Benton County Dairy Princess Sits For Butter Sculpture at State Fair

(KNSI) – It was in the upper 70s Thursday at the Minnesota State Fair, but Benton County Dairy Princess Heidi Montag had her winter coat with her as it was her turn to have her likeness carved in a 90-pound block of butter.

It’s an honor all Princess Kay finalists get to enjoy. In a neat twist, she tells KNSI that she personally knows the man doing the carving. “Gerry Kulzer does an absolutely amazing job. He was actually one of my high school teachers at Sauk Rapids-Rice a few years ago, and he just does such a good job. All of these butter sculptures that he’s had so far this year look absolutely amazing. They look just like the girls that I’ve gotten to know over the summer.”

Montag believes Kulzer taught photography at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School for one year, and she was enrolled in his class.

Even though she was not crowned Princess Kay, her time in farming isn’t over. “I will still be involved in agriculture. I was in FFA in high school, so I’m part of their alumni. And then I’m also a Benton Mille Lacs County Farm Bureau board member. And soon as I give up my crown, I will join the Benton County ADA as a board member as well.”

Each finalist is gifted their butter head when the fair is wrapped up. Montag jokes that she recently missed out on an opportunity to save some money on her grocery bill. “Actually, I went to Coborn’s last week, and it felt really weird buying some butter to freeze sweet corn, knowing that I was going to be getting 90 pounds of butter later in the week.”

Montag will cook and bake with her sculpture. She is passing on the butter scraps to her mother to do the same.

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