Key Takeaways
- Growing Relevance Due to Climate Concerns: Hydroponic fodder systems are gaining attention as sustainable solutions in agriculture due to their potential to alleviate challenges posed by climate change, such as reducing carbon emissions and the overall cost of food production.
- Strain on Traditional Livestock Feeding: Droughts, floods, and heatwaves have significantly impacted traditional farming, leading to a shortage of natural feed and forcing farmers to deplete winter stockpiles or purchase expensive alternatives, which may contribute to increased food inflation.
- Hydroponic Fodder as a Potential Solution: Hydroponic systems, which involve growing plants without soil, offer a promising alternative for producing animal feed. These systems can potentially improve animal weight, reduce methane emissions, and decrease the reliance on traditional grain and water resources.
- Economic and Environmental Benefits: Studies indicate that hydroponic fodder can increase the daily weight gain of livestock, enhance nutritional intake efficiency, and significantly cut down methane emissions per kilogram of weight gain. Moreover, the use of hydroponic systems can lead to substantial reductions in CO2 emissions, offering an opportunity to earn revenue through carbon credits.
- Market Expansion and Adoption: The adoption of hydroponic fodder systems is rapidly increasing, particularly in the Middle East and North America, where new startups and large-scale projects are implementing these systems to provide sustainable and locally produced livestock feed solutions.
Hydroponic fodder has been around for a while, with some early systems being used in the 1900s. However, in recent times, it has gained more attention due to the focus on climate change, reducing carbon emissions, and reducing the cost of food.
Important deals have been made in the United States, and more companies in the Middle East (and other regions) are now focusing on hydroponic fodder systems.
Feeding livestock has become a challenge due to heatwaves, droughts, and floods occurring more frequently. Farmers around the world have been forced to sell a portion of their herd because there is not enough food to sustain them. Furthermore, farmers have used up their winter stockpiles, leaving them with no choice but to buy expensive and scarce feed such as hay, cereals, and fodder for their animals. This situation could further strain the food supply chain and potentially lead to an increase in inflation rates.
So, can hydroponic fodder farming be a solution to this problem? What are the effects on animal weight? Is it profitable? Where is the market growing?
The current state of livestock feed
Livestock feed consumption is massive in the US, with states like Iowa, California, and Texas leading the pack. The American Feed Industry Association estimates that as many as 284 million tons are consumed annually. On a global scale, it is believed that two-thirds of farmed crops go towards feeding animals, highlighting the vital role the sector plays in the food chain.
However, climate change is taking a toll on the industry. Severe heatwaves, droughts, and floods have wiped out a significant portion of yearly output, forcing farmers to dip into their winter reserves to feed livestock. In Europe, meadows that were once abundant with fresh fodder for animals have dried out entirely, and the cost of haystacks has nearly doubled in recent weeks, leaving farmers struggling to keep their animals fed.
In the United States, American farmers are selling their heads. Farmers in Texas are being forced to sell off their cattle herds due to extreme drought — as water sources dry out and grass burns up. Farmers in the Lone Star state reported the largest reduction in herd size, down 50%, followed by New Mexico and Oregon at 43% and 41% respectively as reported by CNN. Throughout the country, USDA’s livestock count estimated that the number of heads decreased by 3% in July 2023 compared to July 2022.
A similar trend was experienced in other regions of the world, such as Europe, which witnessed a 1% decrease in the number of heads during the same period. Worldwide, the number of heads slightly increased over the period, by about 2 million heads according to Statista.
Hydroponic fodder as a solution?
As a result of the current situation in animal feed, an increasing number of people eye the development of hydroponic fodder solutions as a solution or at least, part of the solution. Is it really though?
First of all, fodder, grass, or hay (And their derivatives) constitutes the bulk of the diet for dairy cows, Sheep, and Horses. Beef cattle eat as well a lot of grass and other fodder as they ‘usually’ stay out for pasture during 6-7 months, they have cereal supplements to increase the energy density of their food to increase in weight.
