Two young women will compete for the prestigious title of Dairy Princess during ceremonies at the upcoming District 5 Dairy Princess Contest. The gala event will be held Wednesday June 1 at Chez Shari in Manteca.

This year’s contestants are Emma Borba of Escalon and Sarah Weststeyn of Linden.

Emma is the daughter of Clarence and Marian Borba of Escalon. She attends Escalon High School participating in Interact Club, Friends Helping Friends Club, Academic Block E, Scholar Athlete and 4-H where she has been showing dairy cattle for eight years at San Joaquin County Fair. Emma has her own herd of cows and calves of registered and grade Holsteins and is a junior member of the California Holstein Association. After graduation from high school, Emma plans to attend Stanislaus State where she will be majoring in nursing with a goal to become a nurse practitioner.

Sarah is the daughter of Bert and Cheryl Weststeyn of Linden. She is currently attending Modesto Junior College (MJC) studying dairy science and ag business. Sarah is on the MJC dairy judging team and has traveled all over the United States judging dairy cattle. Prior to attending MJC, she participated in 4-H for 10 years where she showed dairy cattle. In addition to her activities in the dairy industry, Sarah enjoys spending her time as a volunteer at Linden Baptist Church for their Awana group, which allows her to work with young children.

The young lady crowned as Dairy Princess will represent the dairy industry in the counties of Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Sacramento, San Joaquin and Yolo. She will serve the area as ambassador for the dairy industry at schools, service groups and with the media. The newly selected princess and her alternate will participate in a week of training, provided by the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), which includes industry tours, presentation and etiquette training.

The contest is sponsored by the District 5 Dairy Princess Committee and the CMAB. The contest will begin at 6 p.m. with a no-host social hour, followed by dinner and the contest at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets for the contest, contact Kerri Visser at 209-765-4384 or onthemoov@velociter.net.

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