Siana Barrett was selected as the 2019 Dairy Princess for the California Milk Advisory Board’s (CMAB) District 6. The crowning took place before a crowd of 200 dairy industry members and their families and friends on Thursday, June 13 at Our Lady of Assumption Hall in Turlock.

Retiring Dairy Princess Sophia Vander Dussen turned the title over to Siana and wished her success as she represents the California dairy industry throughout the coming year.

Siana will represent District 6, which includes Alameda, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties. As Dairy Princess, she will play an important role on the CMAB’s Communications Services team in meeting community relations objectives.

She is the daughter of Ryan Barrett and Jill Scott of Dos Palos. She is a recent graduate of Los Banos High School and Merced College and in the fall she will transfer to San Jose Community College to work on her associate’s degree in marketing. Siana is a member of Los Banos FFA and 4-H and is active in both National and California Junior Holstein Associations, Central Valley Jersey Breeders Association and National and California Junior Brown Swiss Association.

First Alternate, Alyce Silva, is the daughter of David and Nelia Silva of Turlock. She is a graduate of Turlock High School and will attend Modesto Junior College in the fall and major in agriculture business. Alyce is an active member of Turlock FFA and has served as the chapter reporter for the past year. She started showing dairy heifers in Chatom 4-H and continues to show with Turlock FFA as well as a member of the Turlock FFA dairy products judging team.

Second Alternate, Paige Brigham, is the daughter of Karry and Regina Brigham of Atwater. She is a graduate of Atwater High School and plans to attend Merced College in the fall and major in biological sciences. Paige has been an active member of Atwater FFA where she shows dairy heifers and St. Anthony’s 4-H club where she has held several officer positions. She also competed on the varsity water polo team and swim team at Atwater High School.

Alyce and Paige will assist the new District 6 Dairy Princess in her duties, which include speaking on behalf of the California dairy industry at schools, service clubs, with the media, and at numerous public events throughout the year.

In addition, the Dairy Princess and her Alternates will attend a training session focused on presentation development, advocating for the California dairy industry, leadership and etiquette.

Along with naming the new Dairy Princess, the District 6 Dairy Princess committee also awarded $2,400 in scholarships to the five contestants in the contest. Finally, the contestants themselves voted for the Miss Vitality Award. This award is given to a young lady whom each contestant felt had the most spirit throughout the Dairy Princess experience; Paige Brigham was selected as Miss Vitality 2019.

The Master of Ceremonies for the contest was Frank Borba of Escalon. Contestants were judged on poise, personality, speaking ability, education and dairy background. Judges for the contest were Brad Barham of Hughson, Cara Crye of Morro Bay and Diana Peters of Lincoln. The event chairperson was Linda Teixeira. The Dairy Princess Contest was catered by Espana’s of Los Banos, music was provided by Sounds in Motion of Modesto and the photographer for the evening was Stephanie Baker Photography of Turlock.

California is the nation’s leading milk producer. It also produces more butter, ice cream and nonfat dry milk than any other state. The state is the second-largest producer of cheese and yogurt. Dairy products made with Real California Milk can be identified by the Real California Milk seal, which certifies that the products are made with milk produced on California dairy farms by California dairy farm families.

The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s more than 1,300 dairy families and is one of the largest agricultural marketing boards in the United States. With a mission to increase demand for products made with Real California Milk, the CMAB is celebrating 50 years in 2019 promoting California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs. For more information and to connect with the CMAB, visit RealCaliforniaMilk.com, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.