BRODHEAD — In an era in which social media and video games compete for the waning attention spans of today’s youth, the Green County Dairy Queen competition seems a throwback to another, simpler time.

And that’s just fine for, Briliey Swedlund, Green County’s newest Dairy Queen. The candidate from Juda just won the crown during The Green County Ag Chest’s Dairy Days Queen’s banquet on Saturday at the fire station in Brodhead.  

The 16-year-old is the daughter of Chris and Amanda Swedlund of Juda. She says events like the competition are important to farm families and recall the rich dairy heritage of not only Green County but the entire state of Wisconsin.

“I’m super excited to represent Green County and show what we have to offer in agriculture in this area,” she said.

The Dairy Queen competition coincides with June being Dairy Month, a fact not lost on Swedlund, who says one of her favorite things about Green County is that it is home to many of the state’s biggest and best cheese makers. 

She said that growing up she always wanted to be in the competition for Dairy Queen and Princess in part because of the unique bond she saw among the girls who competed to represent their areas, which in addition to Juda included Albany, represented by Ellie Modaff; Argyle, represented by Hannah Gierhart; Belleville, represented by Cameron Frey; Browntown, represented by Natalie Hurd;  Blanchardville, represented by Kamdyn Kolb; Brodhead, represented by Emma Beutel; Brooklyn, represented by Grace Bergland; Monticello, represented by Sadie Wilkins; and Monroe, represented by Delanie Pfund. 

New Glarus did not have an entrant in the competition this year.

Pfund was the runner up in the competition, winning the title of Green County Dairy Princess. The announcements followed a full day of judging, in which contestants gave presentations to the judges on areas of agriculture and competed in a number of other ways.

“No matter what was happening at the time at home or whatever, the Dairy Queens always seem happy to put on a smile and represent the county,” Swedlund said. “I wanted to be a part of that for the agriculture community.”

Swedlund, who wants to be a veterinarian someday, said that after winning the title she expects her schedule “to be a little crazy, which is OK by me.”

For her part Pfund, 16, said she also expects to be busy after winning the Dairy Princess title representing her hometown of Monroe. She is the daughter of Chad and Lacey Pfund.

“I’m really excited to be the Dairy Princess,” said Pfund, who did her report for the competition on honeybees. “It’s a great honor to represent Monroe.”

Swedlund said it’s an extra special year to be named Green County Dairy Queen because of a much-anticipated event later this summer.  “I’m really looking forward to Cheese Days this year,” she said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Both Girls said they also appreciate the camaraderie of the competition with the other girls from neighboring towns. Above all, they said, it’s a friendly competition.

“We are all kind of happy for each other,” Swedlund said. “We are all like a big family.”