Land O' Lakes' new product breaks butter tradition

A Minnesota mainstay in America's refrigerators says its newest product is a nod to consumer demand for convenience. Land O' Lakes today says it will start offering its 1-pound package of salted butter in eight "half sticks," breaking the tradition of the standard pack of four sticks. This means that butter lovers won't be rewrapping those half-used quarter-pound sticks in that waxy paper that gets your fingers all greasy before putting them back in the fridge. Rather, they can reach for a fresh 1/8th-pound fresh stick instead. The new half sticks will first be offered in 21 Eastern and Southern states. Half sticks in half-pound packages of Land O'Lakes salted butter have been available on a limited basis since 2006. Land O'Lakes of Arden Hills has been making butter for 87 years. --PAUL WALSH