Stories of the Heartland - September 2025 | Page 13

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grandfather Mark and the late grandmother Sandy Montag established the farm. However, while the farm remained lived on for many years, Montag said her grandparents sold their entire dairy herd when her dad, Brian, was in high school.

Montag said her dad started raising his own herd when he was 19 and has been going ever since. One of the requirements of being a dairy princess is having a connection to dairy, such as owning and operating a dairy farm or working on a farm. For Montag the connection was clear as the family has a herd of dairy animals. While the majority of dairy animals are Holstein cows, other breeds that call Montag Dairy home include Jersey and Brown Swiss cows.

“ I like Brown Swiss. Honestly, they’ re just so cute, but they’ re tame. The Jerseys are cute, too, but they’ re a little bit more rambunctious, so I like the Swiss a little bit more,” she said.“ The Swiss have such big brown chocolate eyes and they look like they want to drink a glass of hot chocolate and just chill. They’ re so cute. We actually have one named Swiss Miss.”

The family uses a 12-pit swing parlor and milk three times a day. Most farms, Montag said, milk twice a day.

All breeding of the cows and heifers are also done naturally with bulls and calving is done year round.

Each year, the family plants about 300 acres of silage that are then fed to the animals.

When it comes to different products, Montag said she likes just about all of them. Rather than having one favorite, she moves from product to product that becomes her favorite for a period. On the day of the interview, her favorite was mozzarella cheese curds.

Although farming is hard work, Montag said she wouldn’ t have it any other way. Farming to her is simply a way of life. It has also taught her many skills she knows will benefit her throughout her life. Skills, such as responsibility, dedication, hard work and problem solving.

Growing up, Montag said she and her

“ I saw all the butterheads getting carved on TV and I was like,‘ I want that I need that. My parents are dairy farmers and I want to be a dairy princess one day.”

- Heidi Montag Dairy princess

younger brothers Mark, 18, and Louie, 15, were responsible for caring for the calves on the farm. She recalls from the time she went to middle school until she became too busy with working fulltime jobs as an adult, how she’ d feed the calves every single day, twice in the summer and once a day during the school year as she was in school.

Then in high school, I would also milk cows with mom on the weekends and over the whole summer, in the morning for the morning shift, I’ d milk with her. When it comes to other seasonal things, like field work, I’ d help Dad with whatever he needed me to help with on the farm.”

Besides the many fun experiences Montag has had throughout her years as a Benton County Dairy Princess, she is equally excited for it this year. The best part of it all, she said, is sharing with people about the dairy industry, to answer any questions they may have and to break through any myths or preconceived notions about the dairy industry.

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Stories of the Heartland • Sunday, September 21, 2025 Page 13

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