FEELING THE EFFECTS OF THE DROUGHT??

Farmers – Grow your own grass!

From seed to lush feed in just 1 week!

Transforming one kilogram of seed to between 8-10kg of green feed in just seven days is what Robert Charles has achieved through hydroponics from The Charles Feed Shed.

While hydroponic feed growing is not a new concept, the inception of the Charles Feed shed began in 1995 when we undertook extensive research into hydroponics.  We have since developed a hydroponic shed that in our opinion is far superior to other designs when you compare value for money, rapid growth times, ease of operation and the quality of the feed produced.

We approached commercial plant breeders and ascertained what plants need most in the first week of life and were told that the essential elements for healthy growth was heat, water, light and plenty of air space.

The Charles Feed Shed is a 6 x 15 metre high-pitched roof on a galvanised frame covered in the highest quality solar woven plastic available to transmit light and heat to the young, vigorously growing plants.

To optimise and control lighting and cooling of the shed, our design incorporates a  moving, heat reflective ceiling that opens and closes automatically.

Cooling is achieved by using an industrial air conditioner that injects cool air into the shed whilst two large extraction fans draw the air through the shed maintaining the temperature at around 21º Celsius.

1kg of barley seed is placed on a white, light reflective polyethylene tray and is watered every four hours.

"In just seven days, the seed will be transformed into 8-10kg in weight per tray.  With 180 trays being fed out every day, this equates to between 1.26 and 1.5 tonnes of lush green nutritious feed every day of the week".

We had the feed produced by The Charles Feed Shed analysed by Feed Test in Victoria.  The results confirmed Crude protein at 22.1%, Metabolisable energy levels of 10.7MJ/kg DM and a digestibility rate of 72.9%.

When incorporated as part of a balanced diet ration, you will turn off prime lambs and cattle when you want to and not when the weather allows.

In the current climate, with grain prices being as they are, the cost to produce one kilogram of nutritious green feed is approximately 5 cents per kg*.  When grain prices return to normal, the production cost of green feed is only 3 cents per kilogram*.

The Charles Feed Shed is just not just a drought proofing tool, but an integral part of any primary production business.

For more information on Daily Operating Costs, please refer to Our General Information Sheet.

* Labour not included

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