Ladies and gentleman, what you’ve all been waiting for: the winner of the 2003 design contest for Wisconsin’s commemorative quarter is … a cow head, cheese and an ear of corn.

Gov. Jim Doyle reversed a state advisory committee’s recommendation Tuesday and told the U.S. Mint to use the agricultural theme for Wisconsin’s commemorative quarter.

The results of the online voting were released Monday with 137,745 votes for agriculture, 112,907 for the explorer theme and only 97,010 votes for the deer walking by a lake.

However, the Wisconsin Commemorative Quarter Council voted 13 to eight Tuesday to endorse the early-exploration design, with a picture of a fur trapper chatting with a Native American.

“They felt it helped represent the history of Wisconsin better,” Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions spokeswoman Cheryl Weiss said.

She added that the council tried to steer away from the agriculture design because Wisconsin is stereotypically known only for its cows and being “cheeseheads.”

“They weren’t actually overriding the public vote,” Weiss said. “They took the public vote as an advisory.”

Although State Treasurer Jack Voight favored the exploration design, he said he supported the popular public decision. The council’s decision was a personal choice, he added.

“The idea [of the online voting] was to test the waters and see what kind of feedback they would get from the design choices,” Voight said.

Doyle let the council members appointed by former Gov. Scott McCallum do their work without saying which design he favored. But late Tuesday afternoon, he announced his final decision.

Doyle’s spokesman Dan Leistikow said the governor wanted to let the public have the final voice in the decision.

“The governor did not take a personal position on the design,” Leistikow said.

The design received more than 39 percent of the public votes in a poll that ended Sunday.

The 50 State Quarters Program is a 10-year initiative that began in 1999 to celebrate the history and heritage of the 50 United States in the order in which they ratified the Constitution and joined the Union.

After years of narrowing down themes and selecting designs that would fit on the back of a quarter, the decision was finally made just in time for the U.S. Mint’s Sept. 30 deadline.

“It’s been a long process,” Voight said. “Now I’m excited for the quarter to come out.”

The U.S. Mint will begin work on the coin after the U.S. Treasury secretary gives his final approval. None of the coins submitted by the states have been rejected so far.

Wisconsin, the 30th state, will be the last quarter honored next year. It will be released in October, following Michigan, Florida, Texas and Iowa, which will all be released in 2004.