In the US, 272 kg of Butter from an Exhibition Sculpture Will Be Converted into Biogas on a Dairy Farm

The project is being carried out by fair organizer Eastern States Exposition, dairy cooperative Agri-Mark, and Vanguard Renewables. After the event ends, the butter will be removed from the sculpture’s metal frame, packaged, and delivered to Barstow’s Longview Farm in Hadley. The farm is a member of Agri-Mark.

The farm operates a Vanguard Renewables anaerobic digester that processes organic waste from the food and agricultural sectors. Inside the sealed facility, organic material decomposes in the absence of oxygen, producing biogas. Once purified, the gas can be used to heat buildings, generate electricity, or serve as transportation fuel.

The material remaining after digestion contains nutrients and can be applied to fields as organic fertilizer. This allows some of the nutrients to be returned to agricultural use and reduces the need for mineral fertilizers.

The butter for the sculpture was supplied by the Agri-Mark cooperative. The composition, dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the United States, was created by sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton with support from the Massachusetts Dairy Promotion Board. Its central elements include George Washington on horseback, American landmarks, and cultural symbols.

Converting the butter in an anaerobic digester demonstrates one way of managing food materials that can no longer be returned to the food supply chain. Using such waste to produce renewable gas simultaneously reduces the volume of organic material sent to landfills and creates an additional source of energy for agricultural enterprises.

Agri-Mark represents dairy farmers across New England and New York State. Vanguard Renewables builds and operates on-farm anaerobic digesters that convert waste from the food industry, livestock farming, and crop production into renewable natural gas.