Technology overview

 

Fodder solutions designs, manufactures, markets and sells a unique range of hydroponic livestock feed growing systems. These developed systems range in daily production varying from 80lbs/36kg to 8500lbs/3800kg of production per day.

The system is a hydroponic growing room that has been specifically developed to sprout grain and legume seeds, for highly nutritious, yet cost effective livestock feed.  A selection of grains and legume seeds are spread onto the specialized growing trays and are watered at pre-determined intervals with overhead sprays. A set temperature is maintained inside the growing chamber, to ensure the best growth and highest nutritional value fodder possible.

Each day you simply slide the feed out of the trays, rinse the tray, reseed andpush the newly seeded tray into the other end of the system. The System holds enough trays to ensure you produce your desired and nominated amount of feed every day.

The sprouts grow on the Fodder Solutions specially designed sprouting trays with no growing medium. Feed-quality barley germinates within 24 hours of seeding. The barley grows in the same tray for 6-days and is ready for harvest at a 12inch high grass mat.  It takes six days to grow from seeding to feed out!

The “sprout mat” is completely edible and highly nutritious as it is a living food. The animals will eat the entire mat, roots and green growth, so there is no waste.  Fodder solutions manufacture systems in the USA, Australia,  New Zealand, Turkey, England and China. Systems are exported from these locations to other countries all over the world. 

Use of Green Feed for Finishing Cattle   (Joe Mooney, Hydroponic Fodder Production, Meat and Livestock Australia)

 Using a hydroponic shed that grows 1.5 tonnes of green feed (wet) per day. This amounts to 110 kgs of dry matter .The feed produced contains approximately 25% protein and at least 9 MJ/kg of energy. 
 
Cattle growing at 1.0 kg /day have a dry matter intake of 10 kg per day with a protein content of 12%. Pasture that has matured will have a protein content of approximately 10.5% protein. This quality of pasture will not finish cattle and will severely reduce their weight gain. Cattle can utilise pasture of lower quality provided there is adequate protein in their diet. So to utilise this pasture this fodder can be used to gain a finished article. 
For an example: Using 420 kg live weight cattle, required to grow at 1.0 kg/day. 
Feed intake = 10 kg dm/day  
Protein requirement = 12% 
Energy  =  100 MJ/day
                    
The diet should comprise 90% pasture and 10% green feed. This will give a diet containing 12% protein and have an energy content of 107 MJ/day.  A growth rate of 1.0 kgs per day will return around $2.00 on current market prices. 110kgs of green feed dry matter/day will feed 110 cattle per day resulting in a return of $220 per day

 These costs do not even compare to the costs of paddock grown fodder.  It has been estimated that the costs of insecticides, fertilisers, machinery and their running costs for cultivation and harvesting and labour of field grown feeds are 10 times greater than that of hydroponically grown feed (Prof. C.A. Arano, 1981).  Evidence is also given by Prof. C.A. Arano (in Resh, 1981) that hydroponic grass units produces animal  feed  at about one-half the cost of the produce conventionally.  This is based on the larger amounts of fuel needed in the production and transportation of traditional animal feeds. 
 
Further research has uncovered that the cost to fatten a beast on hydroponic fodder would cost around $40 – $80 over a 90-day to 120 day period.  However to fatten the same beast on grain in the same time period, to achieve the same results would incur a cost of approximately $350 depending on grain prices during this period.  
 
Another benefit associated with this method relates to annual beef production. For example, a farmer using hydroponic fodder could sell 200 head of cattle up to 3 times a year, as compared to a farmer who using a normal paddock situation, could only sell 200 head once a year.  This makes hydroponic fodder a very cost effective, profitable way to live on the land. (Joe Mooney, Hydroponic Fodder Production, Meat and Livestock Australia)