The 10,000 sq. ft vertical growing indoor feed mill is expected to start production in late 2024.
The feed mill will grow Automated Sprouted Grain (ASG) in trays that will harvest in three-day or six-day cycles, which will then be used to enrich the diets of over 5,000 dairy cows.
According to research and controlled trials, the company said it is confident that ASG supplemented feed will increase the health and production of the herd while reducing the amount of water, land, fuel, and fertilizers used.
Expansion to other US states
Jack de Jong, River Ranch Farms owner and chairman of Forever Feed Technologies, told FeedNavigator it the concept is proven at this site, it would expand the indoor feed production concept to other locations in the US.
These first of these additional feed mill sites would be local to allow the company to retain control and resolve any early issues. But it plans to eventually expand in the 11 most drought impacted states, from Texas up to Idaho.
The new facility will be able to provide a consistency of product during both summer and winter. The plan is for the ASG to be put in a tray with water where it will germinate into a seed with grass on top. This product will then be chopped up and added to a standard animal feed at between 10% to 15%.
“You get a consistency that you don’t get with a typical diet. We are feeding the ruminant bacteria more than we are feeding the cow,” said de Jong.
Indoor cultivation
Dr Greenhouse, which is partnering with Forever Feed Technologies on this pilot project, has already completed 180 indoor growing facilities worldwide, with the majority being for foods for human consumption.
“I feel like we are trailblazing a new path here to a strategy where ranchers around the world could potentially produce their feed locally with the resources they have,” Dr Nadia Sabeh, president and founder of Dr Greenhouse, told Feed Navigator.
“I see this as a proof of concept that we can grow anything indoors.”
She said the team is starting with a facility that is manageable in terms of its size.
“If it works at this small scale, then we can expand on that and scale it up to whatever it needs to be, in whatever location, and for whatever market it is serving.”