MARCH 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC
29 High-tech grass production showcased on tour
EcoDairy’s system feeds cattle for a new brand of grass-fed beef
by DAVID SCHMIDT ABBOTSFORD – A grass forage
crop in just six days? Yes, says Bill Vanderkooi of Nutriva Group and Bakerview EcoDairy in Abbotsford. Ever the innovator, Vanderkooi used the BC Dairy Farm Self Tour, January 24, to introduce local farmers to two new technological innovations: an automated calf- feeding system and a conveyor belt hydroponic grass-growing system. Vanderkooi is using the two technologies to develop a new line of grass-fed beef. Meadow Valley Meats will begin marketing the branded "Hank's" beef, named after Bill's father, this spring. Although EcoDairy is producing
six conveyor belts, each six feet wide by 32 feet long. Each belt receives 130 kg of seed. Vanderkooi uses wheat grass seed but the system can also use barley, rye, pea or oat seed. The seed turns into 600 kg of finished product by day six. The seeds take most of the first four days to sprout, adding most of the green growth during the final two days, resulting in an eight-inch high grass.
LED lighting is used to simulate sunlight and plants are watered steadily from 6 am to midnight. The lights and water are shut off from midnight to 6 am to give the plants a nightly rest. Each conveyor is automatically
Forage in six days! Bill Vanderkooi proudly displays the new HydroGreen forage growing system at Bakerview EcoDairy during the BC Dairy Farm Self-Tour. DAVID SCHMIDT PHOTO
beef, the technologies offer as much potential for dairy farmers. The EcoDairy recently built a new four-row calf barn to house up to 64 Angus-Holstein cross bull calves in individual pens. Calves are fed automatically using two German-made Förster- Technik CalfRail systems (32 calves per line). Five times a day, a flexible hose equipped with a nipple feeder moves along a rail centered between two rows of pens, stopping at each pen to offer the calf a drink. Calves have up to two minutes to access the
system, then another two minutes to drink. “We feed colostrum on day one, then two litres of
milk replacer per feeding for two weeks followed by 2.5 litres for 42 days,” a spokesman explains. Once weaned, the calves move to a finishing barn with both indoor and outdoor access, and fed grass from the new Hydro-Green growing system. The entire system has a capacity of 250 head and is intended to finish five head of grass-fed beef a week.
The Hydro-Green system involves two banks of
harvested and reseeded every sixth day, providing a steady supply of forage for the beef calves. Everything, including the roots, is ground up in the mixer wagon. The system, as set up at the EcoDairy, will supply the equivalent of 20 acres of forage. “I saw the prototype in South
Dakota and was so impressed, I acquired the rights and have set up a company to distribute the system
in Canada,” Vanderkooi says, adding it “fits our mission of innovation.” Although not yet ready to divulge prices for the
new system, he says it is “cheap compared to buying land in the Fraser Valley.” Since the only inputs are seed, air and water, Vanderkooi believes it could be a “great fit for organic farmers or anyone on a grass- fed beef or dairy program.” He says it could also help conventional farmers who bring in a lot of alfalfa to supplement their home-grown forages.
Saturday March 24
10am - 3pm BBQ - REFRESHMENTS GIVEAWAYS - GREAT DEALS
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q p 339 Sumas Way, Abbotsford, BC
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