Experiments have shown that during natural drying of herbs, the dry matter of hay contains 2 times less digestible protein, 10-12 times less carotene, and 2.5-3 times less feed units than the dry matter of green grass.
The nutrients of the herb are most fully preserved when the herbs are artificially dried. This method consists of drying chopped freshly cut or dried grass with a stream of hot air to a humidity of 10-13% in special drying units. The dried mass is ground into flour.
During artificial drying, moisture is quickly removed from plants, resulting in very small losses of nutrients - 3-8%, and carotene - 10-15%."
1 kg of artificially dried grass contains 250-350 mg of carotene. Herbal flour is rich in vitamins B2, E, K, as well as minerals. The digestibility of nutrients in artificially dried green mass is higher than in naturally dried hay.
As a result, artificial drying produces food that differs little in the nutritional value of dry matter from the original green mass. Therefore, flour obtained from artificially dried grass, in contrast to flour obtained by grinding hay (hay flour), is usually called grass flour.
Grass meal is not only a protein-vitamin feed, but also a substitute for concentrates.
Experiments conducted by the Lithuanian Animal Husbandry Research Institute showed that chickens that received 3-4% grass meal in their diet weighed 1.5 times more after two months compared to young animals that did not receive this feed.
The use of grass meal for feeding pigs can significantly save concentrates and increase the nutritional value of diets.
The production of grass meal is necessary to enrich feed with nutrients contained in green plants.
The production of grass flour for the feed industry is organized on specialized state farms, where it is possible to better use installations for drying raw materials and have special grass crops for these purposes.
However, along with expanding the number of specialized state farms, it is necessary to develop the production of grass flour directly on collective and state farms in quantities that satisfy the need of livestock for this feed.
What is the essence of drying herbs with hot air? With this method, the grass is heated in a so-called high-temperature dryer in a stream of air with a temperature of 500-600 ° to the boiling point of the liquid contained in it, which quickly evaporates. As long as the material retains the properties of a wet body and water evaporates from it, its temperature is no more than 80-100°.
The fact that the substance containing water is heated no higher than 100° makes it possible to dry the grass in a stream of hot air. This allows you to obtain a product with a moisture content of 10-12% from fresh grass within a few seconds.
In addition to high-temperature dryers, low-temperature tray-type dryers are also used. On these dryers, the grass is blown with air at a temperature of 90-100°. Herbal flour prepared in low-temperature dryers is almost no different in nutritional value from flour produced in high-temperature dryers.
How does artificial drying of grass affect the feed nutritional value of the product obtained from it?
Numerous experiments indicate that the chemical composition of herbs dried under natural conditions in the field and with a grass dryer is different (Table 46).
Table 46
Chemical composition of naturally dried grass meal and hay
The digestibility coefficients of grass meal and regular hay prepared from the same feedstock (perennial legumes) are given in Table 47.
Table 47
Grass meal and hay digestibility coefficients (%)
Since young, non-coarsened plants with low fiber content are used for artificial drying, the nutritional value of herbal flour is close to concentrates, and surpasses them in biological value. Thus, 1 kg of flour made from clover or alfalfa corresponds in nutritional value to 0.80-0.85 feed units.
The high nutritional value of grass meal, as well as obtaining several cuttings from perennial grass crops during the summer-autumn months, make it possible to sharply increase the yield of nutrients per unit area compared to conventional field drying of grasses for hay. Observations show that when artificially drying perennial grasses from 1 hectare, you can obtain 1.5-2 times more protein and nitrogen-free extractives, and 6-7 times more carotene than with conventional drying of grass for hay.
Domestic and foreign data indicate that with the correct agricultural technology for cultivating alfalfa, as well as observing the timing of its mowing, 10 tons of grass meal can be obtained from 1 hectare, which is 8,000 feed units.
When stored in bulk, herbal flour loses a lot of carotene, so it is briquetted or stored in thick paper or plastic bags in a dark and cool place.
To prepare hay flour, first of all, you should use high-vitamin hay, obtained by accelerated drying, as well as dried by artificial ventilation. Hay intended for processing into flour must be stored in closed storage facilities or under sheds.
The hay is ground into flour using universal hammer crushers DKU-M, DKU-1, KDU-2, IKB-2. The crushers are equipped with sieves with a hole diameter of 3 or 6 mm for fine and medium grinding, while the grinding module is 1.4-1.7 mm, and the productivity is 200-400 kg per hour.
To prepare hay flour, you should not use hay with a moisture content above 20%, as this will clog the crushers.
Grass and hay flour are especially necessary for pigs and poultry, as they sharply increase the biological value of diets and make it possible to reduce the need for vitamin preparations. Their introduction into pig diets in combination with other feeds improves the functioning of the digestive tract in animals, enhances the secretion of gastric juice, and accelerates and increases the digestion of diet feeds.
Herbal, as well as hay, flour is fed to pigs in a mixture with dry feed or in wet mash.
The following amount of grass meal is introduced into the daily diet of pigs (in kg):
The norms for feeding and hay flour are approximately the same.
In the diets of chickens, grass meal makes up 5-10% nutritional value, for turkeys - 10-20%, for ducks and geese - 20-30%.
Young birds are given grass meal in an amount of 5-10% of the nutritional value of the diet. The daily diet includes the following amount of grass meal: for chickens under 10 days old - 0.1-0.5 g; for chickens up to one month - 0.5-2.0; for chickens up to two months of age - 2-4; for young animals aged 3-5 months - 4-8; chickens - 8-12; turkeys - 30-50; ducks - 30-50; geese - 100-150 g.
Plants for preparing herbal flour. Of the industrially produced installations for preparing herbal flour, the simplest is the two-tray dryer 2LST-400.
Rice. 38. Two-tray dryer 2LST-400
Figures 38, 39 and 40 show a diagram of the dryer, a drying station for preparing herbal flour and a plan for placing equipment in it.
The installation is universal; herbs, grain and other agricultural products are dried on it, as a result of which it can operate for a long time a year and the costs of its construction quickly pay off.
The drying installation consists of two trays 7, in which slatted conveyors 6 are installed; heat generator TG-800 /; air ducts 2, through which heated air is supplied inside the trays through air distribution devices 5; drive mechanism 4; 3 pitched tables; two hammer crushers DKU-M.
The drying tray is made of metal sheet and has a length of 582 cm, a width of 212 cm and a height of 285 cm. Using a lattice partition with a hole diameter of 3 mm, the tray is divided into two chambers: the upper working (open) with a volume of 9.6 m3 and the lower air distribution ( closed). A slatted conveyor moves along the lattice partition, which is turned on during loading of raw materials and unloading them after drying. The conveyor drive is installed between the trays in their front part.
The front wall of the tray is folding and opens when unloading dried grass. At the bottom of the front wall of the tray, under the lattice partition, there is a window with a louvered device through which heated air enters. The louvre device serves to cut off the access of heated air to the tray and direct its flow to all zones of the tray.
