A 272-kg butter sculpture displayed at The Big E agricultural fair in Massachusetts will get a second life as renewable energy, with the butter set to be processed in an anaerobic digester at a dairy farm after the event, Dairy News Today reported.
The initiative is being carried out by fair organiser Eastern States Exposition, dairy cooperative Agri-Mark and Vanguard Renewables. Once the fair concludes, the butter will be removed from the sculpture’s metal frame, packaged and transported to Barstow’s Longview Farm in Hadley, a member farm of Agri-Mark.
The farm operates an anaerobic digester that processes organic waste from the food and agricultural sectors. In the sealed facility, organic material breaks down in the absence of oxygen to produce biogas. After purification, the gas can be used for heating, electricity generation or as a transportation fuel.
The digestion process also produces nutrient-rich material that can be applied to farmland as organic fertiliser. This allows nutrients to return to agricultural production while reducing dependence on mineral fertilisers.
Agri-Mark supplied the butter used for the sculpture, which was created to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States. Sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton created the composition with support from the Massachusetts Dairy Promotion Board.
The sculpture features George Washington on horseback along with US landmarks and cultural symbols.
The project demonstrates how food materials that can no longer be returned to the food supply chain can be put to productive use. Processing the butter through anaerobic digestion reduces the amount of organic waste sent to landfills while generating renewable energy that can support agricultural operations.
Agri-Mark represents dairy farmers across New England and New York State, while Vanguard Renewables develops and operates on-farm anaerobic digesters that convert waste from food processing, livestock farming and crop production into renewable natural gas.
