Finding her passion through dairy

SAUK CENTRE — “Mooing from the cows calls me home” are words that will stick with Daisy Zimmermann. She heard this phrase, which she had originally created for her dairy elevator speech, repeated during the announcement video naming her as a finalist for Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

“It’s pretty crazy; I did not think I was going to get a finalist position my first year (attending May Leadership Event),” Zimmermann said. “I started crying when they announced that I was a finalist.”

Zimmermann, the daughter of Mike and Lori Zimmermann, is the oldest of her four siblings — Joe, Bethany, Holly and Tina. The family dairy farms near Sauk Centre, milking 125 cows in a double-8 parlor.

On May 17 at 2 p.m., Zimmermann, along with her mom, dad and Tina were standing around the kitchen waiting for the Princess Kay finalist announcement video to be posted to Facebook. Once it was broadcast, everyone watched intently.

“When they were doing the announcement, my dad didn’t believe that it was me (right away),” Zimmermann said.

Zimmermann was announced second of the 10 finalists. She continued to watch the video and saw her fellow Stearns County dairy princesses, Jaden Smith and Isabella Schiffler, also named as finalists.

“It’s awesome that all three of us get to be in it together and we get to experience it together,” Zimmermann said.

This summer, Zimmermann said she is looking forward to bonding with the other finalists before coronation. As for the butterhead she will obtain, Zimmermann said she is not entirely sure what to do with it. She hopes to keep her likeness for as long as possible and has considered using the scraps for a sweet corn feed or pancake breakfast, donating to those in need, or using them for cooking and baking.

Growing up on the farm, Zimmermann said she has learned life skills that she will carry with her into the future. Perseverance and hard work are the two that stick out most.

“I’ve been surrounded by dairy my entire life,” Zimmermann said. “It’s shown me how much work goes into caring for animals and providing for your family every single day ... It’s a hard job.”

She is especially impressed by her parents, who have been farming for 19 years.

“To be able to go and do the same thing every single day … and still enjoy it … is incredible,” she said.

Zimmermann said she has also learned from her dad that working through unexpected challenges while farming are just bumps in the road.

“There’s always going to be things that don’t work, or something’s going to break,” Zimmermann said. “You find a way to make it work, so you can get the job done and keep going.”

Through interactions on the farm, like visiting with the nutritionist during a walk-through, Zimmermann said she could better understand why she wanted to be involved in the agriculture industry in the future.

“(I realized that) I actually want to learn more about this,” Zimmermann said. “That visit with her especially helped me (understand that) I want to learn more and do more for the (agricultural) community.”

Zimmermann plans to attend Ridgewater College in Willmar for agricultural business. Past that, she has thoughts to transfer to North Dakota State University, but is uncertain at this time. She hopes to eventually be an ag loan officer after college.

“I want to help people get farms up and running and be able to help them with expenses that comes up in their farming,” Zimmermann said.

As a reigning dairy princess, Zimmermann has had many interactions with consumers, but there is one that sticks out most. Last summer, she visited a nursing home to speak with residents, where she listened to their stories about the farms they had in their younger years.

“As they were talking, a few of them started tearing up and crying, talking about their home farms,” Zimmermann said. “The care that they have for their farms is amazing to see even in their old age.”

Zimmermann likes to educate consumers about the ways dairy products can be incorporated in meals, like using cottage cheese in pancakes or adding yogurt to granola. She also informs consumers about life on the farm and daily tasks.

“Milking cows (for example), it’s not a simple job; it’s very repetitive, so it seems simple,” Zimmermann said. “But you have to take care of each and every cow differently (as an individual).”

Whether wearing a crown or not, Zimmermann hopes to continue promoting the dairy industry.

“Advocating for dairy is important, and I don’t need to be a princess to do that,” Zimmermann said.