Six area young ladies vie for crown of Allamakee County Dairy Princess

The 2005 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet is set for Saturday, March 19 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion. The annual celebration recognizes the importance of the dairy industry in Allamakee County and the contributions dairy families make to this important industry.
The meal to kick off the event will be served from 7 - 8:30 p.m. with the program starting at 8 p.m. and a dance following the awards distribution and coronation of this year’s Allamakee County Dairy Princess.
Tickets for the event are available at Allamakee County banks and at the Allamakee County Extension Office in Waukon.
Every year, top producers from the county are recognized at the banquet. In addition, several other awards are presented that evening, including the following:
• Outstanding Young Dairy Family Award
• Pioneer Dairyman
• Distinguished Dairy Family Award
• Service to Dairy Industry Award
• Golden Butter Knife Award
• Dairy Scholarships

In addition, Junior Dairy Ambassadors and the 2005 Allamakee County Dairy Princess are selected at the event. Six Allamakee County young ladies - Melissa Ehrhardt, Ann Johanningmeier, Ashley Johnson, Alana Lyons, Amanda Mahr, and Stephanie Snitker - will be vying for this year’s crown of the Allamakee County Dairy Princess. The Dairy Princess will make personal appearances during the year at events such as county banquets, parades, and other public events. The 2005 Dairy Princess' reign will begin in June.

Following are the biographies of the six young ladies competing for this year’s crown:
Melissa Ehrhardt
Melissa Ehrhardt is the 18-year old daughter of Mark and Sandra Ehrhardt of rural Monona. She is a member of the graduating class of Waukon Senior High School this year.
Melissa is actively involved in her family’s dairy operation, milking in the morning before school and at night, as well as helping with odd jobs around the farm on weekends. The Ehrhardts milk 65 Holstein cows, raise their own replacement heifers and feed out the dairy steers. She is also in partnership with her parents in a 50-cow beef herd. The Ehrhardt family owns 575 acres and rents an additional 120 acres, growing corn, hay, and soybeans to feed the animals.
In addition to her work on the farm, Melissa also shows dairy cattle at the Allamakee County Fair and participates on the county dairy judging team. She is also actively involved in 4-H - having served on the County Council - and Future Farmers of America (FFA), having received numerous awards in both organizations, including the Iowa Farmer Degree she will have bestowed upon her this spring at the State FFA Convention.
Other activities include Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and Youth Alive. Melissa says she has limited her activities in school to those that can develop leadership skills and enhance her personal interest areas. She has not played school sports since junior high, but has taken part in Teen League softball at the Waukon City Park for the last three summers.
In her spare time Melissa enjoys playing pool, watching movies, cheering on the Waukon Indians, and spending time with friends.
Her future plans include attending Northeast Iowa Community College in the Agricultural Sales and Service program. Melissa is sponsored by Hirth Haulers.

Ann Johanningmeier
Eighteen-year old Ann Johanningmeier is the daughter of Steve and Jane Johanningmeier of rural Monona. She is a senior student at Waukon Senior High School this year.
Ann’s family owns and operates Johanningmeier Dairy, which was first established in 1971 by her parents along State Highway 76 near Rossville. Family members and employees currently milk 450 Holstein cows and own 140 beef cows, raising their own calves. To help support this operation, the Johanningmeiers farm 700 acres each of hay and corn, as well as 200 acres of beans.
Ann says she enjoys raising the calves and young stock, taking an active part in feeding, bedding and vaccinating the animals. She also helps rake hay, haul silage and throw bales in the summer and fall.
One highlight for the Johanningmeier Dairy operation was hosting the Tri-State Hay Expo in June of 1999.
Ann’s activities and honors within her schooling include being selected to National Honor Society, Who’s Who Among American High School Students, and Phi Theta Kappa at Northeast Iowa Community College through the college-level courses she takes there. She is also a member of the high school newspaper and yearbook staffs, a manager for the varsity football team, and President of the Waukon Senior High Student Council.
Outside of school, Ann enjoys snowmobiling, boating, scrapbooking, and meeting new people.
Her future plans include attending Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar to complete her general education requirements and then transferring to the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls to complete her bachelors degree in a yet to be determined major.
Ann is sponsored by Village Farm and Home.

