Butter popularity hits 40-year high for Americans, cows dancing with glee in Pa.

No wonder the cows are literally dancing at the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show being held this week in Harrisburg.

(Note: The cows dancing are made of butter, part of a 1,000-pound butter sculpture by a Conshohocken artist on display at the farm show.)

Americans' consumption of butter has hit a 40-year high, according to an organization known as the American Butter Institute (ABI), a 106-year-old organization that lobbies on behalf of 90 percent of the country's butter producers.

In 2012, per capita consumption reached 5.6 pounds, up a whole pound and a half from just 15 years earlier in 1997, according to ABI.

The group announced the increased popularity of the dairy product as it unveiled a new logo. Executive director Anuja Miner said in a statement that butter's increased popularity is likely linked to recent shift away from foods containing trans fats, of which butter's main competitor margarine contains a lot.

"Margarine and other spreads are no longer viewed as healthier alternatives," Miner said.