Danielle Irvin is the new Mower County Dairy Princess.

Irvin was selected the 2009 Dairy Princess honoree at Friday night’s 56th annual Mower County American Dairy Association banquet at Sacred Heart Fellowship Hall, Adams.

She is the daughter of Don and Renita Irvin and was sponsored by Northern Country Feed.

She is the second daughter of Don and Renita Irvin to be chosen a Mower County Dairy Princess; Christina was the first.

Runners-up for the title were Jessica Hill, daughter of Duane Hill and Jean Blaser and sponsored by Triple H Farms and Bubble’s Cafe; Megan Mullenbach, daughter of Pat and Kris Mullenbach and sponsored by Foremost Farms; and Vanessa Halverson, daughter of Jason and Karen Irvin and sponsored by A-Line Transport and Prescott Milk Hauling.

Chris Sukalski, president of the Mower County ADA, welcomed 230 guests to the banquet. Sukalski honored two retiring dairy producers, Brian May and Richard and Bonnie Grass, and welcomed Paul Marx to the ranks of dairy producers in Mower County.

According to Sukalski, there are 40 dairy producing families in Mower County today. After a drop in milk prices, Sukalski said, “Producers are selling milk for less than it costs to produce.”

The special guest speaker at the banquet was Kristy Mussman, Claremont, the reigning 2009 Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

Mussman told of being one of 12 county dairy princesses vying for the Princess Kay honor at the 2008 Minnesota State Fair and emerging the winner.

Eugene Anderson, treasurer of the Mower County ADA, presented the 2009 Milk Pitcher award to Randy Stephenson for promoting dairying in Mower County.

Sarah and Gary White, owners of the Tendermaid Sandwich Shop in Austin, received the ADA’s Butter Knife award for using dairy products in their business.

Anderson invited the dairy famous to attend the 2009 Breakfast on the Farm event at his dairy farm Saturday, May 30.

Sponsored by the Mower County Farm Bureau, the event will be the first for the 2009 Dairy Princess and her royal court to visit.

Curt Sheely presented the 2008 Dairy Princess Chelsey Miller and her royal court with presents from Farmers State Bank of Adams and Rose Creek.

Darrel Ingvaldson, representing the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce Ag Business committee, also presented gifts to the 2009 royalty.

Miller, the 2008 Dairy Princess, thanked the Mower County ADA for helping her during a year-long effort at promoting dairy production.

Auctioneer Terry Hamilton raised more than $1,575 for the Mower County ADA’s Dairy Princess scholarship fund. The most money paid for an auction item was $325 for a cow blanket donated by Kevin Meyerhofer. The evening ended with the distribution of 50 door prizes to luck members of the audience.