Pennsylvania Butter Melts into Renewable Engergy

Art comes in all shapes, forms, and sizes. This is certainly true of the 101st annual Pennsylvania Farm Show butter sculpture. The 2017 butter sculpture has just been revealed. Prepare to be dazzled by the art of over 1,000 pounds of sculpted dairy.

In the past, sculptures have consisted of livestock and produce, but this year, a complete farm ecosystem was carved entirely out of butter. Butter mountains, rivers, trees and cows. You name it.

Marie Pelton and Jim Victor are the marital team and professional sculptors behind the masterpiece. The sculpture was titled “A Culture of Stewardship,” and paid homage to dairy farmers as stewards of the community.

Pelton and Victor began the sculpture in mid-December to prepare for the event. Pelton described the process as a welcome challenge.

“With something like this, you’re almost kind of flying by the seat of your pants,” Pelton said. “So you’re using your imagination a lot — it’s not going to come out exactly the way the original sketch did. And so you kind of fill in the spots and just make it interesting to look at.”

After the farm show closes, the butter will be taken to a dairy farm in Juniata County where it will be converted into renewable energy.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show is the largest indoor agricultural event in the United States. It runs through January 14th and features over 10,000 exhibits. Admission is free.

Photo by Dan Gleiter

Chamberlain Smith is a freelance writer based in Athens, Georgia.