In her new role as South Dakota dairy princess, Ytsje Andringa wants to share the story of how hard the state’s farm families work to produce dairy products.

Coming from a dairy farm near Clear Lake, she grew up learning the value of hard work in their operation that has grown from its humble start in Canada.

Growing up on a 1800-cow operation, Andringa also wants to dispel the myth that large dairies are all mega-corporations.

The dairy princess will spend the next year helping share the story of dairy farming and dairy’s role in healthy diets with people across the state.