.
About Kelsey
She, her parents, two sisters and a brother live near Ossian. The family milks 200 cows and sell their milk to Foremost Farms. In her time away from school and extracurricular activities, Kelsey works for Irish Grove Dairy in Castalia.
In high school, she’s active in softball, track, student government, volleyball, FFA, SODA, National Honor Society and Youth Beef Team. She is the current president of the FFA Chapter and serves on the District Officer Team, appointed as Northwest Sub District Vice President. In FFA, she participates in Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Management, and represented Iowa at the National FFA Convention this past year. Her 4-H activities include taking many projects to the fair, including static projects, dairy, beef, poultry and rabbits. In her free time, she enjoys baking, spending time with family and friends and playing games. Her sponsor at this year’s Winneshiek County Dairy Banquet was Farmer’s Union Co-op.
The new princess said she anticipates doing more than volunteering at the Moo Mobile and distributing ribbons at the Winneshiek County Fair.
“Through the next year, in terms of promoting dairy, I plan on visiting many daycares, schools, and hospices to connect with the community as well as getting involved in other activities including the Moo Mobile and assisting at community events such as parades, Breakfast on the Farm, and Dairy Story. One thing that I am hoping to do within this next year is to start a podcast where Hanna (Hanna Vagts is this year’s alternate dairy princess) and I talk about the industry, common misconceptions, and overall work to educate the public on the industry by advocating it and working to reach new audiences,” Kelsey commented.
Her future goals after high school include attending a four-year program majoring in ag communications or marketing with a minor in dairy science. She also plans to compete on a college dairy judging team.
Read the entire Dairy Edition in the June 6 Public Opinion newspaper.
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