U.S. Drought Impacts State Cow Chip Festival
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
Who would have known, that the U.S. drought could leave organizers for the Wisconsin State Cow Chip Festival scrabbling to find manure chips for the competition. The popular event attracts roughly 300 throwers and over 40,000 spectators.
"This is my 24th throw, and it's never been this difficult to find chips," said Marietta Reuter, who helps organize the festival. The drought conditions made it hard to find suitable manure in the field because most cattle stayed close to barns or shelters to stay cool which made it difficult for the manure to dry and flatten properly for cow chip purposes.
The organizing committee has to dig up some chow chip paddies in their reserve barrels in order to ensure they have enough for this year’s competition. The cow chip competition dates back to the Seventies when Sauk Prairie Area was named the ‘Cow Chip Capitol’ with the historical significance relates to the early pensioner days when they used the cow paddies as a source for fuel which was then utilized as a currency for trade.