“Lucky for my cows they all have Norwegian names now,” Marjenna McWilliams says. “I named my most recent calf Ingrid Alexandra.” McWilliams, the newly crowned 60th anniversary Princess Kay of the Milky Way, has found an interesting way to merge her two passions: cows and the Norwegian language. McWilliams’s family has been dairying in Minnesota’s Polk County for 101 years and her father has been milking cows himself for 63 years of his life.

While the Red Hat Society is a popular women’s organization, which is known for its members to wear red hats and purple dresses while meeting for tea or other activities, there is another group of red hat wearers that has been comprised solely of male members – until now. Hats of different colors signify various responsibilities at the World Championship Cheese Contest held every other year in March. The contest’s 40 judges wear white hats as they core, sniff and taste approximately 2,500 entries.

Hundreds of guests packed the Boise Centre on Nov. 6-7 for United Dairymen of Idaho’s annual meeting. Featuring Idaho’s dairy producers and processors, vendors, guest speakers and awards, the event drew attendees from multiple states. The meeting kicked off with the United Dairymen of Idaho’s (UDI) new CEO Karianne Fallow who shared some initial thoughts about the future of UDI, detailed in a strategy presentation later in the day, and unveiled a new logo for the brand.

After a nationwide vote, a new cartoon character helping to build awareness of the advantages of real dairy foods has a name: DairyUS, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) announced today at its annual meeting in Phoenix. The animated character, modeled after the iconic REAL Seal logo, will help a new generation of consumers distinguish between genuine U.S. dairy products and a growing list of imitations. NMPF designed the cartoon character after assuming management of the seal last year.