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Greenfeed Technical :
  
What is Greenfeed:
Green feed, sprouted grain, or fodder production for animals can be broadly defined as the germination and sprouting of grain to be used as stock feed for animals using controlled growing conditions. The grain used can be just about any grain but the main grains used are oats, barley, wheat, corn, cow peas, and alfalfa. Under the controlled conditions each kilogram of grain will produce about 8 kilograms of greenfeed within 7-8 days. The greenfeed is a concentrated source of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, etc and requires additional roughage when feeding to the animals. The quantity required per animal depends on the reason for using the feed such as conditioning or survival rations.
It is suitable for most animals including poultry, dairy cattle, beef cattle, deer, horses, goats, sheep, rabbits, pigs, zoo animals etc. It is widely used for raising fat lambs, for vealers, and for adding condition to breeding animals.
Our units are also suitable for the production of wheat grass for human consumption.
The units are an ideal propagation unit for germination and cloning of plants.
Greenfeed Fodder System:
R&D Aquaponics trading as Greenfeed Technologies Pty Ltd has developed three main units:
a) GF280 which will produce about 280 kilograms a week of greenfeed. The unit is mobile and can be moved around. There are 32 trays measuring 45cm by 35 cm by 2.5 cm deep and each holds 1 kilogram of dry grain or 8 kilograms of greenfeed. The unit will fit on a standard pallet measuring 1.2 meters by 1.4 meters and is 2.4 meters high. Temperature control is by an air conditioning unit for cooling with a dead zone of 5'C between heating and cooling. The unit is an insulated cabinet with an internal nutrient tank, the nutrient is recirculated, and the nutrient feed is by drip feeding on a predetermined cycle. These units may be purchased outright or leased for an evaluation period with a proportion of the lease going towards the purchase.
$6100.00 plus gst and freight ( November 1, 2005)
b) GF560 which will produce about 560 kilograms of greenfeed a week. The unit is similar to the GF280 unit but holds 64 trays and has a reverse cycle air conditioning unit for temperature control with a dead zone of 5'C.
$12,500.00 plus gst and freight (November 1, 2005)
c) GF4500 which produces about 4500 kilograms of greenfeed per week. This unit like the smaller units is built in our factory and is transported and delivered to the site.
$45,000.00 plus gst and freight (November 1, 2004)
DESIGN OF GREENFEED UNITS:
R&D Aquaponics has been involved at some stage with the development of almost all the systems built and designed in Australia since 1975. Many of the systems utilise a polyhouse construction or greenhouse with double skin walls and evaporative cooling units to attempt to reduce the temperature. It is extremely difficult to remove the heat from a closed polyhouse on very hot days and very difficult to reduce heat losses on very cold days. Hence Greenfeed Technologies Pty Ltd has utilised the insulated chamber configuration in its designs thus giving improved temperature control as well as being more economical in operation, but more importantly consistent production independent of the daily ambient temperature. The design also eliminates hot spots and cool spots and dead zones hence giving more even and consistent growth throughout the growing chamber.
Mould Control:
Because we have ideal growing conditions for the germination and sprouting of grain we have favourable conditions for mould growth. However, there are techniques and methods for reducing the development of moulds such as temperature and humidity control.
An ORP Generator also is very effective for controlling mould. The generator is suspended in the nutrient solution and works in a similar manner to a saltwater chlorinator to generate an oxidation reduction potential across the electrodes.
Nutrient Requirements:
The greenfeed specialised plant nutrient required for fodder production is supplied as a Total Growth Fodder Hydroponic Nutrient. It is designed as a complete and balanced nutrient to promote optimum growth at a very rapid rate. It is normally used at the rate of 1 kilogram in each 1000 litres of water. This 1000 litres of nutrient solution should produce about 800 kilograms of green feed in a week depending on the system and the efficiency of the unit.
Power Consumption:
Because our units utilise an insulated chamber the power consumed in producing the green feed is very economical. A major advantage of the insulated chamber compared to the polyhouse construction is the energy savings on heating, cooling, and reticulation system.
Types of grain:
One of the most common grains used for green feed is oats. However the other grains used include wheat, barley, maize, corn, chick peas, cow peas, alfalafa, lupins, sorghum, millet, etc. This frequently depends on the availability of a particular grain. It is important to use only quality non treated grain or grains free of fungicides or insecticides. It is also possible to mix the grains being grown in order to modify the nutritive value of the green feed. The cost of the grain is normally the overriding cost in the overall operation of the green feed system.
