Ohio State Fair expands farm animal family with record-setting butter cow display

The Ohio State Fair went back to its roots with this year's butter cow display, using 2,530 pounds of the dairy product — the most ever — to create the traditional cow and calf and, for the first time, a life-size pig, chicken and lamb.

This year's display is intended to highlight the agricultural roots of the state fair, which opens Wednesday and runs through Aug. 7. It depicts farm animals being shown off by kids who are being recognized for their hard work raising livestock.

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"Today we still have a very strong agricultural sector of our fair," Jenny Crabtree, senior vice president of communications at the American Dairy Association Mideast. "Farm families from all over come to the fair, bring their animals and show them, and so the display recognizes all that hard work and the history."

Ohio State Fair 2022 sets new record with butter cow display

The fair's sculptures typically use about 2,000 pounds of butter donated in part by Dairy Farmers of America. This year's display set a new record.

"The butter cow was one of the most-loved traditions here at the state fair. It dates back to the early 1900s," Crabtree said. "Since we're back in full swing with the fair, it only seemed appropriate that we have the biggest and best butter display we could have."

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The traditional butter cow and calf donned show halters and lead ropes to fit into this year's theme. An older boy holds the lead of the dairy cow, while a younger one stands to the left and proudly shows off the calf.

A sculpture of another child shows off a butter lamb, lifting its head while smiling at onlookers. On the right, a young girl stands holding a butter chicken in her arms, while a boy leans over as he brushes a butter pig.

Sculpting team spent more than 500 hours creating butter cow for Ohio State Fair

Crabtree unveiled the butter cow Tuesday on behalf of Ohio's dairy community in the Dairy Products Building at the Ohio Expo Center.

The display was created by a team of sculptors, including lead sculptor Paul Brooke, of Cincinnati, Tammy Buerk, of West Chester, and Erin Birum, of Columbus. The team worked in a large walk-in cooler kept at 46 degrees Fahrenheit to keep the butter from melting.

The sculpting team spent 600 hours working on the display, 500 of which were spent on sculpting alone.

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The sculpting team began on July 9, first building steel frames of the figures before moving on to work with the butter, which Brooke said isn’t much different than using clay.

The team used traditional sculpting tools when working on the butter, along with a few handmade tools. Once the butter was added to the frame and shaped, the team worked to add the details to the sculpture, from the number 22 on the older boy’s overalls to the veins on the butter cow’s udders.

"That's when you know you're getting close to the end and you're really putting the final touches and the real artistic ability into the sculpt," Brooke said. "So, once you get to the detailing, you know you're almost done."

After the fair, the butter will be refined, recycled and used as an ingredient in non-edible products.

History of Ohio State Fair's butter cow sculptures

This is the first butter cow reveal since 2019, when the fair honored the 50th anniversary of the moon landing with a display featuring members of the Apollo 11 crew, an astronaut suit and an American flag.

The fair put the butter cow display on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, but over the past two years, fairgoers were able to participate in the tradition at home through the #BuildYourButterCow online contest.

Ohio State Fair: State Fair's butter sculpture is out of this world

The first butter cow made its Ohio State Fair debut in 1903. Following the construction of the Dairy Products Building in the 1920s, the butter cow, and later its butter calf, became an annual fair tradition.

The fair began offering themed displays featuring additional butter figures in the early 1960s, and the American Dairy Association Mideast has since changed the subject of the display every year.

Previous butter cow displays featured scenes and characters from "A Christmas Story' in 2018; the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns in 2006; and Darth Vader in 1982.

zjohnson@gannett.com

@zariajohnson24

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State Fair 2022 butter cow sculpture sets new record