Butter Believe It: The Surprising Fate of the Iowa State Fair Butter Cow

It's not officially summer in the Hawkeye State without a visit to the Iowa State Fair.

This year's fair kicked off on August 8th and will run until August 18th.

There are so many things that people have come to expect from the Iowa State Fair over the years.

You'll always be able to find delicious, deep-fried food, see stellar concerts at the Grandstand, and of course the iconic butter cow and accompanying statues.

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The History of the Iowa State Fair Butter Cow

The very first butter cow in Iowa State Fair history was sculpted in 1911 by J.K. Daniels. There have been five butter sculptors that have carried on this Des Moines tradition.

Currently, Sarah Pratt of West Des Moines holds the prominent role.

Pratt took over the position in 2006 after apprenticing with Norma “Duffy” Lyon, the first woman to sculpt these butter creations for the fair, according to the official state fair website.

Each year the sculptor creates a cow out of butter using wood, metal, wire, steel mesh frame, and a whole lot of butter.

Approximately 600 pounds of "low moisture, pure cream Iowa butter."

Along with the Butter Cow, there are companion sculptures that differ from year to year. This additional tradition began in 1996 with a dairy recreation of Grant Wood’s famous “American Gothic.”

This year, the Iowa State Fair is "celebrating notable nighttime celebrities" such as Johnny Carson, Jimmy Fallon, and Des Moines native Steve Higgins.

But What Do They Do with All Of that Butter Once the Fair Is Over?

If you're like me, you spend half the time you're checking out these sculptures wondering what on Earth they do with all that butter.

Do they use it to butter a few hundred thousand pancakes?

Do they donate the butter to people in need of some extra dairy?

It turns out, they don't necessarily throw it out, they store it away for the next year.

In a story from AXIOS Des Moines, it's confirmed that the butter it's reused by the sculptor for up to ten years.

The butter reportedly smells like either parmesan cheese or blue cheese.

Iowa's butter sculptor Sarah Pratt doesn't want visitors to think they're constantly working with some gnarly dairy.

"I try to reframe people’s minds, so they don't just think, "rancid butter," she said in a Washington Post article.

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