2015 Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador crowned

Jan 19, 2015

Emma Miller crowned during 56th annual coronation put on by the Oregon Dairy Women

By Diego Flammini, Farms.com

In a light green dress, surrounded by other young women hoping their name gets called, Emma Miller, representing the counties of Linn and Benton heard hers. With the crown placed upon her head by 2014 winner Danielle Bull, the 20-year-old Miller officially became the 2015 Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador. Megan Sprute representing Washington County was selected as the first alternate.

Miller, a student at Oregon State University studying agricultural sciences with the dreams of becoming a high school agriculture teacher, wants to use her time to help others find their agricultural calling.

“I am passionate about agriculture,” Miller said in a press release. “I hope to help students find their passion as well.”

Part of Miller’s path to victory included days of interviews, speeches, spending time with judges, and her speech, entitled “Dairy Farming and America’s Future Generations,” touched on her appreciation for the dairy farmers.

Her duties as Oregon Dairy Princess Ambassador will require her to travel throughout Oregon to attend fairs, meetings and events as a representative of the dairy farmers. She’ll also spend time in schools educating children about life on a dairy farm and the health benefits dairy products have.

The Oregon Dairy Women, a voluntary, not-for-profit organization whose mandate is to promote the dairy industry. Dairy Princess-Ambassadors date back to 1959-1960, when Nancy Garner won the inaugural crown.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.