US (CA): Hydroponic sprouts hyped as animal feed

As grain and hay prices soar, a Northern California company says it has a way to feed livestock for a fraction of the cost. Grow your own. It's hardly an original idea. But this model, called Fodder Solutions, doesn't require vast amounts of land, good weather, field hands or even a tractor - just a large shipping container, plastic trays, grow lights and an automated climate system. And it only takes six days to grow a crop of grain sprouts large enough to feed 300 dairy cattle a day, or 800 horses, or 400,000 chickens. The grower can choose organic or conventional seeds, and the process is chemical free.

It sounds too good to be true, and scientists say it is still unproven. "But it holds promise," said Cindy Daley, an agriculture professor at Chico State University who specializes in organic dairy production.

The technology was invented in Australia. Simply Country Inc., located near Sacramento, is one of only two companies in the United States licensed to manufacture and sell the systems - hydroponic growing rooms specifically designed to sprout grain and legume seeds in trays. Simply Country's owner, Curt Chittock, whose family has been in the feed business for 48 years, admits that he was dubious in the beginning.

"In midsummer 2009 a sales guy drove into my feed store and showed me the system," he said. "My first reaction was uh, they're sprouts. They look pretty, but what are they going to do?"

He figured the sprouts might make a nice treat for his customer's backyard chickens, "like a dog biscuit," so he bought a small system and started sprouting seeds in his store. The extra, he threw to his own animals - a few steers, a hog.

"In 30 to 60 days I saw a huge difference," he said. "They were putting on weight and their coats looked really good. In 2010 I became a licensed dealer."

Now, he and his son Kyle are delivering to 45 states, including $200,000 custom units serving 300-head dairy farms, and smaller, $5,000 systems able to produce enough food for a couple of horses and a goat or sheep. A unit that produces 4 1/2 tons of fodder a day - enough to feed 300 dairy cows or 800 horses - is 3,000 square feet.

"It would take 160 acres of farmland to conventionally grow that much," he said.

Dairy farmers who have recently moved to the sprout-feeding system - some are buying Fodder Solution units, while others are improvising and building their own - are finding that it takes two pounds of fodder to replace one pound of grain to maintain a cow's milk production, Daley said. At 27 cents for a pound of grain, compared with 8 cents for a pound of fodder, it's still a significant savings, she said. They are also seeing higher protein and fat content in their milk, Daley said.

"In the organic milk world you get paid more for higher fat and protein content because the milk is more nutritious," she said.

Source: sfgate.com