WEST ALLIS, Wisconsin — In Michigan this year, where dairy workers and herds have fallen ill from bird flu, a pair of unlikely prized cows are being prepped to take the state fair stage.

State fair organisers are this year featuring Milkshake and Buttercup, two life-sized fibreglass cows complete with rubber teats and water-filled udders, for a popular milking demo.

The head of the Minnesota State Fair's Moo Booth came up with a similar work around for its hands-on milking event: A fake dairy cow named Olympia.

"Normally, we'd have a real cow out there," said Jill Nathe, the fair's deputy general manager of agriculture and competition. "We just can't do that right now."

As avian influenza continues to spread, infecting cattle herds for the first time this year as well as four dairy workers, US state and county fair organisers have been forced to reimagine nostalgic summer traditions long celebrated by city and rural folk alike.

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