It’s feeding time on the Taylor farm near Allenwood and Katelyn Taylor makes the short walk from her home to the barn where she keeps her five dairy heifers.
Just finishing her junior year at Montgomery High School, Taylor is a farm girl through and through and she says she owes her passion for dairy to her parents.
“It has been grown into me. Mom and dad have a strong background in the (agriculture) industry,” Taylor said. “Not only is it important to me that I want to continue it but I want to continue it so other people know what farmers are doing.”
No stranger to agriculture, farm shows and competitions, Taylor has been on her way toward becoming the 2020 Lycoming County Dairy Princess for years. She is set to be officially crowned the county princess in June, but is already working hard to educate people in Lycoming County about the benefits of milk and types of milk products, which have nine essential nutrients for humans.
It’s a tough time to be taking on the dairy princess duties, Taylor admits. As social distancing guidelines are still in full force throughout the region her normal activities of going to schools, nursing homes, church or fairs are impossible.
But Taylor is taking advantage of social media in the interim, making an introduction video and sending out helpful milk education facts to her online following.
The title of princess brings more than just a crown and a sash. For Taylor, it’s about raising awareness for the farming community and showing the importance of milk – specifically whole milk.
As a proud member of the agricultural community, Taylor says she has learned about the hard work behind the scenes and about who she is – all the more reason to share that with the rest of the world.
She hopes to become the state dairy princess soon, increasing her education efforts to the entire state while still raising awareness for the farmers in Lycoming County.
“You learn so many life lessons,” Taylor said. “You learn responsibility … you learn what it means to actually go from farm to plate.”
Farmers need to help farms, she added.
For the future, Taylor plans to finish up her senior year of high school and then go to Penn State to study agriculture.
“Definitely looking to see where dairy promotion or something else ag related takes me down the road,” she said.
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