Scroll down if you want to see the butter sculpture.
GEDDES, N.Y. — The 2026 Great New York State Fair Butter Sculpture has been revealed. This year, the theme is “250 Years of American Traditions: New York Style.”
It pays tribute to the people, places and moments that brought people together. It features baseball for Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, N.Y., a dairy farmer and her cow, a giant Ferris wheel and the Empire State Building.
This year, the theme is “250 Years of American Traditions: New York Style.” It pays tribute to the people, places and moments that brought people together. It features Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, N.Y., a dairy farmer and her cow, a giant Ferris wheel and the Empire State Building. (Aug. 25, 2026) (PHOTO BY CNY CENTRAL)
It is the 24th consecutive sculpture built by sculptors Jim Vector and Marie Pelton. It consists of 800 pounds of butter. It took 11 days to sculpt. There have been 58 butter sculptures in the NYS Fair’s history.
The American Dairy Association North East said the butter comes from O-AT-KA Milk Products in Batavia, N.Y. The butter is out of specification for retail sale “for a variety of reasons, so American Dairy Association North East works with the sculptors to put it to good use by creating a beautiful piece of art.”
Once the fair concludes, the butter will return to Noblehurst Farms in Pavilion, N.Y., where it will be recycled through an anaerobic digester that converts it into renewable energy.
The American Dairy Association said the recycled butter can power one home for three days.