The most advanced indoor vertical farm for animal feed
Added on 02 December 2020
Gr?v Technologies today announced its newest innovation in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) - the Olympus Tower Farm. Combining science and patented technology, Olympus is an automated indoor growing system for commercial scale production of fresh animal feed, helping dairy and beef producers become more sustainable and economically viable.
Sustainable and Economically Viable
Gr?v's team of botanists, animal nutritionists and engineers have spent years developing science and technology-based growing protocols for Olympus that produces unmatched high-density nutrient (HDN) feed and in trials has shown to provide health benefits for the animals and improved feed-to-yield efficiency. These protocols are formulated by combining thousands of operational and environmental data points from micro-sensors in the tower with daily laboratory analysis of each harvest to ensure the best HDN feed possible.
Taking up only 857 square feet of space, just one Olympus Tower can produce from 5,000 to 6,000 pounds of sprouted wheat/barley grass per day using less than 5 percent of the water and replacing between 35 to 50 acres compared to traditional farming. Olympus requires minimal labor by leveraging proprietary, robotic seed-to-harvest technology. Plant growth is constantly analyzed with data collected from integrated tower sensors and testing performed by Gr?v's scientists to adjust and optimize tower performance, yield and nutrition.
Gr?v Technologies enters the $90 billion global market for dairy and beef cattle feed at a time when the industry is at an inflection point. Indoor vertical farming technology has emerged as a viable solution to help farmers address the challenges of rising feed and labor costs, supply-chain disruptions, water shortages and green-house-gas emissions.
"Increased consumer demand for traceable, local food and the agricultural risks associated with climate change have made it essential for farmers to adopt sustainable technologies," said Steve Lindsley, president of Gr?v Technologies. "We believe Olympus holds the promise to help operators meet the challenges they face today. Implementing Gr?v technology and science has proven to grow a more nutritious feed and sustainably produced foods, while improving long-term economic viability for farmers."
Olympus in action
As part of its pilot program, Gr?v partnered with Utah's largest dairy operation, Bateman Mosida Farms, to implement Olympus Towers and build the world's first commercial scale CEA feed center. Controlled studies of more than 600 animals, that began in 2019 on the Bateman dairy, found that cows fed a ration including Gr?v's HDN sprouted wheatgrass more efficiently produced milk on less feed, thus improving the farm's bottom line. Additionally, these independent trials showed that Gr?v's feed product also improved meat quality in beef cattle.
"The results we've seen using the feed from Olympus are exciting. It's evident that including Gr?v HDN in the cow's diet improves feed production efficiency," said Brad Bateman, owner/partner of Bateman Mosida Farms. "We pride ourselves on our commitment to sustainability and ensuring the best product possible for our customers. Olympus has put us on the path to more efficiently feed our animals year-round and ensure the next generation of Batemans have a sustainable and profitable future."
Due to the success of this collaboration, Bateman has committed to feed up to 5,000 animals in 2021 using the Gr?v feed system.
For more information about Gr?v Technologies and its Olympus Tower Farm, please visit www.grovtech.com.
About Gr?v Technologies
Gr?v Technologies is pioneering the next generation of agricultural technology and proprietary science to help meet the demands of global food security. The company is developing enterprise-scale, automated controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems to grow high-density nutrient animal feed, fresh produce and other crops using significantly less water and resources than traditional farming. These systems utilize patented low-heat LED technology, robotic seed-to-harvest systems and scientifically proven indoor growing protocols. Gr?v is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rhyz, a dynamic family of companies bound by a collective desire to explore and share new areas of growth and opportunity.
Source: Cision PR Newswire
Photo Courtesy of Gr?v Technologies
Source: Cision PR Newswire
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