At Ohio State Fair, Butter Sculptures Highlight Dairy Industry

By Nadia Ramlagan
Ohio News Connection

This week at the Ohio State Fair, residents can view 2,000 pounds of butter sculpted into cows and elite athletes, honoring the state’s dairy industry and the Olympics.

There are approximately 1,400 dairy farmers producing about 650 million gallons in the state.

Scott Higgins, president and CEO of the American Dairy Association Mideast, said the dairy industry is a major economic player in rural communities.

“From our producers to our processor manufacturers is $35 billion to the economic impact of the state of Ohio,” Higgins said. “In total, we represent about 136,000 jobs just in Ohio alone.”

Ohio ranks 11th among states for dairy production. Nationwide, the dairy industry creates more than 3 million jobs and has an overall economic impact of approximately $793 billion, according to the American Dairy Association.

Jenny Crabtree, senior vice president of communications for the American Dairy Association Mideast, said the butter sculptures were created by a team led by Paul Brooke of Cincinnati. She said the Ohio State Fair is a great opportunity to showcase the work.

“Ohio’s dairy farmers have been a part of the Ohio State Fair for many, many years,” Crabtree said. “It’s a tradition that they are so proud of.”

Higgins said whether it is tire repair, feed sales or other farmer services, all create jobs to keep the fabric of local communities intact. He said the future of the dairy industry will require technical knowledge of processing and manufacturing, and hopes the next generation of Ohioans considers a career in dairy.

“It’s really the fabric of our local communities,” Higgins said. “Because so many people rely on jobs or the results of the needs of those farms to supply them with the tools, the equipment, the services they need to keep the business going.”

Pictured at top: Life-size butter sculptures included in this year’s display at the Ohio State Fair. (American Dairy Association Mideast)

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.