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Tickets for the 72nd Mower County Dairy Banquet are now on sale.

The Mower County Dairy Royalty will be crowned at the annual banquet on Sunday, March 23, at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center of Austin. The event will begin with a silent scholarship auction at noon, followed by a roast beef luncheon at 12:30 p.m.

Tickets for the banquet are $15 and must be purchased from Mower County ADA board members Eugene Anderson at 507-440-8650, Julia Merten at 507-438-7739, Tanya Miller at 507-440-5445 and Chris Sukalski at 507-251-0871. Interested candidates should contact Merten, princess coordinator, at 507-448-7739.

Dairy Princess candidates must be at least a senior in high school and not yet 24 years of age by July 1. The candidate or her parents must be actively engaged in milk production for sale to a licensed plant during the current year. A candidate also qualifies if she or her parents are employed on a dairy farm in a dairy-related capacity or if a sibling has taken over the home farm.

Additionally, she would qualify if she or her family custom raise animals that will produce milk or lease animals in exchange for work on that farm.

Girls in ninth, 10th and 11th grade, whose parents or guardians are Mower County dairy farmers or are employed on a dairy farm, can become Mower County Dairy Ambassadors. Those who lease animals and are avid users and promoters of dairy products may also apply. Girls in third and fourth grade are eligible to become Mower County Milkmaids.