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George Blush, Silver Lake, Kansas, has been selected as the 35th Kansas Dairy Leader. The award will be presented Sept. 1.

Kansas Dairy Leader portraits hang in Call Hall on the Kansas State University campus. This prestigious award was inaugurated in 1952 and is sponsored by the Kansas Dairy Association.

Blush started his 36-year career with the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) in 1985 as a dairy program field inspector. Later positions included milk processing plant specialist, FDA certified milk rating officer, and then served as the dairy program manager for 19 years. He is currently the agribusiness services director for the department overseeing all regulatory programs including food safety, dairy, animal feed, meat and poultry, pesticide, fertilizer, plant protection, weights and measures and the agriculture laboratory.

He has a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences and industry from Kansas State University. He has also served as a National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments executive board member and president of the Kansas Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitarians. He is also recognized for his years of service to the Kansas Dairy Association and the Kansas Dairy Commission from 1999 to 2018.

Blush and his wife, Laurie, of 40 years have three children and five grandchildren.

The public is invited to attend the recognition scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Kansas Department of Agriculture building, 1320 Research Park Drive, in Manhattan. For more information about the event or the award, please contact Dr. Jeff Stevenson, K-State ASI professor, at 785-532-1243 or jss@k-state.edu.