Just when we thought that the world couldn’t get any stranger, we read a story about a farmer who’s feeding his cows on candy.
Say what?
That’s right. The draught is so bad out in the Midwest that one Kentucky farmer has taken to feeding cows with second-hand candy. He mixes it with an “ethanol by-product and a mineral nutrient.” So if your steaks taste a little sweeter or your milk’s a little chocolate-y, you’ll know why.
Oddly enough, he’s not feeding them on candy corns – which we feel would’ve been the obvious choice.
Apparently, this happens more than you might think. Hog farmers have done it in the past to help boost the caloric intake, so giving some Kentucky cows a little hard candy can’t be all that bad, right? So far there haven’t been any side effects from feeding the cows with candy. And it looks like the rains might come soon, so perhaps it’ll only be a quick fix.
But it got us to thinking: what if we offered a whole livestock lines of delicious treats? Then farmers could buy candy online to save themselves a couple of bucks, and we could corner a niche that no one else has. We’re thinking gummy worms for chickens, maybe some Black Crows candy for people who grow corn. (You could tape them to your scarecrows for extra oomph.) We still think candy corn makes the most sense for beef and dairy farmers, though.
And for a healthier choice, the farmers could throw some dried fruit and nuts into the mix.
What do you think? What would you add to our Livestock Line – and which animals would eat what? Give us some suggestions in our comments section!