Cow Candy

31 March 2011

There is a sugar cane industry in the area north of Brisbane.   Unfortunately, the regional sugar mill that was here for 106 years closed down a few years ago due to low sugar prices.  Most of the sugar cane fields just north of Brisbane are in a floodplain habitat and often become inundated, which makes the areas unsuitable for other crops.  A new business was created to use sugar cane as a cattle feed, similar to field-dried hay.  The company is called Cow Candy.  They take the entire cane crop, grind it up, dry it, and then bale it for export as a cattle feed.  They get approximately $300 per ton.  The cattle are not fed the Cow Candy exclusively, but rather have it mixed in with traditional dry feed.  It is believed that the sweetness of the Cow Candy will cause the cattle to consume more feed, therefore producing more milk.   The local community strongly supports this company, partly because of the aesthetic view the sugarcane provides to those living in the surrounding hill country.  Also, there is a long history of sugarcane farming in the region including some families that have been farming for at least four generations.  The Cow Candy company also produces a mulch for use in flower beds, similar to the company Organic Producers that was located in Thibodaux.  It amazes me how similar this region is to south Louisiana.

-Quenton