On behalf of Ohio’s dairy farmers, the 2024 butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair salutes elite athletes.

The 2024 display carved out of 2,000 pounds of butter is a creative, fun way to showcase Ohio’s dairy industry and connect with Ohio State Fairgoers, said Pickaway County dairy farmer Greg Conrad, who milks 85 Ayrshire, Holstein and Red and White Holsteins.

“We’re happy with this display every year. We’re excited about it and being dairy farmers, we love the excitement around the State Fair. The dairy cow is a super athlete. We’ve made great strides in production year after year in in dairy farming. We try to provide all the nutrients that she needs to survive and thrive and give her the best comfort that we know how. We use a lot of superior genetics so that each generation has a better chance of being even better than the generation before,” Conrad said.

“Every year now they add more and make it a great display. It’s just great to show the public what can be done with butter. We’re very proud of our all of our products in the dairy industry, but butter is a highlight for us. We love the fact that everybody tries to imitate butter flavor. We have the real thing and we’re proud of that.”

The iconic butter cow and calf are sporting butter medallions and proudly stand next to life-size butter sculptures of four elite athletes: a track and field para athlete at the starting line, a gymnast doing a handstand on the balance beam, a cyclist rounding a curve and a high-jumper clearing the bar.

“Athletes are dedicated to perfecting their craft, pushing their limits and striving for excellence,” said Jenny Crabtree, senior vice president of communications, American Dairy Association Mideast. “Elite athletes become role models, inspiring us all to chase our dreams and believe in our potential.”

This year’s buttery masterpieces were crafted by a team of Ohio-based technical sculptors led by Paul Brooke of Cincinnati. His team consists of Tammy Buerk of West Chester, Erin Birum of Columbus, dairy farmer Matt Davidson of Sidney and Joe Metzler of Auburn. The team spent approximately 450 hours to complete the display, with 375 hours dedicated to sculpting inside the 46-degree cooler.

Sculptors layer butter onto steel and wooden armatures and gradually refine their shape before chiseling in the fine details. This year’s display presented a unique challenge to depict a snapshot of athletes as they participate in their sport.

“Every year we try to do something different we’ve never done before, and this year it was conveying the true-to-life motion of each athlete in action,” Brooke said. “We had to get very creative with the armatures to support the massive weight of the butter. For example, there is a hidden armature to hold up the cyclist as he leans into a curve, and the high-jumper is actually hanging from the ceiling like Spider-Man, so he appears to be jumping over the bar.”

Presented by the American Dairy Association Mideast, the display celebrates the hard work and dedication that athletes demonstrate every day to rise to the highest levels of competition. That includes training hard each day, as well as eating a balanced diet, including dairy foods like milk, cheese and yogurt that provide essential nutrients for strength, immunity and overall well-being.

“Dairy farmers are passionate about caring for their land and their cows,” Crabtree said. “The cows are considered the MVP of the farm, which is why they’re sporting butter medallions in this year’s display.”

The butter cow display attracts more than 500,000 visitors at the Ohio State Fair, often gaining nationwide recognition and media attention. A long-standing tradition for Ohio’s more than 1,400 dairy farm families, the American Dairy Association Mideast chooses an icon or theme to feature in butter that is non-political, non-controversial and reflects optimism and broad audience appeal. Each year, the theme of the butter cow display is one of the best-kept secrets leading up to the fair.

The butter display and the Dairy Products Building are sponsored by the American Dairy Association Mideast, Ohio’s dairy farmer-funded marketing and promotion program. The butter was donated in part by Dairy Farmers of America, and the mural behind the butter display was painted by Ted Hendricks of Cincinnati.