Can you imagine a world of cookies without milk, biscuits without butter or burgers without cheese? I know I can't; and if you feel the same way, this is your month to celebrate.

June is National Dairy Month, a time to be thankful for the delicious and nutritious dairy products and the people responsible for providing us with them.

New York's largest industry is agriculture, and the number one agricultural industry in the state is dairy farming.

In Cayuga County alone, there are 30,000 cows producing 610 million pounds of milk each year - that's 76 million gallons of milk or enough to give everyone in the city of Auburn more than 100 glasses a day.

As the Cayuga County Dairy Princess, I'm proud to be a part of an industry that works year round to make sure local consumers have the most wholesome, high-quality dairy products available. America's dairy farmers are dedicated to providing you with safe, high quality milk and dairy products. Their commitment to quality also means caring for their animals and the land. So, next time you enjoy milk, cheese or even an ice cream cone, remember to thank the dairy farmer.

Dairy products are jam-packed with vitamins, minerals and fuel. Eating more low-fat dairy foods will allow you to better manage your weight and reduce your risk for high blood pressure, osteoporosis and even certain cancers. These are just a few of the reasons to make sure you get your 3-A-Day; that's three servings each day of milk, cheese or yogurt. And what better time to start than dairy month.

To celebrate dairy month, we are giving a dairy-themed gift to the first baby born in June as well as giving a free week's supply of milk to the winners of our “Milk for Moms” contest held at local schools. This is also the month that I must resign my crown and sash and pass on my duties, so stay tuned to find out who your next Dairy Princess will be.

With the sun shining and tons of activities to go to, maintaining a healthy diet is essential to keeping your energy up. Get the season started off on the right foot with these recipes for summer grilling with dairy.

Molly O'Hara is the Cayuga County Dairy Princess.

Barbecue Chicken & Cheddar Snackwiches

Makes 16 snack-sized sandwiches or 4 large sandwiches

1/4 cup sun dried tomato-flavored or plain mayonnaise

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

8 slices hearty Italian bread, cut into 1/2-inch slices

2 boneless grilled chicken breasts or 8 ounces of ready-made grilled chicken, sliced

1/2 medium red onion, sliced

6 ounces grated sharp or extra-sharp white cheddar cheese

4 cooked bacon slices

6 tablespoons honey-based barbecue sauce

Barbecue sauce

Preheat a covered grill or non-stick skillet for five minutes.

Spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine mayonnaise and grated parmesan in bowl.

Arrange bread slices on cutting board and spread approximately one tablespoon of parmesan-mayo mixture on four of the bread slices.

Top each with several slices of chicken, onion, half cheddar cheese and one bacon slice.

Spread remaining slices of bread with 1 1/2 tablespoons or barbeque sauce.

Assemble sandwiches and cook two at a time in covered grill, about six minutes or until bread is golden and cheese is melted.

Remove from grill and cut into quarters.

Serve with a side of additional barbecue sauce if desired.

Dairy trivia

• Americans eat the equivalent of 10 acres of pizza (and mozzarella cheese) every day

• An average cow produces about 350,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime

• To get the same amount of calcium provided by eight ounces of milk, you would have to eat 2.25 cups of broccoli, 6.75 oranges or six slices of wheat bread

• 96 percent of all households in the United States have milk in the fridge and 94 percent have cheese

• Total cheese per capita consumption was 31 pounds in 2004

• New York ranks third in the nation for total milk production and first for cream cheese production

• It takes 12 gallons of milk to make one gallon of ice cream

€ Milk delivered to the store today was in a cow two days ago