Under the front folding walls of the trays there is an auger common to two trays, which unloads the dried grain. When drying grass, an auger is not used.
The air required for drying is heated in a TG-800 heat generator running on kerosene or gas. The heat generator consists of a cylindrical combustion chamber with burners; a centrifugal fan with an electric motor, which sucks the coolant (a mixture of hot combustion products and air) from the combustion chamber and pumps it into the drying trays; automatic control systems.
Rice. 39. Station for preparing herbal flour with dryer 2LST-400
Fuel is supplied to the heat generator by gravity from a tank with a capacity of 1320 liters, which is installed on a stand 1.6 m high. Fuel is pumped into the tank with a hand pump.
The heat generator is equipped with a device for automatically regulating the temperature of the coolant by changing the fuel supply.
Depending on the type of product being dried, the permissible limits for changes in coolant temperature are set on the device scale using two movable arrows. It is recommended to maintain the coolant temperature within 90-95° when drying grass, 30-40° when drying seed grain, and 90-100° when drying feed grain.
In addition, an emergency shutdown of the fan and fuel supply is provided when the coolant temperature reaches 105°. From the heat generator, the coolant is pumped through an air duct by a fan into the drying trays.
For the drying point, choose a flat, non-flooded area in close proximity to power sources. It is necessary to connect a water supply to the point or build a fire reservoir with 50 m3 of water at a distance of no more than 50 m from it.
The distance from the point to residential and livestock buildings must be at least 50 m, and from warehouses and warehouses at least 150 m. In order for the point to operate in any weather, all equipment is placed under a canopy (Fig. 39) with a fireproof roof. Supports under the canopy should not interfere with vehicle access to the rear of the trays, from where the material to be dried is loaded.
The area under the canopy is asphalted and two concrete trenches 550 mm deep are built on it for drying trays 2 (Fig. 40) and a channel for the air duct, which is covered with removable shields.
The distance between the trays should be 940 mm, and the trays themselves are installed with an inclination of 10°, so that their front part is higher than the back. Adjacent to the front of the trays are pitched tables 3, 5.8 m long and 2 m wide, along which the dried grass is manually pushed closer to the grinding compartment. At the end of the site there are two DKU-M 5 hammer crushers with a common cyclone 4 for separating air from the crushed grass. The productivity of one crusher is about 300 kg per hour.
Rice. 40. Layout plan for the herbal meal preparation point with dryer 2LST-400
A pipeline with holes running along the entire perimeter of the trays is connected to the water supply. If the grass in the trays catches fire, turn on the water.
A heat generator is installed on the side outside the canopy, for which a separate chamber should be built. The fuel tank is placed at a distance of 25 m from the heat generator.
Drying the grass and preparing herbal flour from it is carried out as follows.
Chopped or unshredded grass is transported on tractor trailers or vehicles to the rear end of the tray (Fig. 39) and loaded into an even layer of 60-80 cm. While loading the tray, turn off the coolant supply to it and turn on the conveyor, which, moving at a speed of 3 m per minute, gradually feeds the grass forward of the tray.
After loading the tray with grass, the blinds are opened. Hot air from the heat generator is forced by a fan under the grid of trays.
To speed up drying, the grass needs to be stirred periodically. Drying stops when the grass moisture content is 10-12%. Depending on the amount of grass loaded into the tray and its initial moisture content, the drying time lasts 1-2"/g hours.
If the grass dries out worse in any part of the tray, it is necessary to change the position of the blinds to direct a greater flow of hot air into this area.
You can dry grass and grain simultaneously in two trays or alternately in each. In the latter case, while the grass is drying in one tray, it is unloaded from another tray and crushed.
At the end of drying, shut off the fuel access to the heat generator and cool the mass by blowing cold air through it for 4-5 minutes. The dried grass is manually pushed through the open back wall of the tray onto rolling tables and then to the crushers. When unloading the tray, its conveyor is turned on.
The grass is crushed using hammer crushers and packed into paper bags. At the drying station, you cannot accumulate more finished feed than the amount produced per shift.
Rice. 41. Unit AVM4),4 for preparing herbal flour.
All work at the point is performed by a mechanic-foreman and 2-3 workers.
The quality of grass meal and, first of all, the carotene content in it depends on the drying time. The shorter the drying period, the better the quality of the flour. Therefore, dryers in which the grass is dried in a few seconds are considered the most advanced. This type of dryer includes the commercially produced drum unit for preparing herbal flour AVM-0.4.
In contrast to the 2LST-400 dryer, the AVM-0.4 drum unit is continuous. In it, crushed products are dried with a mixture of combustion products and air at a temperature of 500-1000°. Figures 41, 42 show the general view and technological diagram of the unit.
The unit consists of a firebox, a drying drum, a hammer crusher, a loading conveyor, a dry mass cyclone, an unloading device, fuel equipment, and electrical equipment with a control panel.
All working parts, except for the loading conveyor and the control panel, are mounted on a common frame with wheels, so that the unit can be transported without disassembly.
There are 10 jacks on the frame, on which the unit is installed during operation and leveled in a horizontal plane.
All working parts are driven by eight electric motors with a total power of 58.3 kW.
On the front part of the frame there is a fuel equipment / (Fig. 42), into which fuel (diesel fuel or fuel oil) is sucked from the tanks by a pump and heated before combustion. The fuel heating temperature is adjustable within 0-100°. The heated fuel is supplied by a pump under high pressure (15-30 kg/cm2) to a nozzle installed in firebox 2, where the required amount of air is also pumped by a fan. When atomized liquid fuel is burned, a mixture of combustion products with air is obtained, having a temperature of 500-1000 °, which is used to dry the grass.
The fuel equipment is equipped with a regulator that automatically maintains the temperature of the waste coolant at the outlet of the dryer within the range of 80-110°. As the temperature decreases, the fuel supply increases.
The firebox is cylindrical, lined with refractory bricks on the inside. In the front wall of the furnace there are windows with gate valves, through which air is sucked into the drying drum. The rear wall of the firebox is connected through an o-ring to a rotating drying drum 3.
Rice. 42. Technological diagram of the AVM-0.4 unit for preparing herbal flour.
The drying drum consists of three concentrically located cylinders, between the walls of which the grass is dried in a coolant flow. The outer diameter of the drum is 2280 mm, its length is 3970 mm. The drum is driven by friction wheels into rotation at a speed of 3.9-5.4 rpm. On the inner surface along each cylinder there are blades, which, when the drum rotates, intensively mix the dried grass.
The dried grass is sucked out of the drum by a fan 7 through a cyclone 6, which is designed to separate the waste coolant from the grass and discharge it into the atmosphere. At the bottom of the cyclone there is a 13 paddle dispenser, which evenly supplies the dried grass to the hammer crusher located at the rear of the unit. The degree of grinding in the crusher is regulated by replaceable sieves with hole diameters of 3, 4 and 6 mm.
