A sculpture made from nearly 1,000 pounds of butter was unveiled recently at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the show’s iconic milkshake served by the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association (PDA).
The sculpture, sponsored by Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program, takes its cue from the No. 1 song in 1954, “Shake, Rattle and Roll” and features a family enjoying a milkshake while watching a cow couple “shake.”
Agriculture Secretary George Greig unveiled the sculpture along with Berks County dairy farmer and president of the PDA, Lolly Lesher, PDA Executive Director Dave Smith, Pennsylvania State Dairy Princess Lu-Anne Antisdel and sculptor Jim Victor.
“For 60 years, milkshakes have been part of the Farm Show tradition of celebrating Pennsylvania agriculture,” Greig says. “What may seem like just a great drink in a plastic cup is a lot more – it’s a representation of the state’s 7,200 dairy farm families who grow Pennsylvania by driving the economy, creating jobs and supplying quality products to consumers.”
Greig says dairy is the largest segment of Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry, with milk production alone contributing nearly 35 percent of all agricultural income at more than $2.3 billion. Dairy farmers spend nearly 85 percent of their income close to home.
The PDA, together with the Valley Grange #1360 from Lewisberry, serves 140,000 of the vanilla, chocolate and mixed milkshakes each year in the show’s famous Food Court and Food Court Annex. Proceeds benefit scholarships, youth programs and agricultural education programs across the state.
“The dairymen’s milkshake is a great dairy product that has had phenomenal growth in popularity, and we are extremely proud to have the butter sculpture commemorate the 60th anniversary of our milkshake,” Smith says. PD
—From Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association
PHOTO
The 2014 Butter Sculpture celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Farm Show's iconic milkshake. Photo courtesy of Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association.
