COLUMBUS – For the first time since 2019, the American Dairy Association Mideast’s annual butter cow display is back at the Ohio State Fair and is bigger than ever, paying homage to the fair’s rich agricultural heritage.

The Ohio State Fair began more than 170 years ago and since then, the fair has grown, welcoming hundreds of thousands of guests each year to enjoy a variety of food, attractions, rides and concerts. But the roots of the fair remain grounded in agriculture, highlighting farm families and their contributions to our communities.

This year’s display features 10 life-size butter sculptures, including the traditional cow and calf, and for the first time ever, other farm animals — a pig, a lamb and a chicken — all being proudly shown by children at the fair where they are being recognized for their hard work.

The display was created by expert sculptors over hundreds of hours in a 46-degree cooler that houses the buttery creations. Typically, the butter display is made from around 2,000 pounds, but this year’s record-breaking butter display is made of 2,530 pounds of butter, making it the biggest display in the fair’s history.

The annual butter display is presented by the American Dairy Association Mideast, and the theme is one of the best kept secrets leading up to the fair. This year’s display is expected to attract more than 500,000 fairgoers to the Dairy Products Building, where they can also learn about Ohio’s dairy farmers and enjoy delicious dairy foods including ice cream, milkshakes, cheese sandwiches and milk.