Steffl churns butter for sculptures, competes as Princess Kay candidate
SLEEPY EYE, Minn. — Exactly six years and one week from the start of Lauren Steffl’s dairy career, she was named one of the 10 Princess Kay of the Milk Way finalists.
“It almost seems unreal that I’m here and I don’t think it’s actually hit me yet that I am a finalist and that I have gotten this far,” Steffl said. “I had a passion for the industry and I took every single step to get here and I’m so honored for all of the different opportunities the dairy community has given me. It’s incredible.”
Steffl is the daughter of Tim Steffl and Leah Sandbo. She started and has continued her dairy career milking cows for John and Greg Rosenhammer, who dairy farms near Sleepy Eye. This fall, she will be going into her final year at South Dakota State University, majoring in agricultural business with an emphasis in dairy industry.
When the candidates were announced, Steffl was spending time with friends. She continuously refreshed the Princess Kay of the Milky Way Facebook page in anticipation of the video. When it was posted Steffl realized it was not a live video, so she skipped ahead to the announcements. When she accidentally skipped ahead a little too far and heard Rachel Visser, the 71st Princess Kay of the Milky Way, mention photography, she said she shared a look with her boyfriend and rewound the video to the beginning.
Steffl eventually heard herself as the second person Visser named.
“I was very excited,” Steffl said. “I instantly cried. Then I continued to watch the rest of the video. One of my great friends, Malorie, from SDSU as well, got named, and so I was just emotional all over again.”
Along with milking cows at the Rosenhammer dairy, Steffl is currently an intern at Associated Milk Producers Incorporated, where she makes butter. There she gets to make the butter from which the Princess Kay butter sculptures will be made.
“I also made it last year, which was a super fun experience,” she said. “I also get to bring it up to the state fair this year as well, so I’m very excited. It’s a really cool opportunity that I get to help make the butter for the butter likenesses to be carved.”
After getting her likeness sculpted out of butter, Steffl plans to donate the scraps from her butterhead to the church she attends in Brookings and her local church in Sleepy Eye. As for her butterhead itself, Steffl said she hopes to use it at her wedding one day.
In the future, Steffls said she wants to remain in the dairy community by obtaining a position with a dairy related company in social media or marketing.
“I also run my own photography business, so I want to incorporate that into what I do to help bridge the gap between farmers and consumers,” Steffl said.
Getting involved within the dairy community has shaped Steffl’s career. Going into college, Steffl initially majored in early childhood education before ultimately switching to her current major.
“It’s been an exciting journey, but I’m so glad that I ended on a dairy note,” Steffl said. “It’s shaped my entire future and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here.”
Steffl said she hopes to be a role model to young girls.
“Not growing up in agriculture or being a part of the dairy community, I never understood the nutritional benefits of milk” Steffl said. “It wasn’t until I got involved in the dairy ambassador program that I learned most of the dairy facts I know today. This is why I think it’s especially important to help bridge the gap between farmers and consumers.”
As a finalist, Steffl also wants to educate others about the opportunities the dairy community has to offer.
“I involved myself with so many opportunities within the dairy community, which led me to this position where I am now,” Steffl said. “There have been so many things that I have learned, and I want to share them with everyone.”