Between the dispenser and the crusher there is a foreign object catcher 14 (stones, lumps of earth, etc.), which must be periodically cleaned through the hatch.
A small cyclone 8 with a fan 15 is installed above the crusher, designed to remove crushed feed from the crusher and separate air from it.
At the bottom of the cyclone there is a bladed sluice valve 9, with the help of which the grass meal is evenly fed to the unloading auger 12. The auger has several unloading necks, from which the bags are suspended.
The grass is loaded into the dryer by a removable conveyor 4 with a limiting beater 5, which regulates the supply of the mass.
The control panel is mounted in a separate cabinet, which is placed near the unit.
The flour is prepared as follows. After starting the unit and warming it up, the grass, crushed into particles 10-30 mm long, is manually evenly loaded onto the loading conveyor 4 (Fig. 42). The grass enters the inner cylinder of the drying drum 3, where it is picked up by the flow of heated coolant and, due to the vacuum created by the fan 7, moves through the labyrinth between the drum cylinders, constantly in contact with the flow of hot gases.
As a result of thorough mixing of the product (due to rotation of the drum), drying is carried out in a selective manner. Leaves and small particles dry out earlier, become lighter and are carried out of the drum faster by the coolant flow. As a result, uniform drying without overheating is achieved, which ensures high quality herbal meal.
In cyclone 6, due to the action of centrifugal forces, grass dried to a moisture content of 8-10% is separated from the waste coolant and sent to crusher 11.
In the crusher, the grass is crushed into flour, which is sent into bags by an unloading device. As the dried grass passes through the fans, cyclones and crusher, the grass is cooled.
The unit can also be used to dry feed grain, pulp and other feed, which after drying can be crushed if necessary.
When drying feed with relatively low humidity, use a small firebox included with the unit.
The unit is serviced by a mechanic and two workers.
The unit is installed at a permanent location, where, in addition to the production premises, there must be a warehouse for the temporary storage of herbal flour, utility rooms and a fuel tank with a capacity of at least 10 m3.
In a production room, it is advisable to make the walls from removable panels, which, if necessary, can be removed to improve the ventilation of the room. The floor inside the production room and the area near the loading conveyor are concreted.
The AVM-0.4 unit is more complex and more productive than a tray dryer. It is most advisable to purchase it for specialized farms with large areas of grass, so that its seasonal production is at least 400 tons.
To prepare grass meal, you must first use highly nutritious legumes (alfalfa, clover) so that the high costs associated with this process are justified.
To reduce the cost of transporting herbs, the point should be located closer to the areas from which the herbs are intended to be used for making flour. The delivery distance should not exceed 10 km.
To provide 2LST-400 dryers with raw materials throughout the entire season, it is recommended to allocate 95 hectares of grass with an average yield of 150-200 centners per hectare, and for AVM-0.4 dryers - 150-160 centners.
Table 48
Technical characteristics of plants for preparing herbal flour
The costs of preparing herbal flour largely depend on the technology and organization of mowing and transporting herbs.
For the AVM-0.4 drum dryer, it is best to mow the grass with a KIK-1.4 mower-chopper, which provides the required degree of grinding. It is more advisable to transport grass over a distance of up to 4 km using self-unloading tractor trailers PTU-YUK, PTU-YUS, 2PTS-4, etc., in which, to increase the capacity and reduce feed losses, the top of the body should be covered with an enclosing mesh (mesh size 5X5 mm). To ensure normal operation of the dryer, about 15 tons of grass must be transported per shift.
When harvesting grass with a mower-chopper, in a unit with trailers, all work on supplying the dryer with raw materials can be performed by 2-3 tractor drivers: one for mowing, and the rest for transportation. In this case, there should be one more trailer than tractors used for transportation.
If KIK-1.4 mower-choppers are not available, the grass can be mowed with a KIR-1.5 rotary mower-chopper-gel. However, in this case, the green mass must be additionally chopped using a RSS-6 straw silage cutter installed at the unit. The straw cutter should be adjusted to the finest cutting possible.
When the delivery distance is more than 4 km, it is more profitable to transport grass by vehicles with extended sides. For a tray dryer 2LST-400, 12-13 tons of grass should be transported per shift.
Due to the fact that grass chopping is not necessary for this dryer, it is most advisable to mow it with a KIR-1.5 mower-chopper, and transport it with self-unloading tractor trailers. The number of vehicles depends on the delivery distance.
The performance of dryers and fuel consumption, and therefore the cost of grass meal, largely depend on the moisture content of the raw material. The higher the humidity, the lower the performance of dryers. For example, on the 2LST-400 installation, when drying grass with a humidity of 78%, the productivity was 2 times lower than with a humidity of 65%; in the first case, the same amount of fuel was consumed per ton of flour. According to the Kyrgyz Machine Testing Station, the productivity of AVM-0.4 with a grass moisture content of 85% was 210 kg per hour, and with a humidity of 70% it was 550 kg per hour, the fuel consumption per 1 ton of flour was 2 times less.
In this regard, after mowing, it is advisable to dry the grass in swaths or windrows to reduce moisture. In this case, the herbs should be dried to a moisture content of at least 60-65%; carotene losses in this case during drying do not exceed 10-15%. A greater decrease in the moisture content of grasses in the field leads to significant losses of carotene.
When harvesting grasses with wilting, they are mowed with a single-beam mower KSKH-2.1, which, when harvesting legumes, it is advisable to combine with a PTP-2 conditioner. After reducing the humidity to 65%, the mown and flattened grass is raked with a GBU-6 side rake and immediately collected and crushed .
The easiest way to select grass from windrows is with mower-chopper KIK-1.4 with a pick-up or rotary mower-chopper KIR-1.5.
Drying herbs before drying should only be done in good weather.
What is grass meal? Why does a horse need it and is it needed at all? Just 2 - 3 years ago, most horse owners would hardly have been able to answer these questions. Today, grass meal has firmly taken its place among other horse feeds. It is in demand (especially in winter); it is used with pleasure both for feeding sports and pleasure horses, as well as for breeding horses and growing young animals. In the diets of many horses, grass meal is used as a vitamin supplement; some replace poor-quality hay with it; and in some horses, grass meal almost completely replaces concentrates.
The information we receive when purchasing herbal flour is usually replete with listing its beneficial qualities and high nutritional characteristics. In the understanding of many horse owners, the concept of “grass meal” or “green grass” includes any grass pellets. And few people think that depending on what herbs and what technology these granules were obtained from, their nutritional properties can vary significantly. And one kilogram of herbal flour purchased a month ago can be twice as good or superior in its nutritional characteristics, content of vitamins and microelements, to a kilogram of granules purchased yesterday (even from the same supplier).
