Makayla Toste of Newman was selected as the 2017 Dairy Princess for the California Milk Advisory Board’s (CMAB) District 6. The crowning took place before a crowd of approximately 280 dairy industry members and their families and friends, on Thursday, June 15 at Our Lady of Assumption Hall in Turlock.

Retiring Dairy Princess Nicole Sanders ended her reign by turning over the title to Toste, and wished her well as she represents the California dairy industry throughout the coming year.

Toste 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 John and Sandra Toste of Newman. She is a recent graduate of Modesto Junior College (MJC) and will attend California State University, Fresno in the fall and major in dairy science. Toste grew up on her family’s dairy farm and was a member of Newman 4-H where she showed dairy cattle at the Stanislaus County Fair. She was on the state winning dairy cattle judging team with Gustine FFA and competed at state, national and international level, traveling to Scotland. She was a member of the MJC dairy judging team and co-chair of the dairy contest for MJC Field Day.

First Alternate, Lauren Alvares, is the daughter of John and Tjesca Alvares of Merced. She is a recent graduate of at El Capitan High School and is dually enrolled in classes at Merced and Modesto Junior colleges. She plans to attend Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in the fall and major in dairy science with plans to transfer to Cornell University to earn her degree and become a dairy nutritionist.

Shania DeJarnett was crowned Second Alternate. She is the daughter of Jeff and Apryl DeJarnett of Turlock. She is a graduate of Hughson High School and will attend California State University, Fresno in the fall, majoring in ag marketing and sales.

The two alternates will assist the new 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 with workshops on presentation development, promoting the California dairy industry and leadership and etiquette tools.

Along with the excitement of naming the new Dairy Princess, the District 6 Dairy Princess committee awarded over $2900 in scholarships to the five contestants. 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; Shania DeJarnett was selected as Miss Vitality 2017.

The Master of Ceremonies for the contest was Frankie Borba of Escalon. Contestants were judged on poise, personality, speaking ability, education and dairy background. Judges for the contest were Diane Coderniz Jackson of Fresno, Melissa Rassmussen of Merced and Pat Silva of Hanford. The event chairperson was Linda Teixeira. The Dairy Princess Contest was catered by Espana’s of Los Banos.

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

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. With headquarters in Tracy, the CMAB is one of the largest agricultural marketing boards in the United States. The CMAB executes advertising, public relations, research and retail and foodservice promotional programs on behalf of California dairy products, including Real California Milk and Real California Cheese, throughout the U.S. and internationally.