Rum and Milk Remains the Perfect Combination for Australian Dairy Farmers - Cowsmo

Rum and Milk Remains the Perfect Combination for Australian Dairy Farmers

A sunshine Coast hinterland dairy farmer is maximizing his herd’s milk production thanks to a by-product from the production of one of Australia’s finest rums.

The dunder is produced from Australia’s first-ever organically certified molasses. © Australian Dairy Farmer

Ray DeVere, River Ridge Dairies, Kureelpa, Qld, says feeding his herd dunder, a by-product from locally produced Nil Desperandum rum, had resulted in his herd is producing up to an extra 250 litres of milk a day.

“The cows have a choice in what they eat,” Mr Devere said.

“The paddocks are full of dense grass, but all 250 head of cattle race to drink the 1000 litres of dunder we put out each day,” Mr DeVere said.

Nil Desperandum’s Michael Conrad said the dunder was a produced from Australia’s first-ever organically certified molasses.

“At Nil Desperandum, we’re not producing a regular Queensland rum, we’re producing the single malt of rums,” Mr Conrad said.

“To make something exceptional, we’ve used exceptional ingredients including the very best unprocessed, pure, natural, and only certified organic molasses in Australia.

“High quality molasses gives rum that smooth, deep, warm flavor – and now we know it also makes cattle happy, fat and highly productive.”

Nil Desperandum(Latin for ‘nothing to despair’ or ‘no worries’ in the venacular) is donating more than 5000 litres of dunder each week to local farmers.

“We never imagined that in an attempt to make liquid gold for everyone’s bar we’d also make liquid gold for an animal feeder,” Mr Conrad said.

Wagyu producer Jeremy Atkins is mixing the dunder with brewers grain.

“My livestock have never been healthier,” Mr Atkins said.

“The Nil Desperandum dunder delivery days are the best days of the week. The cattle love the thick, sticky, yeast-rich liquid and I enjoy the results on the scales.

“It combines to make a sweet and luscious, protein-rich porridge, which healthily conditions a beast quickly. But it also makes a positive stance towards holistic land management – because what goes in must come out.

“We’ve discovered the animal waste is far more mineral rich from the dunder, so we are seeing signs of the added benefits of fertilising those nutrients back into our soil and pastures.”

The first batch of Nil Desperandum was launched this month, and the overwhelming demand for this new-styled Queensland rum means the team will be producing a lot more rum … and dunder.

“The more rum we sell the more dunder we have available. It’s a win-win, and based on the results we’ve seen with Ray and Jeremy’s livestock, we hope to expand the dunder donation program,” Mr Conrad said.

Nil Desperandum’s limited-edition rum ‘FIRST’ is available either online or the distillery door in Woombye. Future releases will include blended rums and additional limited editions.

 

Source: Australian Dairy Farmer

Scroll to Top