So what is grass meal?
Grass meal belongs to roughage, that is, it is on the same level as hay, straw, etc. Although, in terms of its energy value, herbal flour is close to concentrates (0.65 - 0.7 units). Properly prepared flour is not much inferior in overall nutritional value to grain feed and contains 100-140 g of digestible protein and 180-300 mg of carotene per kilogram. It retains almost all essential amino acids.
For the production of grass flour, freshly cut grass of legumes, cereals and various herbal green mass is used. Depending on what type of grass, in what phase of its growth and by what technology the flour is obtained, its nutritional characteristics and the content of vitamins in it can vary significantly.
The technology for preparing herbal flour is of great importance. In the Vitamin-Herbal Flour (AVM) apparatus, the crushed grass is dried at high temperatures, in a few seconds, to 9 - 12% humidity, while loss of nutrients is almost completely eliminated and we obtain vitamin-herbal flour. However, sometimes, in order to save energy, the cut grass is dried before being sent to the ABM, and some of the nutrients, especially carotene, are lost.
The content of nutrients and vitamins in herbal flour is significantly influenced by the form and storage conditions. In granular form, the preservation of nutrients is greater. But even in this form, the carotene content in grass flour is reduced by 50% after 6 months of storage, without the use of antioxidants. The addition of chemicals can significantly reduce the loss of carotene. The preservation of nutrients also depends on the quality of the granules. Good granules should be dense, dry, smooth and shiny, 1.5 - 3 cm long, difficult to break. The color of the granules can vary from dark to bright green.
Granulated grass meal is usually sold in multi-layer paper bags, and if you stock it up for future use, it is better to store the granules in the same bags (do not pour them into other containers) in a dry place at a temperature of no lower than 4C in winter and no higher than 20C in summer. shaded place, because Carotene is quickly destroyed in light.
Depending on what type of herb the herb meal is made from, it gets its name.
Alfalfa grass meal has the highest nutritional value compared to other types of grass meal. Depending on what phase of the alfalfa growing season the grass meal was received, its nutritional value can vary from 0.62 to 0.72 feed units, the protein content, which differs in its usefulness, from 14 to 19%, and carotene from 120 to 200 mg/ kg. This type, like legume herbal flour in general, is distinguished by a fairly high calcium content (12 - 17 g/kg). Alfalfa meal can be used as a substitute for grain concentrates or as a vitamin and protein supplement. It has milk-producing properties - a desirable quality for lactating mares, and has a positive effect on the growth of young horses.
However, along with all its valuable qualities, this type of herbal flour has a number of restrictions on its use. Firstly, due to its high protein content, such flour can cause protein poisoning if used in large quantities. The high calcium content in flour must be compensated with an appropriate amount of phosphorus in the diet, i.e. When using alfalfa meal, be sure to monitor the calcium-phosphorus ratio.
Uncontrolled and unjustified use of alfalfa grass meal in the diet of horses, especially young animals, non-working and old horses, can cause joint diseases and the formation of kidney stones. In addition, this type of grass meal contains substances that have estrogen-like effects, which can cause abortions in pregnant mares.
Grass flour of legumes (vetch, clover, peas, etc.), like alfalfa, is an excellent source of complete protein (up to 17%), calcium (up to 14g/kg), carotene (170 mg/kg), vitamins E and group B. When using it, it is also necessary to strictly observe the feeding standards in accordance with the horse’s protein and calcium needs.
For the production of cereal-legume flour, a vetch-oat or oat-pea herbal mixture is usually used. In terms of the content of feed units (0.66), protein (16-16.5%) and carotene (up to 140 mg/kg), it is inferior to legume grass flour.
But it continues to be an excellent source of high quality protein, vitamins and microelements in a highly digestible form.
Forb grass meal in its nutritional value (0.63 units) and protein content (10 - 11% raw material) is inferior to previous types, the amount of calcium (5.5 - 6 g / kg) and its excess over phosphorus (3 g /kg) in it is not as significant as in legume herbal flour, but the content of minerals and vitamins is practically not inferior to the types described above, and in some cases (cobalt, iodine content) and exceeds them.
The carotene content usually ranges from 120 mg/kg. This grass meal can be fed to all groups of horses with virtually no restrictions. It is best for her to replace hay of unsatisfactory quality (2 - 2.5 kg of hay per 1 kg of flour), such a replacement is also relevant for sports horses during competitions - when they need to receive maximum energy in a limited amount; or used for partial or complete replacement of concentrates (at the rate of 1 kg of oats per 1 - 1.5 kg of grass meal), for horses with reduced performance, during periods of illness, when it is necessary to reduce the starch content in the diet.
Herbal flour is produced not only from cultivated meadow and pasture grasses. Today on sale you can find, for example, nettle herbal flour. In terms of its nutritional characteristics, it is close to herbal legume flour. 1 kg of such flour contains 0.65 units, 215 g of crude protein, 14.7 g of lysine, and up to 150 mg of carotene. In terms of calcium content (21.1 g/kg), it is superior to alfalfa flour. In addition, nettle herbal flour can also have a therapeutic effect on various gastrointestinal diseases.
Due to the high content of protein and calcium, when using nettle flour, like alfalfa, it is necessary to strictly control the content of these substances in the diet. You should not introduce nettle grass meal into the diets of pregnant mares, because it affects the contractility of the uterus, which can lead to abortion; but this same ability will allow the mare to recover faster in the postpartum period. This type of flour is best considered as a therapeutic and prophylactic additive, and not as a feed product.
In what form should grass pellets be given to a horse? Some people soak herbal flour granules almost overnight, bringing it to the state of a liquid mash, while others simply mix dry granules with concentrates. Which one is right?
The basic rule here is that the pellets must be accessible to the horse's teeth. Depending on the strength of the granules, grass meal can be fed either dry, simply sprinkled with water (to avoid dust) or pre-soaked.
Moreover, it is not necessary to soak the granules overnight; usually 2 - 3 hours are enough. Pay attention to whether your horse prefers grass porridge or crunchy kibble. You should not steam the herbal flour, because... this will lead to the loss of carotene and many vitamins. When using dry pellets, especially legume meal, be sure to ensure your horse is getting enough water.
The daily value of grass meal depends largely on its type and nutritional characteristics. On average, an adult horse can be fed up to 2 - 3 kg of flour per day.
The main nutrition for farmed cattle is special animal feed. The speed of weight gain of livestock and even the taste of meat depends on the quality of nutrition. Considering that in Russia many people raise cows, as well as Russian-made feed, they are very necessary. The production of grass meal is especially profitable.
To increase sales of your products, you must adhere to established standards during production ().
A little about the documents
Doing business legally requires registration. Fits . To register the production of animal feed, collect some documents:
- articles of association;
- agreement on establishment (concluded between those who create a company);
- application for state registration (P11001).