Several studies have been conducted throughout the world to determine the value of hydroponic fodder farming in an animal’s diet. While most agree on the positive effects it has on the animal’s weight, others are a little more conservative.
Dr. Peter Wootton-Beard argues for instance, that sprouting grains using hydroponics has the potential to alter their nutritional profile, producing a feed supplement that may be beneficial to some livestock operations. Nonetheless, he argues that hydroponic fodder shouldn’t be seen as the primary source of food:
“Hydroponic fodder should then perhaps be viewed as a feed supplement, and therefore its relative merits need to be weighed against the cost of other feed supplements, with an understanding of the true value provided to the animals of the sprouts it produces. Benefits in terms of animal performance are only likely to be realised if the sprouts are correcting an existing nutrient deficiency (such as protein) or if the cost of providing this supplement by other means is prohibitively expensive (for example, in thorough bred horses, or prime breeding stock).” – Dr. Peter Wootton-Beard, IBERS, Aberystwyth University.
He argues as well that most of the weight gained by the Cattle is linked to the density of water in sprouts which then increases the weight of the Animal but evaporates once cooked:
“In fact, grains lose a percentage of their dry weight as they take up water, and suffer further losses due to the energy it takes to germinate. In a worked example of actual dry matter productivity. If 1kg grain produces 8kg of sprouts, where the dry matter content of the grain is 90% and the dry matter content of the sprouts is 10%, then the yield of dry matter actually decreases from 0.9 kg / kg to 0.8 kg / kg. In trials, the actual dry matter content of sprouts is highly variable (6-16%) meaning that an 8 fold increase in weight at a minimum of 12% sprout dry matter is required to achieve a modest 6% dry matter yield gain (before taking into account losses due to less than complete germination, which is reported to be ~80%). In practice it is very unlikely that a yield increase could be realised, a view supported in a landmark study conducted at University College Dublin in 1986, and replicated in multiple publications since.” adds Dr. Peter Wootton-Beard
Another study by CubicFarm Systems Corp has found a positive effect on the average weight of animals, a reduced methane reduction, and the possibility to add sources of revenue using carbon credits program.
“The Beef finishing stage demonstrated roughly a 9% increase in daily weight gain, a 6% increase in dry matter intake, and a 4% increase in nutritional efficiency. HydroGreen fresh forage lowered methane emissions by approximantely 48% on a per kilogram weight gain basis”
“A preliminary lifecycle analysis indicates total carbon dioxide equivalents (“CO2e”) reduction in the range of approximately 1.8 to 2.3 tonnes per head per annum for beef cattle, largely dependent on certain assumptions related to a daily rate of gain versus control. Six commercial scales HydroGreen Automated Vertical Pastures™ (“AVPs”) generating fresh forage have the potential to reduce over 5,000 metric tonnes of CO2e per year.”
Quantification of Value:
- The daily rate of gain increase of 0.13 kilograms per day, when combined with an assumed approximately USD 6.61 realized revenue per kilogram of weight gain, results in daily increased revenue of approximately USD 0.86, or USD 314 annually, per animal fed fresh forage grown using commercial scale AVP’s exclusive of additional qualitative benefits described below under “Premium Co-Benefits”
- Carbon credits could conservatively realize between USD 12.50 to over USD 20 per tonne of CO2e at current pricing in various offset markets, which is expected to increase with global net zero commitments. The opportunity given compliance market acceptance, or with party-to-party carbon inset sales, could be significantly greater
Other advantages:
- Reducing the number of acres needed to grow feed crops
- Land upcycling by substituting 15 to 20 percent of conventional feeds
- Diminished fuel and energy use contributed to a 7.4 percent reduction in fuel and energy emissions
- Potential qualitative benefits, which remain to be fully validated, include fewer liver abscesses, optimized fat distribution, and an improvement in rumen papillae length and width
Where hydroponic fodder farming is emerging?
