By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Associate Editor

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — On Feb. 26, the Indiana Jersey Cattle Club (IJCC) crowned Mallarie Stookey, 17, of Milford as the new 2011 Indiana Jersey Queen.

As the Indiana Jersey Queen, Stookey will attend the State Jersey Show in Goshen and the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis. Additionally, Stookey will be invited to compete for National Jersey Queen at the All-American Jersey Show in Louisville, Ky., later this fall.

Stookey, of Stookeyholm Farm, is currently a junior at Warsaw Community High School and is a member of the Leesburg Mighty Farmers 4-H Club, Warsaw FFA Chapter and Warsaw High School Ski Club.

The daughter of Jeff and Marla Stookey, she has shown Jerseys at the Kentucky State Fair, Indiana State Fair, North American International Livestock Exposition, Elkhart County Fair, Crown Point County Fair and the Indiana State Show. During her career exhibiting registered Jersey cattle, she has won Reserve Junior Champion at the Indiana State Fair and numerous first place finishes at local, regional, state and national shows. In the future, Stookey hopes to attend Purdue University and obtain a doctorate in veterinary medicine or a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.

“If I were to obtain my vet degree, I would like to use that degree to help farmers and businesses in the dairy industry,” said Stookey. “After college, I would like to come back to the family farm and help my father run the family business. I love being around my family. Working together on the farm and being successful in the show ring has made us closer.”

Stookey was awarded the title of queen with a sash and crown during the annual meeting of the IJCC hosted at the offices of the Indiana Soybean Alliance in Indianapolis, Ind.