In addition, you must pay a state fee of RUB 4,000.
Submit these documents to the tax office. Your application to open a business will be reviewed within 5 days.
To sell feed in bulk, get quality certificate. For this you need:
- sample analyses;
- veterinary certificate;
- package of documents including business registration documents;
- application for Rospotrebnadzor to obtain a certificate.
Certification takes about 30 days.
Business focus
The production of herbal flour in granules as a business is aimed at agricultural organizations and farms. At the latest data they number 11,225,000 and 979,000 head of cattle respectively.
This includes:
- cows;
- bulls, bulls;
- oxen;
- calves;
- heifers, first heifers, heifers.
You can also target the production of green fodder for feeding horses, even.
Most farm animals require grass feed, which is the main source of vitamins. Since the climate of our country allows animals to consume fresh grass only from spring to autumn, there has been a long-standing tradition of storing dried grass (hay) for the winter.
Despite the long-term use of this method, it has a number of disadvantages:
- long preparation time;
- the need for a lot of physical labor;
- the need for a spacious drying room;
- loss of nutrients.
Fortunately, technology does not stand still, so the production of herbal flour and herbal granules has already been developed and is actively used. The technology for making this food is quite simple, it takes a minimum of time, and most importantly, all the nutrients are preserved!
Making herbal granules
Grass granules are a natural protein-vitamin feed for animals and poultry, which is obtained from crushed and dried grass using granulation. Herbal meal is obtained by drying it at high temperatures and grinding the grass into flour. Pelleting provides better storage of feed.
In terms of energy value, such food is very close to concentrate, because per 1 kg it has:
- about 0.9 feed units;
- up to 140 g of digestible protein;
- up to 300 mg of carotene;
- vitamins E, K, group B;
- amino acids.
Granules are used as feed additives or as main feed.
As an additional food, granules supplement the main one, but for each animal this indicator is different:
- cattle - 30-40% of the diet;
- pigs – 10-15%;
- sheep, horses - 80%.
Like any product, herbal granules have several types. They differ in the quality and quantity of carotene (the more carotene, the more nutritious the food). This affects the cost of feed, so for better marketing, offer different types at different prices.
The shape of the granules is small - diameter 2.4-20 mm, length - 15-28 mm. Smaller ones are given to young birds, slightly larger ones to adult birds, larger ones to cattle, horses, and pigs.
Raw materials For food, stock up in the summer. Select forage crops that can be harvested at different times.
Suitable raw materials for your business:
- Perennial legumes. The advantage of such crops is the increased content of vitamins, various minerals and digestible protein. Hence the high nutritional properties. It is preferable to stock up on alfalfa and red clover. Cereal herbs are often mixed with them.
- Cereals, they are often mixed with perennial legumes in smaller proportions.
Don't go overboard with adding less nutritious herbs, because your products will undergo quality certification and receive confirmation of the nutritional value of the feed. Poor performance will hurt your business.
Feed production technology
When producing grass meal and grass pellets, strictly follow the following process:
1. Mowing the grass. The grass harvest is always greater than the grain harvest - this is another plus in a business plan for producing feed in the form of grass pellets or flour.
Please note that while mowing the grass, as well as loading it, you will certainly incur losses. The main thing is that they do not exceed 2% of the total mass.
2. Primary grinding of grass in which different plants are mixed into one mass;
The quality of grass chopping determines the quality of drying and fuel economy, respectively, saving the business budget.
Acceptable sizes of crushed particles:
- 80% of the mass is 30 mm particles;
- 20% of the mass - particles no more than 110 mm.
3. Transportation of crushed mass. Minimize the loss of chopped grass by using mesh sides in transport. Also make sure that the raw materials are not contaminated.
The maximum time between mowing and drying is 3 hours. If it is longer, the grass will begin to lose all its beneficial substances, which means your product will be of poor quality.
4. Drying– a very important process, the observance of which determines the quality of your products. The grass dries very quickly (in just a few seconds) to 9-12% humidity;
The heating temperature of the grass is up to 70°C.
The loss of carotene should be no more than 5%.
5. Grinding to obtain flour. It is very important to consider the percentage of carotene here. If the food is artificially grown, technology for adding antioxidants is applied to it. This process reduces the loss of carotene.
6. Granulation– a stage due to which all useful substances are preserved in the product, and transportation becomes more convenient.
Requirements for granules (according to GOST 18691-88):
- diameter - 3–25 mm;
- length - up to 2 diameters;
- density - 600–1,300 kg/m3;
- crumbability - up to 12%;
- dry matter share - 85–90%.
After making the granules, they need to be cooled for 15 minutes to minimize the loss of carotene (up to 5%).
7. Packaging and storage of feed. Product packaging depends on the method of sale:
- craft bags of 30–50 kg. - retail and small wholesale;
- “big bags” of 1,000 kg - average wholesale;
- loading into transport without packaging in bags - large wholesale.
Feed production technologies are quite simple, with this you will not have any problems when starting a business.
Premises for production and personnel
An animal feed production plant must meet certain indicators:
- A large area, because equipment for grass meal occupies a fairly large area (about 250 sq. m.) + space is required for storing finished feed and raw material supplies;
- Darkened storage room so as not to destroy carotene;
- Ceiling height – from 4 meters;
- Temperature in the workshop – from +2 to +4ºС;
- Air humidity 60–75%;
- Availability of good ventilation;
- In the warehouse, the aisles between stacks are about 1 m, between the walls of the room and the rows - at least 0.7 m;
- Ceiling height - from 4 m;
- Area for equipment - 250 sq.m.
The feed production business needs labor, so hire staff. You don’t need any special knowledge, just distribute responsibilities between employees and conduct mini-training. Hire 3 workers per shift.
Equipment for the production of granulated feed
- Grass cutting equipment(at the same time grinding):
- self-propelled forage harvesters: Don-680, Maral-125 or KSK-100A are suitable;
- semi-mounted forage harvesters: “Polesie-3000”;
- forage harvesting complexes.
- Raw material supply conveyor;
- Herb chopper;
- Drying equipment:
- drying units: productivity - 0.5–1.5 t/hour;
- low-temperature dryers (air heating to 130°C) speed up the drying process. without loss of product quality.
- Cyclone;
- Grass crusher;
- Granulator;
- Feed cooling conveyor. The granules are cooled by a fan and sent to the sieving table. The granules are separated from small particles, which are sent back to the granulator.
- Filling apparatus including scales. Kraft bags are filled with granules and then packed using bag sewing machines.
- Universal loader for moving and loading bags of feed.
Some manufacturers prefer to wilt the grass before drying, but in this case additional equipment will be required.
Video: the process of obtaining granules from grass
Business costs
Costs for production 1 ton grass meal, from which the granules will be made.