In recent years, a sudden spike in activity emerged from the Middle East, with new companies arising, projects starting, and contracts signed.World of Farming (WoF), a startup from Hatch & Boost ventures, is introducing a hydroponic fodder (livestock feed) farming methodology for the meat and dairy industry to the Middle East market. The company aims to address these challenges and enhance the sector’s sustainability. In line with the UAE’s National Food Strategy 2051, WoF’s vertical farming model will enable local farmers to produce fresh, and cost-effective, local alternatives to international imports of animal fodder independently, efficiently, and more sustainably.
“Today, animal agriculture is one of the most harmful industries on the planet, directly responsible for 14% of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and upwards of 50,000 acres of forest are cleared by farmers and loggers every day, around the world. This extreme clearing of land results in habitat loss, amplification of greenhouse gasses, and disruption of water cycles. Coupled with the effects of international mass shipping, and copious amounts of water consumption, the snowball effect of unprecedented global challenges we are seeing will continue to gather pace if we don’t do something about it today,” said Faris Mesmar, CEO and Managing Partner of hatch & boost said in an interview with ITP.net.
Another company, Graze It recently made the front news as the company started operations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
“The UAE-based startup eliminates the expensive transportation and logistic scope of the imported livestock feed, growing it directly at the consumer’s site. Moreover, it carries the complete production responsibility by supplying “feed as a service” through a subscription model. This strategy shields the end user from the effects of excessive market volatility by enabling the customer to ensure predictable quality, volume, and competitive price over an extended period. In addition to having appealing production costs, fresh, organic, pesticide-free feed is also easier to digest.” – Mentions Divsha Baht on her article in Gulf Business.
North America also has much activity recorded by companies such as Hydrogreen, FarmAnywhere, Renaissance Ag and FarmBox Foods.
In Europe, Ireland sees many projects and companies offering solutions such as Fodder Box, a west-Cork-based hydroponic fodder container solution.
‘A ton of grain based feed costs €300 to buy; two tonne of hydroponic fodder, using something like barley seeds, costs €100 to produce,’ she explains in an interview with Southernstar.ie. Research also shows that hydroponic fodder delivers peak nutrition that is maximally digestible.
Concluding notes
Assessing the Viability of Hydroponic Fodder Systems
Hydroponic fodder systems, characterized by their soil-less crop production technique, have surged in popularity as a sustainable alternative to conventional livestock feeding methods. These systems are particularly appealing in regions plagued by climate-related challenges such as droughts, floods, and severe weather events that disrupt traditional agricultural practices.
Economic Considerations
The initial costs associated with setting up hydroponic systems can be high, encompassing expenditures for equipment, infrastructure, and ongoing energy use. However, the potential returns from increased livestock productivity and possible carbon credit earnings can offset these startup costs. For instance, enhanced daily weight gain and improved nutritional efficiency in animals can lead to higher meat production rates, which in turn boost farmer revenues. Additionally, the reduction in methane emissions contributes to environmental sustainability and may provide financial benefits through carbon markets.
Environmental Impact
Hydroponic fodder systems offer significant environmental advantages, including reduced water usage and lower greenhouse gas emissions. By diminishing the reliance on traditional grain and water resources, these systems contribute to a smaller ecological footprint. The ability to locally produce feed also decreases the need for feed transport, further cutting down carbon emissions associated with logistics.
Future Outlook
The adoption of hydroponic fodder is expected to grow, driven by the escalating severity of climate change impacts and the increasing emphasis on sustainable agricultural practices. As technology advances and becomes more cost-effective, these systems are likely to become a staple in livestock feeding practices globally.
Challenges Ahead
Despite the benefits, there are several challenges to be addressed:
- Scalability: Scaling hydroponic systems to meet large-scale production needs without compromising efficiency poses a significant challenge.
- Technological and Biological Risks: Effective management strategies are needed for issues such as system failures, disease outbreaks among crops, and inconsistent yield quality.
- Market Dynamics: Fluctuations in the market demand for hydroponically produced fodder and changes in regulatory frameworks can impact profitability.
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