Update: Erin Daninger beat three other finalists to win the Dairy Proficiency award Friday at FFAâÄôs national convention in Indianapolis, Pat Daninger said on Friday. She will be honored on stage at Conseco Field house in front of 35,000 FFA members.

Siblings Erin and Luke Daninger are keeping up their familyâÄôs long-standing tradition, and it has nothing to do with a holiday or a recipe. The Daningers take family tradition to a whole different level.

The entire family has been participating in Future Farmers of America, a national youth organization that develops leadership skills, usually in agriculture. And so far, all of them have attended the University of Minnesota.

Erin and Luke, the two oldest of four kids, are currently at FFAâÄôs national convention in Indianapolis. Erin, a first-year agricultural education student, is in the running for the National Dairy Proficiency Award, and Luke, a junior, is set to receive his American degree, an award that only a half a percent of FFA participants receive.

It all started in 1981, when Pat and Sharlene Daninger met at an FFA seminar in Rochester, Minn., where Pat was serving as state sentinel and Sharlene was a district officer.

âÄúWe met right after high school graduation, and then we both graduated from the U,âÄù Pat said. âÄúFour years [after we met,] we were married and had four kids.âÄù

Erin, who is one of only four finalists for the national award, said she was shocked to find out she was chosen.

âÄúMy adviser called in the beginning of August and was just talking about stuff I needed to get done, and then he said, âÄòOh by the way, did you hear that youâÄôre a national finalist?âÄôâÄù Erin said.

Proficiency awards are presented to FFA members who, âÄúthrough their supervised agricultural experiences, have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward their future careers,âÄù according to the FFAâÄôs website.

ErinâÄôs supervised experience came from her dairy farm at her parentâÄôs home in Forest Lake, Minn. The farm has been in the Daninger family since 1902, and has about 60 Holstein dairy cows on about 250 acres.

For her proficiency application, Erin compiled four years worth of records âÄî information about the genetics of the herd, hours she worked with the cows and the amount of money she was paid âÄî and compressed about 30 pages of information into two.

âÄúI would say I put about 25 hours of work into the application,âÄù she said.

She included three skills she learned on the farm, including implementing proper milking procedures and training dairy cattle, and six activities she does on the farm.

Pat Daninger said Erin has always been a leader.

âÄúWhen she was in elementary school and they were talking about making good choices, Erin said, âÄòI would do the right thing, and all my buddies would follow me,âÄô and I thought, âÄòWow, where did that come from?âÄôâÄù he said. âÄúThatâÄôs the way it has gone with her. She kind of leads by example and people follow her.âÄù

Pat and Sharlene said they are excited to be able to attend the international conference and support their kids, especially since making the trip wasnâÄôt something they thought they would be able to do.

Erin and Luke took it upon themselves to buy their parents a ticket to the national convention as an anniversary gift. They even went so far as to find someone to take care of the cows while theyâÄôre gone.

âÄúWeâÄôre proud as can be,âÄù Pat said, âÄúSheâÄôs always trying to better herself and the people around her and improve their lives.âÄù