Raw materials:
3 tons of grass = 2,500 rubles.
Types of fuel for drying:
- electric power - 154.25 kW = 500 rubles;
- gas - 86 nm3/h = 200 rub.;
- firewood - 80 kg = 150 rub.
Payroll fund:
1 ton = 350 rub. for salary
Additional expenses business = 700 rub./t.
In total, the main business indicators:
- the cost of flour is 4,000 rubles.
- wholesale cost - 10,000 rubles.
- The wholesale cost of granulated feed is RUB 14,000.
Costs of a feed business
Different production scales will require different investments in equipment:
- 0.5 t/hour – RUB 3,500,000;
- 3 t/hour – 9,300,000 rub.
If you organize a home business without using a full production line and renting premises, you will need about 700,000 rubles.
If you open a full-fledged production of herbal flour in granules, the costs will be different. Below are the averages taking into account the purchase of grass.
Pellet production equipment line:
- productivity 0.5 tons of granules/hour - RUB 3,500,000;
- productivity 1.5 tons of granules/hour - 6,300,000 rubles;
- productivity 3 tons of granules/hour - 9,500,000 rub.
Equipment line for the production of bulk product:
- productivity 0.5 tons of granules/hour - 2,000,000 rubles;
- productivity 1.5 tons of granules/hour - 4,000,000 rubles;
- productivity 3 tons of granules/hour - 5,000,000 rub.
To the cost of equipment, add the costs of delivery and installation of equipment, and personnel training.
After the initial costs, monthly business expenses will include:
- purchase of raw materials;
- employee salaries;
- communal payments;
- taxes;
- additional expenses.
Total: about 750,000 rubles. per month.
Profitability and payback of business
1 ton of granules per hour = 12,000 rubles.
6 tons per day = 72,000 rub.
120 tons per month = 8,640,000 rubles.
The net profit of the business is about 7,500,000 rubles.
And birds. It is several times more nutritious than hay and silage; its protein and vitamin content is much higher than that of grain feed.
The benefits of grass feed in livestock and poultry farming
In subsidiary plots and farms, in the old fashioned way, hay, silage, grain feed, straw and twig feed, as well as root crops are prepared for the winter. Modern technologies make it possible to prepare grass feed with much greater productivity.
In cattle breeding, pig farming, rabbit farming and even poultry farming, grass feed plays a huge role. The climate of our country does not allow the use of fresh grass and free grazing all year round. For this purpose, various grass conservation systems have always been used for fattening animals in the cold season.
The simplest thing is, of course, making hay. At all times there was a period of haymaking. Mown and dried grass in the meadows was collected and stacked. In winter, the cattle were fed hay. Hay is stored well, but when dried in the sun, up to 50% of its beneficial substances are lost. Most of all, hay loses carotene, protein and vitamins; the sun's rays greatly destroy them.
Preparing feed in the form of silage significantly improves its usefulness, but it is impossible to feed only silage. Root vegetables and crushed grains are very good food, but they are also inferior to fresh grass in terms of the content of useful substances. In addition, root vegetables also need to be chopped, and they spoil quickly, which can cause intestinal disorders in animals.
Nutritional value of grass meal
Herbal meal is similar in nutritional content to fresh green grass. Even with long-term storage (8-10 months), it retains up to 95 percent of the nutrients. The content of protein, carotene, sugar, vitamins and other substances depends on the grass from which it was made.
The best herbal flour in terms of nutritional value is flour made from mowed grass during the budding period, before flowering. During this period, herbs are most rich in vitamins, carotene and all useful substances. If you are late with mowing, the content of protein and other useful substances is significantly reduced, only the fiber content increases.
The preservation of carotene in flour depends on its storage conditions. If it is stored in bulk, then up to 50 percent of the substance is lost, and if the flour is pressed into granules, then the loss of carotene will be no more than 10 percent over 10 months of storage.
Types of grass meal
There are several types of grass meal: from alfalfa, clover, vetch-oat mixture and forbs. Based on the content of carotene, protein and other beneficial substances, grass flour is divided into 3 classes. The lower the class, the less nutrients there are in the flour. Therefore, the best flour is 1st grade.
In terms of the content of vitamins, macro- and microelements, carotene and protein, as well as amino acids, grass flour made from alfalfa is the leader. In addition, alfalfa quickly recovers after mowing, so it can be mowed three times during the season for flour production. This significantly reduces the cost. Because one area of land is used, and the crop is harvested from it 3 times.
Powdered and granulated grass meal
Herbal flour comes to the consumer in two types. It can be purchased in bulk and in granule form.
Loose flour loses nutrients faster, it absorbs more moisture from the air and can cake or mold. In addition, in this form it takes up too much space because it is very light. Therefore, storing and transporting it in this form is inconvenient and expensive.
Herbal flour in the form of granules is in great demand. Pelleted feed loses less nutrients during storage. The granules are dense, hard and shiny. If the technology is not broken, then they can be stored for a long time without crumbling, and take up much less space during storage and transportation. The granules are essentially a concentrate. For animals, granulated flour is given in portions many times smaller than powdered flour. Therefore, if you use a granulated product to fatten animals, you do not need to buy it in large quantities. This is also profitable and convenient.
Making grass meal and granules from it
The grass is mowed for vitamin flour before it blooms, but only has buds. If you miss this moment, the grass will lose carotene and protein every day. The cut, chopped grass is transported for artificial drying. The chopped grass is loaded via a conveyor into a drying drum. From there the dry mass enters the crusher. After the crusher, flour is obtained from the dry grass, fed into the cyclone, precipitated and stored in an operational bunker for temporary storage. From this bunker, if necessary, the grass flour enters the pressing chamber to make granules and reduce the volume. The pressed mass is squeezed out through the holes of the matrix and cut with a knife. The resulting granules are 2-3 cm in radius and approximately 5 cm in length. During this procedure, the granules are heated, and to avoid large losses of carotene, they are placed in a cooling chamber. There they lose excess moisture and become hard and durable. Then they are placed in a bunker for temporary storage, from where they are packaged, packaged and stored.
To reduce the cost of artificially drying grass, another harvesting system is now used - drying. With this method, the mown grass is left in windrows for several hours, and then special equipment collects the windrows and shreds the slightly wilted grass. It is loaded and delivered for further artificial drying. The evaporation of moisture from such raw materials is reduced by almost 2 times, which speeds up and reduces the cost of the entire process. With this method, a small amount of carotene is lost in the windrows in the sun, so it is not recommended to dry the grass for more than 4 hours.
Granules and flour are stored in a cool, dry, dark room. The storage facility must maintain certain microclimate parameters (temperature and humidity).
To ensure that as much carotene as possible is preserved in flour during storage, 0.5 percent sodium pyrosulfite is added to it. For the greatest preservation of nutrients in flour during long-term storage, gamma ray irradiation is used. The preservation of nutrients is affected by low temperature, darkness and the introduction of oxidants into flour (during granulation).
