Authored by Max Salinger, Research Horticulturist Extraordinaire with CropKing
For years we have known about the human health benefits of eating sprouts and juicing greens, so why not extend the wellbeing to our farms? As winter approaches many of our animals are relegated to dusty, dry hay; but this can be avoided by utilizing hydroponic technology that is new to the United States, but practiced for years in countries like New Zealand and Australia. Through the use of a modified nutrient film technique (NFT) channel you are able to sprout common cereal grains into nutrient dense, highly palatable, fresh greens. These channels are often much wider than their lettuce production counterparts to allow for a larger amount of seed to be sprouted at one time.
These sprouts, or “hydroponic fodder” can be produced in as little as seven days and require no fertilizer and very little light. Some of the most common grains used to make hydroponic fodder are Barley, Wheat and Black Oil Sunflower seeds. Many farmers will make specific grain mixes to cater to their individual animals needs and some grain companies are even offering pre-mixed rations. This fodder can be fed to a wide variety of animals ranging from chickens and turkeys to horses and cattle. The hydroponic fodder mimics these animals’ natural diets much better than that of standard grain mixed rations and dried hay. In certain cases, feeding hydroponic fodder in the winter months can even help reduce the instances of foundering and colic in animals like horses and cows.
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