Three, two, one . . . butter cow!

People unveil the butter sculpture at the Illinois State Fair. The sculpture weighs 800 pounds.

Lorilee Schultz watches. Why? Because she’s in the sculpture. She’s not literally coated in butter. Ms. Schultz is a farmer. The sculptor used her as a model for the butter person getting ready to milk the butter cow.

The Illinois State Fair has had a butter sculpture 102 times. Sarah Pratt of West Des Moines, Iowa, crafted this one.

“This year’s butter cow sculpture celebrates the Illinois dairy families like mine who ‘Harvest the Fun’ of dairy every day on our farms,” Ms. Schultz says. (“Harvest the Fun” is the theme of this year’s fair.) “What is more fun than ice-cold milk, creamy ice cream, and gooey cheese made with milk produced on the over 400 dairy farms across the great state of Illinois?”

“It’s the most fun that you’ll have all summer, coming to the Illinois State Fair,” says Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker.

This is the 170th anniversary of the Illinois State Fair. In its earliest years, the fair rotated among cities. The fair has been skipped a few times, though, including during the Civil War, World War II, and in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.

A butter cow sculpture first appeared at the fair in the early 1900s. Farmers hoped it would make people want to buy dairy products. The cow isn’t solid butter. Wood, wire, and steel help give it structure.

How many slices of toast could you butter with 800 pounds of butter? Probably more than 20,000!

But you wouldn’t want to. Most of the butter is reused from year to year.

Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds. — Proverbs 27:23