Sugar cane was grown and processed on the farm to make cane syrup and molasses. The cane press was made by the L.M. Rumsey Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, Missouri in 1890, and it was not the original press used on the farm but a replacement purchased from a nearby neighbor in what is now the Garden Ridge/Bracken area. The cane press and fire pit were moved from their original location approximately 60 yards due south of the house. A horse or mule was typically hitched to the pole to turn the gears of the press; in this case, the Frisenhahns used mules for a time and later switched to a Farmall tractor. Cane was fed into the press and the sap collected in buckets, then the sap was reduced to syrup consistency over the fire pit in a metal tray, or evaporation pan, fitted with baffles.