2024 Ohio State Fair butter cow display honors America’s elite athletes

COLUMBUS — On behalf of Ohio’s dairy farmers, the 2024 butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair salutes our nation’s elite athletes as they flip, jump and zoom to glory.

“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.”

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.

This year’s buttery masterpieces were crafted from 2,000 pounds of butter 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,” said lead sculptor Paul Brooke. “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.

“An eight-ounce glass of milk – whether white, chocolate or lactose-free – provides eight grams of high-quality protein and promotes the three Rs of recovery, helping athletes rebuild, refuel and rehydrate after training,” Crabtree said.

Hard work and the drive to do their best is something dairy farmers can relate to. They are committed to producing high-quality milk to nourish athletes and everyone in their communities.

“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.”

This isn’t the first time the annual butter display has honored athletes. The 2017 display featured high school athletes fueled by chocolate milk, the 2010 display recognized two NFL players football players from the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, and the 1997 display included an Ohio State football player and cheerleader.

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 Ohio State Fair is scheduled to run from July 24 through Aug. 4, 2024 at the Ohio Expo Center.  While visiting the Dairy Products Building, visitors can enjoy a variety of Ohio-produced dairy foods including ice cream, milkshakes, cheese sandwiches and milk. Fair visitors can also learn how Ohio’s dairy farmers care for their cows, land and communities. For more information, visit www.drink-milk.com.

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.

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