Douglas
Well-known member
Virginia has lots of barley raised for the closed before opened ethanol plant.
Greenhouse grown fodder for dairy cattle
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Douglas
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from somewhere:
Nationwide, the barley acreage is expected to increase by 30 percent - from 2.6 million acres last year to 3.3 million acres this year, according to the USDA Prospective Plantings report. The report indicated farmers in North Dakota expect to plant 980,000 acres compared to 400,000 last year, while Minnesota growers intend to plant 110,000 acres this year compared to 70,000 acres last year. Barley acreage in Montana is expected to grow from 700,000 acres last year to 810,000 this year.
Nationwide, the barley acreage is expected to increase by 30 percent - from 2.6 million acres last year to 3.3 million acres this year, according to the USDA Prospective Plantings report. The report indicated farmers in North Dakota expect to plant 980,000 acres compared to 400,000 last year, while Minnesota growers intend to plant 110,000 acres this year compared to 70,000 acres last year. Barley acreage in Montana is expected to grow from 700,000 acres last year to 810,000 this year.
Von Helman
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Douglas":2bgfp0y3 said:
I wonder if these numbers are just normal land by acre or if they include greenhouses or vertical grow systems that are calculated out to the acre ?
buildmorefarms
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Does anyone have any thoughts regarding Calcium to Phosphorous ratios in Dairy Cattle? I was sent a feed and forage report from a company that depicted a calcium
hosphorous ratio for sprouted barley fodder of .4/1. Sprouted Red Wheat Fodder was .2/1. Any comments?
hosphorous ratio for sprouted barley fodder of .4/1. Sprouted Red Wheat Fodder was .2/1. Any comments?I'm sorry to be late in coming to this thread. I'm a CPA based in the UK currently doing research on sprouted fodder produced via a hydroponics system of the sort you see pictured in one of the earlier posts. I thought it might be helpful to post some simple facts about the system because it seems clear to me that not everyone understands the process. I'd also be interested to hear from anyone who is using a similar system to learn about their experience and results.
The farm I am working with uses a sprouted barley fodder and pea mix 85/15. They operate a 7 day cycle so seeds are sown on Day 1 and harvested on Day 7, after which the seed trays are sterilised and re-seeded. No nutrients are added apart from water, although mould can be a problem and care must be taken to minimise the risk of infection. We see roughly a 400% yield in terms of weight of seed input versus weight of sprouts output, but of course this is principally water. Out of a two room shed with the growing room measuring around 100ft by 50ft we produce around 750,000 lbs of fodder annually. I should point out that hydroponic production is expensive in terms of initial set-up because of the capital cost, but thereafter doesn't appear to require very much supervision or maintenance. There are plenty of studies out there that seem to suggest that sprouted fodder is not cost-effective but I haven't so far found a cast-iron argument against them with all factors properly weighted. I can certainly believe the argument that sprouts are a more effective way to digest the grain in sprouted form - the cows I see eating it go mad for it and will eat all that is offered. They must know something?..but I fully accept the argument of an earlier poster that points out that a cow full of lettuce would not last very long.
I hope that this is helpful.
The farm I am working with uses a sprouted barley fodder and pea mix 85/15. They operate a 7 day cycle so seeds are sown on Day 1 and harvested on Day 7, after which the seed trays are sterilised and re-seeded. No nutrients are added apart from water, although mould can be a problem and care must be taken to minimise the risk of infection. We see roughly a 400% yield in terms of weight of seed input versus weight of sprouts output, but of course this is principally water. Out of a two room shed with the growing room measuring around 100ft by 50ft we produce around 750,000 lbs of fodder annually. I should point out that hydroponic production is expensive in terms of initial set-up because of the capital cost, but thereafter doesn't appear to require very much supervision or maintenance. There are plenty of studies out there that seem to suggest that sprouted fodder is not cost-effective but I haven't so far found a cast-iron argument against them with all factors properly weighted. I can certainly believe the argument that sprouts are a more effective way to digest the grain in sprouted form - the cows I see eating it go mad for it and will eat all that is offered. They must know something?..but I fully accept the argument of an earlier poster that points out that a cow full of lettuce would not last very long.
I hope that this is helpful.
greybeard
Well-known member
If that's all they get to eat, I bet they do indeed, eat all that is offered to them like mad.
Good luck with this tho.
TexasBred
Well-known member
Arpee":imbvvv3d said:
Assuming your "fodder" is 15% dry matter this should feed about 5 1/2 dairy cows daily for a year IF this is the entire ration.
I usually don't like it when old posts get brought up again, but...
I happen to visit a 240 cow dairy that was using one of these systems. I'm guessing their building (it wasn't a greenhouse) was about 32 x 48. They were "harvesting" 3 tons of sprouts per day feeding 25 lbs. per head at around 15% dry matter. This was an organic-grassfed dairy and in the summer the cows were out on pasture and in the winter I think they had haylage and maybe dry hay also.
The building was a very well insulated pole barn type building. It didn't take much energy to heat in the winter as the sprouting process produces heat. It was expensive to keep cool in the summer though and it was somewhat difficult to control the humidity during the summer also. They were also finding the importance of keeping good airflow in controlling mold.
There were a lot of challenges with the system and they weren't completely satisfied with the results so far but they seemed pretty sold on the potential. It wasn't a cheap system as they had well over a quarter million dollars invested.
