Interview: New Lewis County Dairy Ambassador Megan Klossner talks June Dairy Month
TURIN- There has been quite a significant change for what used to be the Dairy Princess Program for New York State.
Within the past few months, New York has transitioned from Dairy Princess to Dairy Ambassador. Agriculture officials said the goal was to include more youth and young adults into promoting the agriculture industry.
As we wrap up June National Dairy Month, former Lewis County Dairy Princess Hannah Raymond recently ended her term of being Lewis County Dairy Princess. She will be the last one to have the title as Princess in Lewis County, as the baton has been passed on to Megan Klossner, who is now the county's first Dairy Ambassador.
She attends South Lewis High School and has grown up on a farm near Turin, NY. "The crown and the sash have been taken away, kind of, like we're not doing that anymore. We're wearing blazers now," Klossner told us.
She is involved in numerous agriculture programs and clubs, including FFA, 4-H, Dairy Club and more. Klossner hopes to further her education at a university someday, pursuing some sort of career in agriculture.
With the entire month of June dedicated to dairy, Klossner says the reason its promoted is to raise awareness to the important nutrients dairy can provide on a regular basis.
"Dairy, like milk, it has all of its nutrients in it. So there's nine really impotent things in there, like calcium and all the vitamins."
Like other dairy advocates over the past few years, Klossner is campaigning for athletes to refuel with chocolate milk instead of your standard sports drink. "It's just really important because you have to refuel afterwards and it helps re-build your muscles after using them for a long period of time," Klossner emphasized.
Klossner joined our North Country News Moday, where she introduced herself to listeners and highlighted National Dairy Month. Be sure to listen to our latest on-air segment here:
Image courtesy via Lewis County Dairy Ambassador Program.