High-quality granules and flour have a pleasant green color and the smell of hay. The granules are hard, shiny on the sides, smooth, without signs of mold.
Compound feed with grass meal
Feeds must be complete and balanced, and they must also have low cost. The low cost of feed will ensure lower prices for livestock products: meat, milk, eggs, and so on.
Any feed mill wants to produce a high-quality product with a low, competitive price. For the production of such feed, grass meal is the best ingredient. According to several recipes, it can be contained in feed in quantities of 15, 25 and 35 percent. The remaining components are grain, meal, bran, cake and mineral additives. When grass flour is added to compound feed, the product is enriched with vitamins, carotene, amino acids, fats and proteins. As a result, the composition of the feed is completely complete, balanced and inexpensive.
Can use hay flour in the recipe instead of artificially dried herbal flour. But hay flour is significantly inferior to grass flour in terms of the content of nutrients. The composition of the feed with it will be less saturated with carotene and vitamins, which disappear during the natural drying of the grass. The cost of such feed may be lower, but in terms of useful components it will be less productive in livestock farming.
Convenience of combined feeds
Combined feeds are very convenient to use. This especially applies to large farms. For example, when raising rabbits, it is enough to feed them rabbit feed and water. Complete feed completely replaces juicy root vegetables, twigs and hay. With this feeding, rabbits quickly gain weight, do not get sick and reproduce well.
Fattening pigs primarily involves feeding them with compound feed. Compound feed with grass meal fully meets all the pigs’ body needs. It is no secret that farms provide large quantities of freshly cut grass and vegetables to pigs. All this, together with cereals, provides for complete fattening of pigs. But it is much more convenient to use feed with grass meal and drinking water.
Compound feed with grass flour increases milk yield and fat content of milk. Cows gain weight even during lactation. The blood condition of animals improves, the level of hemoglobin in the blood increases. As a result, full-fledged, strong offspring are born. True, feeding cows should include in the diet, in addition to compound feed, hay and silage, as well as fodder root crops (beets). But this is only in winter. In summer, cows feed on pasture, but even then they must receive compound feed.
Surprisingly, feed with grass meal is used in the largest quantities in poultry farming. This is especially true when breeding geese, ducks and turkeys. Compound feed is in great demand on ostrich farms.
High-quality, complete feed for farm animals is the foundation for the successful functioning of any farm. Any living creature needs good nutrition, where proteins, fats, carbohydrates, microelements and vitamins are fully balanced. But the main thing in compound feed is the convenience of feeding animals and the cleanliness of the premises. They are easy to transport and store; they are a good canned concentrate.
Manufacturing is a very profitable business. Modern technologies make it possible to automate everything. If a feed mill has its own planting and production areas, then this is a doubly profitable business. Of course, you need equipment for field work and seed material. It is necessary to purchase equipment, start production and organize advertising and logistics. As a rule, to produce mixed feed it is necessary to sow barley, corn and other grains and legumes. And for grass meal it is better to grow alfalfa.
It is much more profitable to produce animal feed than to engage in livestock farming. Fewer risks and unusual situations. Animals get sick. They require vaccination and veterinary support. How many pigs were destroyed due to plague, and birds due to bird flu! Dairy farms suffer losses due to mad cow disease and foot-and-mouth disease. Epidemics of coccidiosis and myxomatosis occur on rabbit farms.
It is necessary to organize product processing and sales. Meat, eggs and dairy products are perishable goods. And the competition is high. There are a lot of problems; it’s hard to be a profitable farm while raising livestock.
Production is a once-functional system for generating income. Compound feed has a long shelf life. He is always in demand. Feed mixtures are in demand by large farms and private owners. The demand for high-quality feed, grass meal and granules is only growing. But there are still not enough offers for the sale of granulated grass meal. So this niche is still little occupied and has great prospects for development.
How much does grass meal cost?
The product is mainly sold in granular form because it is cheaper and more convenient to transport. How much does grass meal cost? The price depends on which batch the buyer purchases. The minimum purchase - 1 bag (25 kg) - including VAT will cost an average of 700 rubles. Wholesale granules are supplied in bags, big bags and in bulk. Therefore, prices may vary (10,000-15,000 rubles per ton). It turns out 10-15 rubles per kilogram for wholesale buyers. A retail purchase for a private owner will cost 2 times more.
Grass pellets seem more expensive than regular feed. But it’s worth considering the comparison to understand how profitable it is to feed animals. When feeding with grass pellets, compared to conventional feed, the weight gain of young cattle and foals will be 20% greater. Pigs gain 15% more weight, and poultry - 10%. All this against the backdrop of the fact that 10% less feed is required than usual. And when recalculated, it turns out that using granules is profitable.
Making granules from vitamin herbal flour is a great business idea. That is why this niche will be filled over time, and due to competition, the price of the product will begin to decline. Then feeding with pellets will be even more profitable.
How to feed pellets to animals
Pure grass pellets or feed with grass meal can be fed dry to animals, especially rabbits and horses. In private farmsteads, 1.5 kg of granules are soaked with 6 liters of water, and then this mass is fed to cows. It is advisable for pigs to also make mash, this way the product is better absorbed. It is also better for poultry to soak the pellets.
In a private farmstead, grass meal pellets should be fed to cows and sheep only in the cold season. In summer, as a rule, they graze and feed on fresh grass.
In addition, storing pelleted feed requires very little space, unlike hay or silage. Owners from private farmsteads are very pleased that the granules are stored for a long time and are well stored; they call them herbal canned food. This is much more convenient than storing fodder or sugar beets and potatoes. Moreover, vegetables can freeze and spoil, but granules, on the contrary, retain all their beneficial qualities even better in the cold.
A little history
Herbal flour began to be produced in our country in the 70s of the last century. It was mainly used in poultry farming. It was noticed that when consumed, the bird develops quickly, has good immunity, egg production increases by 10% and high-quality breeding material is obtained.
The production of grass meal in the USSR developed at a very fast pace. For example: in 1965, 82 thousand tons of green flour were produced, in 1970 - already 820 thousand tons, and in 1975 - more than four million tons.
At the end of the last century, due to the development of new technologies, concentrated vitamin supplements appeared, and significantly less herbal flour began to be produced. But soon livestock farming returned to an environmentally friendly product - grass meal. The fact is that it contains large quantities of proteins, fats, and not just vitamins. To make it easier to use such a unique product, flour began to be produced in granulated form, and it began to quickly gain popularity.
In general, grass meal in the form of granules is a wonderful product in its pure form and as a component of grain feed. These feeds are the future. The food is universal, it can be fed to all types of pets and poultry. Animals consuming grass meal and granules from it receive complete nutrition. This ensures rapid growth, good immunity and productivity. Cows produce more milk with higher fat content, and chickens lay more eggs. Feeding pellets and grass meal makes caring for the animals easier.
