Butter Cow sculptures at 2025 Ohio State Fair depict construction site
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The unofficial start to the 2025 Ohio State Fair is here as organizers unveiled this year’s dairy art.
The American Dairy Association Mideast revealed this year’s Butter Cow sculpture designs to the state on Tuesday. The theme for this year’s sculpture is “Pardon our Dust!” and features cows and construction workers to highlight upcoming renovations at the state fairgrounds, including the Dairy Products Building. The renovations are scheduled to be completed in 2026.
The traditional cow and calf are equipped with butter hard-hats alongside three construction workers: One working a jackhammer, another holding a blueprint, and the last one on a walkie talkie. Scaffolding, cones, and more make up the taped up dairy construction site.
The butter cow and calf are sporting hard hats in this year’s butter sculpture display which depicts a butter construction site. (Courtesy Photo / American Dairy Association Mideast)
Included in this year’s butter cow display is a construction worker looking at blueprints. (Courtesy Photo / American Dairy Association Mideast)
A butter construction worker operates a jackhammer as part of the 2025 butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair. (Courtesy Photo / American Dairy Association Mideast)
The butter display at the Ohio State Fair includes a construction worker on a two-way radio as part of the butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair. (Courtesy Photo / American Dairy Association Mideast)
The 2025 butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair asks fairgoers to “Pardon Our Dust!” Major renovations are underway across the fairgrounds, including in the historic Dairy Products Building, the home of the butter cow and calf. (Courtesy Photo / American Dairy Association Mideast)
The iconic butter cow and calf sport hard hats in this year’s butter display at the Ohio State Fair. They stand alongside three construction workers, scaffolding, sawhorses and safety cones – all sculpted in butter. (Courtesy Photo / American Dairy Association Mideast)
The 2025 butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair is made from 2,000 of butter and depicts a construction site as exciting changes are underway in the historic Dairy Products Building, the home of the butter cow and calf. (Courtesy Photo / American Dairy Association Mideast)
Lead sculptor Paul Brooke of Cincinnati, Ohio, works on the sculpture of a construction worker in this year’s butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair. (Courtesy Photo / American Dairy Association Mideast)
Sculptor Gabriela Schmidt of Akron, Ohio, works on sculpting a construction worker holding a two-way radio in the butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair. (Courtesy Photo / American Dairy Association Mideast)
Rendering of the interior of the Dairy Building. (Courtesy Photo / American Dairy Association Mideast)
Rendering of the exterior of the Dairy Building. (Courtesy Photo / American Dairy Association Mideast)
Butter Cow sculptures have been part of the Ohio State Fair for well over 100 years with the first being made as part of a contest in 1903. The fair having themes alongside the traditional cow and calf has been around since the 1960s. Artists use 2,000 pounds of butter to make the sculpture and work for nearly 400 hours, mostly in a cooler set at 46 degrees, to make the vision come to life.
Last year, the sculptures honored Ohio athletes in anticipation for the 2024 Paris Olympics while the 2023 sculptures were in honor of innovators from the Buckeye State. Other past themes include the Apollo 11 moon landing, a Christmas Story, celebrating the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2016 NBA title, and Darth Vader.
Ohio State Fair Butter Cow history
The traditional butter cow and calf are being shown by young exhibitors inside the butter cooler at the Ohio State Fair this year. The display, presented by the American Dairy Association Mideast, celebrates the fair’s agricultural heritage.
The Ohio State Fair’s annual butter display, sponsored by the American Dairy Association Mideast, pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Included in this year’s butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair is a life-size butter sculpture of an elite gymnast balancing on her hands on a balance beam.
The 2015 Ohio State Fair butter sculptures celebrating the Ohio State football team’s 2014 College Football Playoff championship. (NBC4 File Photo)
2017 Ohio State Fair butter sculpture celebrating chocolate milk
A life-size butter sculpture of a cyclist is included in this year’s butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair. Sculptors built a hidden armature to convey the motion of the cyclist leaning to the side as he rounds a curve.
2016 Ohio State Fair butter sculptures celebrating the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA championship.
Ohio State Fair butter sculpture of a Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals player. (NBC4 File Photo)
Life-size butter sculptures of the Apollo 11 space crew are featured in this year’s annual butter display presented by the American Dairy Association Mideast.
2015 Ohio State Fair butter sculpture of Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer after winning the 2014 college football national championship. (NBC4 File Photo)
Garrett Morgan, who moved to Ohio when he was a teenager, is sculpted in butter alongside his invention, the three-position traffic signal, in this year’s butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair. (Courtesy/ American Dairy Association Mideast)
The 2023 butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair celebrates Ohio’s rich history of innovation and features several notable Ohio inventors alongside their groundbreaking inventions. (Courtesy/ American Dairy Association Mideast)
In this year’s butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair, the iconic butter cow and calf proudly wear their butter medallions as they stand next to four elite athletes.
A life-size butter sculpture of Josephine Cochrane, who was born in Ashtabula County, stands beside her invention, the hand-powered dishwasher, in this year’s butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair. (Courtesy/ American Dairy Association Mideast)
James Spangler and the first electric, portable vacuum cleaner are sculpted in butter in this year’s butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair. Spangler invented the vacuum cleaner while working as a janitor in Canton. (Courtesy/ American Dairy Association Mideast)
Ohio State Fair Butter Cow sculptures
Erin Birum, of Columbus, carves the fine details into the sculpture of Ohio inventor Josephine Cochrane. A team of Ohio-based sculptors spent 360 hours in a 46-degree cooler to create this year’s butter cow display at the Ohio State Fair.
This year’s state fair officially gets underway on Wednesday and will conclude on Aug. 3. From unique food to fun-filled games, the fair will also have concerts each day with Foreigner, T-Pain, and Trace Adkins among this year’s performers.
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