 BBC1’s highly-rated farming-interest programme, Countryfile, will feature an innovative project with a Monaghan connection on Sunday next, 15th January.
The project involves producing fresh green fodder 365 days a year – indoors! It uses a process known as hydroponics, where plants are grown in the dark and are fed nutrients via a constant slow trickle of water.
The project in question has perfected a system which uses shallow trays stacked on racks to produce a 10-inch high mat of ‘spring grass’ from malting barley seed in 7 days. The farmer can be in full production in just seven days and can shut down production again in the same time period, making it a versatile way to supplement stores of silage and hay should we experience a long winter or a dry summer – or even to replace hay and silage on your farm altogether!.
The system was perfected in Australia on sheep farms which had experienced several droughts in a row. An innovative farmer decided to take the guesswork out of how much fodder he would be able to produce, and therefore how many sheep he should stock in the year ahead by growing the fodder indoors, where the weather could have no effect on the quantity produced.
The resultant fodder is a highly digestible, high energy grass-like fodder, which can be fed on its own or as part of a diet of other forages and grains. The sprouting barley fodder is highly digestible, and more of its energy can be digested by the animal. This means it takes less fodder to get the same amount of energy as from the grain.
- Because it is more nutritious, the overall amount of fodder needed to get the same results is reduced. This reduces feed costs.
- It is cheaper to produce than hay etc, thereby reducing feed costs even more
- Because it is highly digestible, the animal needs to divert less energy to the digestion of its feed, and can put it instead into:
• weight gain
• fertility
• lactation
• hooves, coat etc
So, you get better results, and from less feed.
- animals reach their kill weight quicker
- sheep lactate for longer, which means lambs are stronger and gain weight more quickly. As a result, mortality rate in lambs significantly reduces
- chickens produce more eggs, with bigger yolks of a deep yellow colour
- racehorses improve their win/ place ratio
- cows milk increases by 10% in volume, with a 14% increase in butterfat
- beef cattle put on 41% more weight, while costing 27% less to feed
- animals have been shown to have a longer productive life, thereby reducing replacement costs
Because the feed places less stress on the digestive system, many health problems disappear, notably horse owners report increased performance with fewer incidents of colic, laminitis, breathing-related issues and gastric ulcers. Therefore, vet bills also reduce significantly.
Use of this system to produce fresh fodder all year round would enable a farmer to graze 100% of his land, as he would no longer need to set land for mowing to provide winter fodder. An ambitious farmer could also expand his herd without having to increase his land holding – thus offering a huge potential saving in terms of land purchase cost.
 The Foddertech system has been introduced to the UK by H2O Farm, and it is this company which is to be featured on Countryfile. Last January, the managing director of H2O Farm, Howard Campion, visited Co Monaghan at the invitation of the Rural Development sub-group of the County Development Board. This committee had been working with the owners of the many disused mushroom tunnels around the country to try to find alternative uses for them. Mr Campion came over to inspect the tunnels to see if they were suitable for producing fodder using his system.
He visited tunnels belonging to Nicholas Johnston in Scotstown and Pat Mohan in Tydavnet. On taking measurements, he calculated that each tunnel could produce approx 1 tonne of fodder per day. To produce the same quantity of fodder using pasture would require access to an additional 365 acres of land – a significant barrier to any farmer wishing to expand!. The 1 tonne of fodder produced by one tunnel in a day would feed 100 dairy cows, or 400 sheep, or 1000 laying hens. Mr Campion noted the area’s association with poultry production, and commented that the fodder is ideal for all birds, as they don’t have to store the seed in their gizzards since it has already sprouted. Layers produce more eggs, and they are bigger with a yellower yolk. While the damp nature of the fodder would make it difficult to feed via an automated piped feeding system, the mats of grass are ideal for throwing on to the floor in houses where birds have the freedom to move around, or indeed outdoors, on the ground.
Mr Campion also assessed the tunnels suitability from a quality control point of view, as it is important to keep humidity low to prevent mould. Controlling temperature and humidity is a skill which our mushroom growers already possess, and Mr Campion was enthusiastic that the former mushroom growers would be ideal candidates for producing the sprouting barley fodder. Mr Campion calculated the cost of setting up a tunnel to produce the fodder to be in the region of £70,000 sterling; to set up on a green field site would cost around £120,000, so those with existing tunnels would have an advantage over those who had to construct a building from scratch.
The County Development Board’s rural development sub-group were impressed with the potential of this system to cut fodder costs while at the same time increase production, and they have been seeking a meeting with Teagasc to discuss setting up a trial here in Ireland, to establish Irish data on costs and production levels.
If you would like to get involved in a trial using the fodder, the CDB would be very glad to hear from you. The Rural Development committee can be contacted through Carol Lambe, development officer for the CDB, at 047 73725 or clambe@monaghancoco.ie
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Tuesday, 10 January 2012 16:32