For the past 24 years, the Hoard's Dairyman editorial team has looked forward to welcoming our editorial intern aboard. This year is no exception as Chelsey Johnson joined our editorial team on Monday, May 14.

Each of our past interns has been a bright dairy student who brought a great deal of energy and passion to the dairy industry. They also have had a strong desire to hone their communication skills and have gone on to establish great careers in our industry. No doubt, Chelsey will continue that tradition as she heads up the Farm Flash section, authors articles for the Young Dairyman page, compiles the Top 50 Co-op list, and helps prepare the 2012 World Dairy Expo supplement.

This fall, Chelsey will be a junior at South Dakota State University (SDSU) in Brookings, S.D. At SDSU, Chelsey is majoring in agricultural education, communication, and leadership with a communication specialization. She is minoring in advertising and animal science.

Johnson grew up on an 80-cow Holstein dairy just outside of Heron Lake, Minn. Her parents, Dean and Elizabeth Johnson, took over the dairy in 1987 and now farm 320 acres. In addition to being active on her parents' dairy, Chelsey has been an advocate for the industry, serving as a Cottonwood County Dairy Princess and as a Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalist.

Chelsey has a passion for photography and online media, as well as layout and design. On campus, she serves as the editor of the SDSU Dairy Digest, an annual publication of the university's dairy club, and superintendent of the SDSU Little International show catalog. Additionally, she maintains the club's Facebook page. Johnson also works for SDSU iGrow, a teaching platform for South Dakota's extension team, preparing articles and announcements, as well as editing photos to be posted on the website.

The Hoard's Dairyman Editorial Internship is one of the longest running agriculture journalism programs in the country. Over the past 24 years, we have hosted students from eleven universities. Those schools include (in order of the number of students in the program): University of Wisconsin-Madison, Iowa State, Cornell, Virginia Tech, University of Minnesota, Texas A&M, University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Kansas State, University of Missouri, and South Dakota State University. For a complete listing of past interns.