GRANULES OF VITAMIN HERBAL FLOUR.
Glebovskoye Farm LLC produces and sells Vitamin Herbal Flour (VHM) in granules, produced on modern equipment from perennial legumes and legume-cereal grasses grown in its own fields. The granules have a diameter of 8 mm with a length of 1 to 2.5 cm, humidity 9 - 12%. Products are released from the enterprise's warehouse (Glebovskoye village, Pereslavl district, Yaroslavl region). Granulated herbal flour is packaged in 4-strap polypropylene BIG-BAG bags weighing 1000 kg or in three-layer paper kraft bags weighing 25 kg, and bulk shipment is also possible. All granulated vitamin herbal flour produced by our company is of high quality, uniformity, and is certified for correspondenceGOST R 56383-2015
And accompanied by a certificate of conformity, test report and veterinary certificate. This is ensured by the use in the process of its preparation of the most modern equipment, modern agricultural machinery and the strictest adherence to technology both when growing and harvesting grass, and when drying and granulating it. To harvest grass from the fields, our farm uses modern combines, John Deere tractors and Krone mower-conditioners. Further drying of the grass is carried out on computerized equipment in automatic mode, which eliminates any violation of the drying technology.
In the 2018/2019 season. we offer our customers vitamin herbal flour granules
from sown perennial leguminous grasses - alfalfa, oriental goat's rue, from sown perennial legume-grass grasses (forbs); from leguminous herbs with a nettle content of more than 80%. Form of payment - 100% advance payment before shipment of each batch of goods. There is a cumulative discount system. Delivery by our vehicles to your farm is possible.
Range of products planned for release in 2016:
- VTM-KO-1 – Vitamin herbal flour granulated 1st class, produced from a perennial leguminous grass - oriental goat's rue (Galega variety);
- VTM-KO-2 – Vitamin herbal flour granulated 2nd class, produced from a perennial leguminous grass - oriental goat's rue (Galega variety);
- VTM-KO-3 – Vitamin herbal flour granulated 3rd class, produced from a perennial leguminous grass - oriental goat's rue (Galega variety);
- VTM-LA-1 – Vitamin herbal flour granulated 1st class, produced from the perennial leguminous grass - horned lamb;
- VTM-LA-2 – Vitamin herbal flour granulated 2nd class, produced from the perennial leguminous grass - horned commonweed;
- VTM-LA-3 – Vitamin herbal flour granulated 3rd class, produced from the perennial leguminous grass - horned commonweed;
- VTM-LU-1 – Vitamin herbal flour granulated 1st class, made from perennial legume grass - alfalfa;
- VTM-KYu-2 – Vitamin herbal flour granulated 2nd class, made from perennial legume grass - alfalfa;
- VTM-KYu-3 – Vitamin herbal flour granulated 3rd class, made from perennial legume grass - alfalfa;
- VTM-S-1 – Vitamin herbal flour granulated 1st class, made from a mixture of perennial grasses (timothy, hedgehog, clover);
- VTM-S-2 – Vitamin herbal flour granulated 2nd class, made from a mixture of perennial herbs (timothy, hedgehog, clover);
- VTM-S-3 – Vitamin herbal flour granulated 3rd class, made from a mixture of perennial herbs (timothy, hedgehog, clover);
HIT OF THE SEASON 2014-2017!
- VTM-KR – Vitamin herbal flour granulated, produced from stinging nettle;
It is well known that the basis of the diet of many species of farm animals is grass. Since fresh grass is available only in summer, it is harvested for future use during this period. Previously, grass was harvested for the animal housing period mainly by drying it into hay or compacting it into silage trenches. With the development of technology, methods have emerged for harvesting grass with better preservation of useful components. One of them is the production of granules vitamin herbal flour
.
Vitamin grass meal is a natural protein-vitamin feed for farm animals or an additive in the production of complete feeds, obtained from artificially dried perennial legumes or legumes and cereals. In terms of nutritional value, it is close to concentrates and is not inferior to traditional grain feeds, and in terms of BAS content it surpasses them. One kilogram of vitamin herbal flour contains more than 200 g of digestible protein, up to 300 mg of carotene and almost all essential amino acids. Vitamin herbal meal is used in the diets of birds, cows, pigs, goats, horses, rabbits and other animals. The use of herbal vitamin flour in animal diets makes it possible to increase the average daily milk yield by 12%, the weight gain of young rabbits and cattle by 8...15%, fattening pigs by 10...18%, poultry by 7-12%, egg production of birds by 15%. At the same time, feed costs per unit of livestock production are reduced by 10-20%.
Granulated grass meal is fed both in its natural form (in granules) and crushed. Also, it is often steamed for 2-8 hours in warm water and given to animals and birds in the form of a paste. In the composition of compound feed for fattening young cattle, its specific gravity can be increased to 15...20%, for pigs - up to 3...5%, for dairy herds of cows - up to 10%. It is included in feed for chickens up to 3...4%, for laying hens - 5...7%, for rabbits - 25...35%. In poultry diets, it successfully replaces expensive animal feed. Thus, 1 kg of alfalfa meal replaces 1 kg of fish oil in terms of vitamin A content. Its proteins contain the necessary complex of amino acids, which is not found in fish oil. And 1 kg of grass meal from forbs replaces 1.8-2 kg of hay.
Granulated grass flour differs in its nutritional characteristics and what grass it is made from:
1. perennial legumes. These include: goat's rue (eastern galega), horned lamb's grass, alfalfa.
2. Forbs(a mixture of perennial grasses such as timothy, hedgehog, clover).
Also, the difference in the form of release is either kraft paper bags of 25 kg (this is considered retail or small wholesale); – polypropylene Big Bags, 1000 kg each (medium or large wholesale); – in bulk 20-25 tons – (this is considered medium or large wholesale).
In addition to the above products, we produce and sell hay pellets made from the hay of sown perennial legumes and cereal grasses. Hay pellets have an undeniable advantage over hay in rolls and bales. This includes ease of transportation, longer storage, and the possibility of feeding to any animal. Now you no longer need to use mechanized roll distribution or purchase expensive roll shredders. And most importantly, the process of chopping and further granulating hay increases its digestibility. Thus, in the process of hay granulation, a change in the structural and mechanical properties of hay occurs. In addition, the resulting hay pellets acquire new properties and better nutritional values. The granulation process has a positive effect on changing the physical and chemical properties of the cell. In addition, an increase in temperature during the granulation process has a beneficial effect on the release of fat from the fat cells of the grass components, reduces the viscosity of the fat, which evenly envelops the warm and moist surface of the granules, ensuring complete preservation of nutrients. Exposure to steam during the pelleting process sterilizes the hay, killing possible harmful microorganisms.
According to
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