On a sweltering April afternoon, Mahesh S., a 28-year-old dairy farmer from Kempanapalya village in Karnataka, lifts a damp jute bag covering a green plastic tub lying in a corner in a cow shed. He checks the maize seeds he has left to sprout in it. When ready, he will place the sprouted seeds in a unit which consists of trays lined in three-tiered shelves. The shelves, covered in green shade net with a small solar panel on top, have automatic water sprinklers connected to a timer. This setup, known as a hydroponic fodder unit, is used to grow maize fodder without soil and only with moisture and nutrients.
Over a year ago, he had trouble finding the nutrient-rich green fodder for his cows. So, instead, he fed them dried maize and paddy straw. The cows produced less milk and he links it to the feed. He supplied less than usual milk to the Karnataka Milk Federation and then decided to change things. "I watched many videos of hydroponic fodder on YouTube," he said. This motivated him to set up a hydroponic fodder unit in his home with a bank loan and assistance from Selco Foundation, a Bengaluru-based solar energy nonprofit, and AutoStudio, a startup selling the fodder units.
"Hydroponic fodder is digested better by the animal, and the milk production has increased by one and a half liters per cow daily," said Mahesh, who now earns an additional Rs. 30,000-40,000 each month. He is among a growing number of farmers across the country who are switching to hydroponic fodder production. In this method, fodder is farmed vertically without any soil, using only nutrients and water. This method of production uses less water and area, as compared to cultivating fodder in soil. It also reduces growth time, producing fresh fodder in eight days, compared to 45 days for conventional fodder and with higher crude protein content.
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