Klara Scholtes from Deuselbach (Bernkastel-Wittlich district) was elected the new milk queen of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland on Saturday evening. The 19-year-old agricultural student from Rhineland-Palatinate prevailed against four competitors from the two federal states. She is the second to bear the title of Dairy Queen of Rhineland-Palatinate-Saar. Previously, Vivian Ludwig from Heidweiler in Rhineland-Palatinate (Bernkastel-Wittlich district) held the office.

Before the vote, a jury of experts in Saarlouis tested the candidates between the ages of 19 and 28 for expertise, charm and quick-wittedness. Scholtes will now be the new face of Milch for Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland for two years. "It hasn't really arrived yet," Scholtes told the German Press Agency on Saturday evening. "I'm still shaking." She has been helping out on her parents' organic dairy farm since she was a child. She is already working towards continuing the family business in the next generation.

Up to 80 appointments a year await the new milk queen. She will attend events, speak greetings, answer questions and discuss the situation in the dairy industry, said a spokeswoman for the organizing dairy working group Rhineland-Palatinate-Saar. The Rhineland-Palatinate Wine Queen has been an honorary post since 2010 - since 2020 she has also been responsible for Saarland.

According to the Rhineland-Palatinate-Saar State Control Association, there were a total of 1,676 dairy farms in both federal states in September 2021. Ten years earlier (2011) there were still 2719 companies. The number of cows fell from around 132,600 to a good 112,500 during this period. The average number of cows per farm, on the other hand, rose from around 49 to 67.

Milag to milk queen