Since 2006, the American Dairy Association of Indiana has brought in over 1,000 pounds of cheese to the State Fair and turned it into a spectacle for fairgoers. This year’s sculpture was on point with the theme of the fair, as usual, with ADAI mascot Buttercup throwing down a dunk surrounded by dairy nutritional facts.
A large crowd was on hand for the sculpture unveiling on Wednesday. Indiana Dairy CEO Jenni Browning tells Hoosier Ag Today why this is so important for them.
“The crowd here today—it’s a great way to grab the public’s attention and to be able to talk about dairy and to talk about the food that the dairy farmers create. So, just like the TikToks and all that, we have to make it interesting. And carving art out of over 1,000 pounds of cheese definitely gets people’s attention.”
Pace Dairy in Crawfordsville donates the big blocks of cheese that eventually become art. Bill Koons with Pace Dairy says they’re happy to be involved.
“We’re really proud of what we do at Pace Dairy with making all the cheese for the Kroger divisions. and we like to really share what we do. This is just a part of that. It’s a wonderful thing to share by donating this and promote milk, promote cheese, and really show off what we can do.”
While you’re at the fair checking out the cheese sculpture in the Ag/Hort building, Browning encourages you to stop by The Dairy Bar for some food and treats.
“Every year we churn out about 70,000 milkshakes and then also about 50,000 grilled cheeses. So, we have all of our old favorites back. We have strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate milkshakes. We brought back the mint cookie milkshake with the Thin Mint cookie on top. Our new grilled cheese this year is the Italian Melt. So, that’s provolone on sourdough with pesto served with marinara sauce.”
Check out the HAT video of the cheese sculpture unveiling above and on our social media channels- @hoosieragtoday.