June is national dairy month, and Pennsylvania’s dairy princesses and queens got a chance to celebrate at the capitol today.

Lawmakers and leaders in the agriculture industry highlighted the importance of dairy farms to the Commonwealth. There are over 5,000 dairy farms that contribute $11.8 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy each year.

Dairy princesses and queens for each county take on the task of educating the public about the industry, how products are processed, and ways that anyone can buy local.

“I think it's important to know the process and like what gets put into your dairy products. And so you know what you're consuming,” said Keeley Alcorn, dairy princess for Warren County

“We want people to know that their milk comes from a good place. And if you purchase milk using the plant code 42, you can guarantee that your milk comes from Pennsylvania,” said Morgan Larson, dairy princess for Erie County.

The dairy industry is lobbying to get whole milk more established in public schools, along with other farm subsidy goals.