SPRINGFIELD, Ill. 鈥� With the 2023 Illinois State Fair about to get underway, Gov. JB Pritzker and Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II officially unveiled this year鈥檚 butter cow.
The cow was sculpted by artist Sarah Pratt and inspired by dairy farmer Lorilee Schultz, from Mill-R-Mor Dairy in Orangeville, who is depicted harvesting milk from one of her cows. The theme of this year鈥檚 State Fair is 鈥淗arvest the Fun.鈥�
This year鈥檚 display also features a second, smaller sculpture in a separate display case depicting Schultz鈥檚 daughter, Lucy, petting a calf.
鈥淭his year's butter cow sculpture celebrates the Illinois dairy farm families like mine who harvest the fun of dairy every day on our farms,鈥� Schultz said at the unveiling ceremony. 鈥淲hat is more fun than ice cold milk, creamy ice cream and gooey cheese made with milk produced on over 400 dairy farms across the great state of Illinois?鈥�
The sculpture will remain on display in the Dairy Building of the fairgrounds in Springfield for the duration of the fair, which runs Aug. 10-20. The sculpture is also viewable on the fair鈥檚 .
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