Most grains tend to produce in the order of 7-9 kilos of feed in 7 days for each kilo of grain used. The age and quality of the grain has a very important bearing on the results.
While green feed can be compared with other feeds including the raw grain itself and hay on the basis of analysis, these do not give a true picture in the sense that the analysis ignores other important constituents which contribute to the well being of the animal such as vitamins, pectins, and other growth factor.
Expected Yields:
While many differents grains have been trialed and tested it has been found that irrespective of the size of the grain 1 kilo of dry grain per tray should be used. Under standard growing conditions the system can produce between 7 and 8 kilograms of greenfeed fodder in 7 days from every kilogram of dry grain used.
Nutritive Value:
The question of whether the germination and sprouting of the seed increases the nutrient composition is not always obvious. Based on the analysis of green feed there are major changes in the form of proteins, carbohydrates, mineral salts, and vitamins that develop during germination. The most obvious difference is that of the major increase in the levels of the various vitamins. The other major difference is that the green feed is more digestable and the nutritive absorption by the animal is higher. However the nutritive components varies considerably during the various stages of the development of the sprouts and the conditions of growth.
| w/w % |
Water % |
Protein % |
Fat % |
Ash % |
| Pea seed |
7.1 |
23.2 |
3.3 |
3.0 |
| Germ seed |
71.5 |
7.3 |
0.9 |
1.0 |
| Sprout |
92.7 |
4.1 |
0.5 |
0.4 |
| Beans Seed |
10.8 |
21.0 |
2.1 |
4.1 |
| Germ Seed |
69.8 |
7.2 |
1.5 |
1.4 |
| Sprout |
92.8 |
3.3 |
0.3 |
0.5 |
| Alfalfa Seed |
9.0 |
30.1 |
3.6 |
3.0 |
| Germ Seed |
82.4 |
5.3 |
0.1 |
0.7 |
On a dry weight basis germinated seed contains approximately 100% of the original seed protein, whereas sprouted grain alone contains approximately 210%. The biggest increase in nutritive value is the vitamin content which increases over 500% compared to the grain itself. With oats the vitamin E content jumps from 35 mg to 105mg per kilogram; rivoflavin from 1.75 mg to 22.29mg per kilogram; vitamin A and C are almost non existant in the raw grain but increases dramatically to 143,000 int units of A and 9600 int units of C.
The centuries old practice of sprouting grain as a means of greatly improving the nutritional value of many seeds is very well established. Although the antiscorbutic properties of sprouted barley, peas, and lentils has been known for a long time, until recently there was only limited data to substantiate many of the claims made for sprouts.
Water Supply:
The water supply required for the production of green feed is not very critical but should be of reasonable quality and low in dissolved solids or soluble salts.
Feeding the Green Feed:
It is advisable to green up the green feed by exposing it to light for one to two days prior to feeding out. This greening up makes the feed more acceptable to the animals. Sometimes it is advisable to add some molasses to encourage the animals to become accustomed to the feed. Most times the animals take to it without hesitation. In the case of green feed fodder the entire plant is fed to the animals - roots and all. The quantity used per animal will depend to a large extent on the availability of alternative feed. The Greenfeed fodder should be used in conjunction with roughage such as hay or feed from the pasture.
The use of green feed aids the health and efficiency of horses. Because of the high concentration of pepsin, green feed helped considerably the digestability as well as keeping horses on their food when at peak fitness. Evidence is available to show a significant improvement in ovulation after feeding green feed. Also it is particularly useful for lactating mares during the months when little or no grass is available. It has been found that animals confined and fed on dried food and not having access to fresh green feed have a lower blood carotene and folic acid level than those who have it available and more susceptible to viral infections.
Greenfeed fodder can be fed to all herbivores such as horses, sheep, cattle, pigs, poultry, goats, ostriches, deer, and zoo animals. Another feature of feeding dairy animals the green feed is the consistent year round production of high butterfat milk as well as increased milk yield and improved fertility.
    
Technical Skills:
While these systems are based on hydroponic principles they require a minimum of expertise in hydroponics.
Greenfeed Technologies Pty Ltd
POB 6238
Wetherill Park 2164
New South Wales Australia
Tel (02) 9756 1833 Fax (02) 9756 2207
romerja@optusnet.com.au
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