When wishes come true

Growing up on a dairy farm in Little Falls, often when she, her dad, Brian, and uncle Jeff finished chores and went inside, they read in the local newspaper about the Morrison County dairy princesses.

It seemed, said Brook Doroff, that they were always up to something, promoting the dairy industry, while having fun.

“Every time we saw the dairy princesses, I would always say, ‘That would be so cool to do. I wish I could do it,” she said.

This year, Brook’s wish was granted, as she is one of Morrison County’s four dairy princesses.

“When I got the opportunity to run for dairy princess, I decided to do it since I had wanted to do it for a while,” she said.

It is something her parents, Brian and Joanne, are very supportive of, as well, Doroff said.

The process of becoming a dairy princess, Doroff said began when she was encouraged by someone at her school to run for the position. After filling out the necessary paperwork, she, along with several other girls, attended a judging day, where they were scored on the interview and speech they gave.

One of the questions in the interview, Doroff said, was why she wanted to be a dairy princess. To her, answering was easy.

“I want to spread the word that farmers are just here to give people good products and we don’t harm our animals. Our products are also very nutritious,” she said. “Milk is good for your digestive system, helps your immune system, helps repair your muscles.”

The good that milk does for people’s wellbeing is one of the aspects Doroff loves about the dairy industry.

“I enjoy knowing that our milk is going into products that are healthy for people and that people really enjoy them, that it’s good for your body,” she said.

Of all the different dairy products that are on the market, Doroff said her absolute favorite is plain white milk.

During the interview, Brook spoke about some of the tasks she performs on the farm. Her morning begins with helping to milk the cows, as well as cleaning up before and after milking.

She also sees to the calves and helps with whatever other odd jobs that need to be done.

The farm itself, Brook said, was founded by her great-great-grandparents in 1908. Since then, the family farm has been passed down through the generations.

Today, the farm is home to about 30 cows. The majority, with the exception of one Jersey, are Holstein.

Each year, about 15 to 20 calves are born on the farm, which is a delight to the family, Brook said.

As a dairy princess, Brook shares about what life on the farm is like. One of the many highlights as a dairy princess, she said, was to visit with the students at Swanville Elementary School for a classroom visit before school got out.

Reminiscing, Brook said one question she received often was whether there were any other animals on the farm besides cows. As for the Doroff family farm, it is also the home to a few barn cats.

“I think the question we got the most was why we didn’t have any goats,” she said.

Last week, Brook and the other dairy princesses had the opportunity to welcome Baby Everly, daughter of Eli and Melissa LeMieur of Little Falls. Since Baby Everly was the first baby born at CHI St. Gabriel’s Hospital in Little Falls, she was named June Dairy Baby.

Welcoming Baby Everly and congratulating her parents was something the dairy princesses had looked forward and enjoyed tremendously, they said.

There are many events the dairy princesses will attend this summer. Besides a variety of parades, they one upcoming favorite among them is the Morrison County Fair, where they will be serving ice cream, they said.

Doroff, as well as the other dairy princesses, encourages people to stop and say hello whenever they’re spotted at an event.

When Doroff isn’t fulfilling her dairy princess duties, she enjoys being outside, whether by herself or spending time with her boyfriend, Riley Yorek. Since he also lives on a dairy farm, Doroff said it’s nice that he can relate to what’s happening on her farm and vice versa. They both also understand the sacrifice that comes with being a farmer, she said.

“Even if we’re not talking about something in particular, we can always kind of relate. Like, if he’s at my house and he’s hanging with my family, we all have that (farming) in common and it just gives us something to kind of connect us all together,” she said.