It was very interesting to say the least. I don't know how it would work with beef cows, it would seem to me you would need to make it a larger part of your ration and hay and corn prices would have to be at very high levels. In the future, if land and commodity prices go way up, maybe that will be the way to go.
I happen to visit a 240 cow dairy that was using one of these systems. I'm guessing their building (it wasn't a greenhouse) was about 32 x 48. They were "harvesting" 3 tons of sprouts per day feeding 25 lbs. per head at around 15% dry matter. This was an organic-grassfed dairy and in the summer the cows were out on pasture and in the winter I think they had haylage and maybe dry hay also.
The building was a very well insulated pole barn type building. It didn't take much energy to heat in the winter as the sprouting process produces heat. It was expensive to keep cool in the summer though and it was somewhat difficult to control the humidity during the summer also. They were also finding the importance of keeping good airflow in controlling mold.
There were a lot of challenges with the system and they weren't completely satisfied with the results so far but they seemed pretty sold on the potential. It wasn't a cheap system as they had well over a quarter million dollars invested.
It was very interesting to say the least. I don't know how it would work with beef cows, it would seem to me you would need to make it a larger part of your ration and hay and corn prices would have to be at very high levels. In the future, if land and commodity prices go way up, maybe that will be the way to go.
Lucky_P
Well-known member
Have seen this surface several time on various boards over the past year or two - and it evidently is being recycled from a blip back in the 60s-70s.
Saw the two following responses from some ruminant nutritionists which pretty well confirmed my suspicions that there likely was no net gain in nutrition beyond what you'd get just feeding the grain to the animals without all the extra effort to sprout it:
First law of Thermodynamics - you can't get something for nothing.
The oats or other grains are sprouted, have moisture supplied, warmth and grow lights. On a dry matter basis, there is a 10-15% loss of energy of the oats by sprouting. Protein content is similar, and fiber content reduced (not a good source of fiber for ruminants). Since the plant is not grown in soil, there is no increase in mineral or protein content. The low level of light (as compared to sunlight which may have 1,000 watts/square meter; that much light would really make your electric meter spin) does not support any significant amount of photosynthesis. Basically, you have a transformation from seed to green succulent forage (about 75% moisture) with a loss of energy. Data from one of the manufacturers indicated that on a dry matter basis, the oat sprouts cost 3.5 times what the oats do. The economics are certainly not there, and it is still quite a price to pay for visual and emotional satisfaction of supplying your animal something green. This time of year, if you can't grow green forage (except for areas with severe draughts) on the soil, you shouldn't be raising ruminants.
Some of the mineral content would reflect the minerals in the water, particularly the microminerals.
Some of the starch in the seeds would be converted to fiber in the growing plants. Generally, fiber (NDF) has a lower true digestibility than starch.
The sprouts would generally have a lower DM percent (higher water content) than typical forages, although winter grass here in the PNW often contains only 12% DM. Animals can survive, but they have to consume a lot of green material to obtain sufficient nutrients for any production. In the winter, ranchers here often call their forages "washy" for a reason.
Capital costs for sprouted grains are astronomical. Also labor costs. When all these true costs are recognized, I can't see how sprouted grains could be economically better than regular forages for ruminants, even when the hay prices are very high.
Susan Schoenian, at UofMD, has a good overview of hydroponic forage systems, with good analysis of feed value and costs here: http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/hydrofodder.html
Saw the two following responses from some ruminant nutritionists which pretty well confirmed my suspicions that there likely was no net gain in nutrition beyond what you'd get just feeding the grain to the animals without all the extra effort to sprout it:
First law of Thermodynamics - you can't get something for nothing.
The oats or other grains are sprouted, have moisture supplied, warmth and grow lights. On a dry matter basis, there is a 10-15% loss of energy of the oats by sprouting. Protein content is similar, and fiber content reduced (not a good source of fiber for ruminants). Since the plant is not grown in soil, there is no increase in mineral or protein content. The low level of light (as compared to sunlight which may have 1,000 watts/square meter; that much light would really make your electric meter spin) does not support any significant amount of photosynthesis. Basically, you have a transformation from seed to green succulent forage (about 75% moisture) with a loss of energy. Data from one of the manufacturers indicated that on a dry matter basis, the oat sprouts cost 3.5 times what the oats do. The economics are certainly not there, and it is still quite a price to pay for visual and emotional satisfaction of supplying your animal something green. This time of year, if you can't grow green forage (except for areas with severe draughts) on the soil, you shouldn't be raising ruminants.
Some of the mineral content would reflect the minerals in the water, particularly the microminerals.
Some of the starch in the seeds would be converted to fiber in the growing plants. Generally, fiber (NDF) has a lower true digestibility than starch.
The sprouts would generally have a lower DM percent (higher water content) than typical forages, although winter grass here in the PNW often contains only 12% DM. Animals can survive, but they have to consume a lot of green material to obtain sufficient nutrients for any production. In the winter, ranchers here often call their forages "washy" for a reason.
Capital costs for sprouted grains are astronomical. Also labor costs. When all these true costs are recognized, I can't see how sprouted grains could be economically better than regular forages for ruminants, even when the hay prices are very high.
Susan Schoenian, at UofMD, has a good overview of hydroponic forage systems, with good analysis of feed value and costs here: http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/hydrofodder.html
pdfangus
Well-known member
a quarter of a million bucks invested to feed 900 lbs of dry matter a day.....and 5100 lbs of moisture....
they would have to be sold on the concept....
they would have to be sold on the concept....
