The 2009 New York State Fair butter sculpture was unveiled yesterday in Syracuse, N.Y.
This year’s State Fair butter sculpture celebrates the old-time milk delivery system — the milk man. But with a twist: The “milk man” is actually a cow taking on the character of the hardy soul was up at the crack of dawn each day to deliver milk, cream and butter right to the doorsteps of his customers in cities and towns throughout Central New York, New York state and the country.
The sculpture shows the old-fashioned milk truck driven by a cow — providing the name for the sculpture, “Cow Power.” But it goes one step further, showing how cows not only make the milk, but they help generate energy that can power local communities through the use of methane digesters.
The digesters use cow manure to make methane gas that then generates electricity. Connie Patterson of Patterson Farms in Aurelius, Cayuga County, was one of the first in the state to put a digester on a farm. She uses it to generate all the electricity for her farm.
Be sure to stop into the Dairy Products Building at the State Fair to check out the sculpture.