Josie Sauder is the newest Dodge County dairy princess. She just graduated from High School this year. She enjoys participating in trap shooting at her school. Josie is working on her family’s dairy farm and likes hanging out with friends and family in her spare time.
She has four sisters and grew up on my family’s dairy farm located near Pine Island, MN.
Josie grew up helping on the family’s seventh generation dairy farm, where she works days at the farm milking, feeding calves, and cows and anything else that has to get done. She started milk cows when she was about 9 years old.
Josie recalls that she wanted to be a dairy princess because the dairy farming is something she is very passionate about and loves to share information about the dairy industry.
Moving forward she plans to stay on the farm part time and work construction.
Ellie Sauder is serving her third year as a Dodge County dairy princess. She grew up on her family's seventh generation dairy farm in Pine Island. Ellie has 4 sisters, and most of them work in some capacity on the farm or in the agriculture industry, alongside many of cousins, aunts, and uncles.
This summer, Ellie will be interning with Midwest Dairy as a farmer relations intern, working on dairy promotion and the Princess Kay program. In the fall, she will be a junior at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, where she is majoring in Agricultural Marketing and Communications with a minor in Agricultural Business.
She grew up showing cattle in 4-H and FFA and helping out around the farm. She now feeds calves and helps with other projects when home from school on weekends and breaks.
Ellie comments that there is never a dull moment on the farm. “From putting cows away when they get out in the middle of the night to preparing cattle for the fair or spending time at the fair with cousins, every day on the farm has some kind of excitement!”
As part of the 6th generation on her family's farm, Ellie saw the Dodge County Dairy Princess program as a great way to advocate for dairy, develop leadership skills, and be involved in her local community. As a county dairy princess, some of her favorite events are during the fair and June dairy month, when they get to talk to consumers about dairy and attend many local events. The dairy industry, like all of agriculture right now, is rapidly changing and becoming more innovative to fit current issues and situations. As a dairy princess, Ellie sees a huge need for agricultural education and dairy promotion, and hopes to fill that gap through her role as a dairy advocate.
After finishing her degree at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Ellie hopes to work in communications for an agriculture-related company.
Alita Rinehart is also serving her third year as a Dodge County dairy princess.
