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Morgan Kohl, an 18-year-old Waverly-South Shore High School senior from Watertown, was crowned South Dakota Dairy Princess during the opening of the Central Plains Dairy Expo March 27 in Sioux Falls. Kohl is the 63rd woman to hold the title representing South Dakota’s dairy farm families.

Kohl is the daughter of Mike and Marcy Kohl. She is employed at MoDak Dairy, and she judges dairy cattle in both 4-H and FFA on the local, state and national levels. Kohl was one of four delegates on the South Dakota 4-H dairy judging team that competed at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. She has been showing cattle since age 12, is often a presenter to 4-H clubs and volunteers her time to promote the dairy industry at events including Midwest Dairy’s Malt Wagon program. Kohl plans to attend South Dakota State University majoring in animal science.

The new princess will spend the next year helping to share the story of dairy farming and dairy’s role in healthy diets with people across the state.

Named runner-up was Rebecka Hoffman, 18, daughter of Kevin and Judy Hoffman of Dolton. Hoffman is a senior at Bridgewater-Emery High School and plans to attend South Dakota State University majoring in dairy production.

Kohl receives a $1,000 scholarship from Midwest Dairy’s South Dakota Division, which sponsors the dairy princess program, while Hoffman receives a $500 award from Central Plains Dairy Expo.

The South Dakota Dairy Princess is selected based on her general dairy knowledge and enthusiasm for the industry, communications skills and ability to reach consumer audiences.

Midwest Dairy Association® represents 7,000 dairy farm families and works on their behalf to increase dairy sales, foster innovation and inspire consumer confidence in dairy products and practices. Midwest Dairy is funded by checkoff dollars from dairy farmers in 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