Giant Indoor Fodder-Growing System

Giant Indoor Fodder-Growing System BUILDINGS New Techniques HydroGreen sells turnkey fodder facilities for sprouting grain for feed They recently started selling the fodder too “We decided to go ahead and put up feed centers in California to introduce feeding fodder ” says John Jarchow HydroGreen “We asked livestock producers ‘If we build the feed center will you buy the fodder?’ and they said ‘Absolutely ’” Jarchow notes that selling the turnkey facilities to individual producers faces two challenges The first is getting them to understand the value of the feed The second is the cost of the system both buildings and equipment “With HydroGreen fodder you get fiber for your animals but you also get more energy than from the unsprouted seed ” says Jarchow “Without that understanding the cost of the feed is prohibitive Indoor farming with the environmental controls needed and the cost of the machinery to automate is high ” Jarchow is confident that once livestock producers see the value received from the feed they will recognize the value of an investment in a HydroGreen Automated Vertical Pastures System The concept and the system were designed by cattle producer Dihl Grohs in 2007 to give his ranches in South Dakota Utah and Missouri a dependable source of high-quality feed regardless of the weather He came up with the concept while raising cattle in drought-prone Idaho The company makes several models with increasing numbers of levels Each level is a conveyor belt eight sections long A feed crop is grown hydroponically on each level with one level harvested and reseeded each day Jarchow says systems for individual ranches and farms are catching on “We have 14 systems out on ranches in Utah Colorado and Idaho that didn’t have enough of the feed they grew to keep their ranches going ” says Jarchow “We have a feed center going up in Riverdale Calif which will produce 34 tons of feed per day with another in the planning stage ” The company previously announced a feed agreement with a 2 100-cow dairy in South Dakota to deliver 45 tons of fodder per month “We’re working with operations in Canada Italy Saudi Arabia and elsewhere ” says Jarchow “Indoor farming makes sense Feed costs are a big issue in many areas and it takes 95 percent less water to grow the same crop indoors ” The company has mainly focused on large dairies but that may be changing “We’re looking at servicing smaller dairies that can’t justify buying their own equipment ” he says He notes that the DGS 66 which is a smaller machine puts out roughly 3 000 lbs of fodder per day The machine alone is $150 000 With a building and the HVAC and other equipment needed the price can reach $300 000 to $400 000 By contrast the California fee centers will have 10 HydroGreen DGS 808 machines per center each machine producing up to 34 000 lbs of forage per day Systems include seed storage bins with automated transport to seed cleaners and sorters to ensure maximum sprouting Seed moves to growing beds where it’s constantly watered throughout 6 days Every aspect is automated from seed preparation to harvest The nutrient-rich and high-moisture fodder will be mixed with straw The California dairies are expected to start at 20 percent fodder and move up to as much as 60 percent “HydroGreen is fodder but not all fodder is HydroGreen ” suggests Jarchow “Our seed genetics and the growing system produce a different form of the traditional fodder ” Company research indicates increased feed intake milk production conception rate and daily rate of gain all with a 48 percent reduction in methane emissions Jarchow suggests that those who make the investment due to drought concerns find the feed value is worth it even in wetter times “A Utah rancher went with HydroGreen due to lack of water but even with snow this year he kept feeding fodder ” he says “He saw what the advantages were with the enzymes and highly digestible fibers ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup HydroGreen 25781 Cottonwood Ave Sioux Falls S D 57107 ph 605-277-7271; HGinfo@hydrogreenglobal com; www hydrogreenglobal com

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