Ashley Johnson
Waukon Senior High School senior student Ashley Johnson is the 18-year old daughter of Rich and Jackie Johnson of rural Waukon. Her future plans include attending Northeast Iowa Community College to study Office Technology and aspects of Dairy Science.
Ashley’s dairy experience began with milking at her grandparents’ farm until they sold their operation in 1999. She then began to milk weekends and some weeknights at Weighner Brothers Farm. She currently milks every third weekend at Weighner Brothers Farm, where they milk 150 DHIA-tested cows. Since October of 2002 she has also been milking weeknights after school at Byrnes Dairy, owned and operated by Matt and Michelle Byrnes. There she helps milk 102 DHIA-tested cows and helps feed calves. Ashley says she enjoys her jobs because she likes taking care of animals and working with the people she works with.
School activities Ashley participates in include fast-pitch softball and track & field. She is also a member of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), the high school yearbook and newspaper staffs, the high school choir, and the “B” honor roll.
Outside of school, Ashley enjoys reading, playing slow-pitch softball, hanging out with friends, and attending sporting events.
Ashley is sponsored by Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank.

Alana Lyons
Alana Lyons is the 18-year old daughter of Dan and Joan Lyons of rural Waukon. She is a member of this year’s graduating class at Waukon Senior High School and is the youngest of four children that also include sisters Tara and Shelly, and brother Justin.
Alana lives and works on her family’s dairy farm west of Waukon. She currently helps milk the operation’s 100 Holstein cows and also feeds calves twice a day. Her school activities include being a member of the National Honor Society, Allamakee Dollars for Scholars, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). Outside of school, Alana enjoys spending time with friends and family, riding snowmobiles, watching NASCAR, and playing slow-pitch softball.
Following graduation, Alana plans on attending St. Ambrose University in Davenport, majoring in psychology and pursuing a doctorate degree in physical therapy.
Alana is sponsored by DHIA.

Amanda Mahr
Seventeen-year old Amanda Mahr is the daughter of Luke and Jan Mahr of rural Dorchester. She is a member of the 2005 graduating class at Waukon Senior High School.
Amanda helps with calf chores and milking twice a day on her family’s farm, Mahr Farms, an operation which milks 70 cows. The family rents 270 acres of crop land, where they grow alfalfa, corn and oats. Along with her milking duties, she also helps with baling hay and straw. Amanda says she enjoys working on the farm because she gets to take care of animals and it keeps her busy.
When not helping out on the family farm, Amanda enjoys watching football, basketball and wrestling, hanging out with friends, going to the movies, and shopping. In school, she is a member of the high school newspaper and yearbook staffs, and has been named to the academic Who’s Who Among American High School Students. She has also been involved in 4-H, Future Farmers of America (FFA), and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Amanda and her family are members of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Dorchester, where she has participated in CCD and Confirmation classes.
She has also held the honor of wearing the Little Miss Squirt crown, reigning from 1996 to 1997.
Her future plans include attending Northeast Iowa Community College to complete general education requirements before going on to pursue an education and career in either the veterinarian or nursing fields.
Amanda is sponsored by Welch Feed & LP.

Stephanie Snitker
Stephanie Snitker, age 18, is the daughter of Todd and Rhonda Snitker of rural Waukon. She is a member of the graduating class of 2005 at Waukon Senior High School.
On her family’s farm, Stephanie is solely responsible for the health and care of the dairy calves from the time they are born on through to the age of about six months. That responsibility includes tagging, vaccinating, housing, feeding, and the overall health of the calves. With the exception of during the basketball season, she and her brothers work as relief milkers for her family’s 100-head dairy herd.
Within her school interests, Stephanie says she loves anything connected with drama and music, English, the Arts, and especially Waukon Indian girls basketball. Her hobbies include writing, singing in church and at various community events, reading, astronomy, and spending time with her brothers and close friends.
As for her future plans, Stephanie says following her second consecutive appearance with the Waukon Indian girls basketball team in the Iowa High School Girls State Basketball Tournament this week, she will decide upon whether to attend either Central College in Pella or Wartburg College in Waverly. She intends to major in English/Creative Writing and minor in Theatre and also hopes to find some time to play basketball at the collegiate level.
Stephanie is sponsored by Calhoun Creamery.