LYNCHBURG, Tenn. (RFD-TV) — Some Tennessee ranchers will soon be without a program that offered free feed for their livestock, after Jack Daniel’s announced its decision to end its decades-long Cow Feeder Program in March.
It allows the company to provide free or reduced-cost feed for cattle to local farmers in the form of “slop,” a byproduct produced during the whiskey-making process.
According to the company’s marketing materials, Jack Daniel’s forged a partnership with a local energy producer in 2023 for their anaerobic digester, which requires the provision of as many as 500,000 gallons of spent distillers’ grain each day to power it. That increase in demand led the company to the decision to redirect the spent grain “slop” from the feeder program.
“On an ever-evolving sustainability journey, the Jack Daniel’s Distillery and 3 Rivers Energy Partners partnered in 2023 on an anaerobic digester project located along Good Branch Road in Moore County,” reads official language on Jack Daniel’s website. “The facility provides the Distillery with renewable energy to run its operations and local farmers with a source of natural fertilizer to grow the corn needed to craft our whiskey.”
The Lynchburg Times reports that the cow feeder program has served around 100 farmers operating near the iconic Tennessee distillery. Jack Daniel’s representatives stated that farmers were informed the program would end in early 2022.
We asked Jack Daniel’s representative if the company has a message to farmers impacted by this move. In a statement to RFD-TV, they told us:
“I can confirm that this program will be formally concluding on March 31, as we transition to a new, long-term sustainability solution. This decision follows years of careful consideration and was communicated with advance notice, starting with our initial announcement back in March 2022.
This evolution is driven by a partnership with Three Rivers Energy that allows us to achieve key environmental standards and secure the future of our brand, ensuring our continued ability to market and sell Jack Daniel’s globally.
The new anaerobic digester facility requires a consistent, high volume of the spent grain—specifically, we are contractually obligated to provide between 350,000 and 500,000 gallons of spent distiller’s grain per day. This commitment necessitates the redirection of all our current volume of “slop,” which is why we must respectfully sunset the Cow Feeder Program for our local farmers.
We understand this change is significant, and we remain dedicated to our neighbors as we all adapt to this new era.”
Corey Rosenbusch with The Fertilizer Institute joined us to discuss supply chain disruptions and what farmers should watch as global tensions impact fertilizer markets.
