Assemblyman Tony Jordan, Assembly Minority Colleagues Host Dairy Day in Honor of National Dairy Month; Welcome Local Dairy Princesses

June 9, 2009

Assemblyman Tony Jordan (left) and Dairy Princesses Emma Heritage (Saratoga County), Patricia Lamb (Rensselaer County) and Kate Monroe (Washington County)

Assemblyman Tony Jordan (R,C-Jackson) and his Assembly Minority colleagues today hosted agricultural leaders from around the state as well as members of New York’s dairy industry at the annual Dairy Day reception in Albany, held in recognition of June as National Dairy Month.

“A strong agricultural and dairy industry is essential to the health of our regional and state economy,” said Jordan. “Dairy producers have been hit hard recently by low milk prices, so events like Dairy Day allow for the recognition of local producers and help raise awareness on the importance of dairy farming in the state.”

Agriculture in New York is the top industry in the state, and the dairy industry is the third-largest milk producer in the nation. New York is home to more than 6,000 dairy farms and 655,000 dairy cows, which produce over 11.7 billion pounds of milk each year. With over $1.65 billion in annual revenue, the New York dairy industry accounts for seven percent of the total national dairy production.

According to many research studies, milk, yogurt, cheese and other low-fat dairy products are essential to healthier living, lowering the likelihood of osteoporosis, colon cancer, high blood pressure and obesity, among other diseases.

During today’s event, Assemblyman Jordan also had the honor of welcoming three local dairy princesses to the event: Kate Monroe, the Washington County Dairy Princess from the town of Hartford; Rensselaer County Dairy Princess Patricia Lamb, from Johnsonville; and Charlton’s Emma Heritage, the Saratoga County Dairy Princess.

“Dairy Day represents a great opportunity to promote the health benefits associated with our homegrown dairy products and recognizes the efforts of our local dairy farmers,” said Jordan. “Buying local can help keep our dairy industry strong.”

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