Sculptors used approximately 2,000 pounds of butter to create the 2023 butter cow display. It took approximately 450 hours to complete the sculpture and 360 of those hours were dedicated to sculpting inside the 46-degree cooler.

COLUMBUS — It’s shaping up to be a hot summer, but there’s one beloved attraction that is keeping it cool at the Ohio State Fair.

More than a ton of butter has arrived at the Ohio State Fairgrounds, and sculpting of the 2024 butter cow, calf and other surprise sculptures began Monday.

The sculptors start by building wooden and steel frames to support the weight of the butter.

From 55-pound blocks, they slice the butter into manageable loaves and layer it to cover the frames. After many hours of molding and smoothing the butter in a 46-degree cooler, each sculpture begins to take shape. Fine details are added last.

On behalf of Ohio’s dairy farmers, the American Dairy Association Mideast selects a theme each year to feature in butter that is non-political and non-controversial with broad audience appeal. The 2023 display celebrated Ohio’s rich history of innovation and took 2,000 pounds of butter and around 400 hours to complete.

That particular display featured several notable Ohio inventors and their groundbreaking inventions alongside the traditional cow and calf. It included Thomas Edison with a light bulb and a phonograph, Garrett Morgan with a three-position traffic signal, Josephine Cochrane with a hand-powered dishwasher and James Spangler with a portable vacuum cleaner.

The butter display is one of the Ohio State Fair’s oldest traditions, attracting more than 500,000 visitors each year. The theme is kept a secret as sculptors work and is unveiled just before the

fair gates open, reflecting positive ideals in Ohio for more than 60 years. Several of its exhibits

gain national media attention with themes that have universal appeal.

The display is located in the Dairy Products Building at the Ohio Expo Center, home of the Ohio

State Fair. The Dairy Products Building is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and offers a

variety of Ohio-produced dairy foods including ice cream, milkshakes, cheese sandwiches and

milk. The fair will run from July 24 through Aug. 4.

The butter sculpture display and the Dairy Products Building are sponsored by the American

Dairy Association Mideast, Ohio’s dairy-farmer funded marketing and promotion program

serving about 1,400 Ohio dairy farms. For more information, visit drink-milk.com.