WO2013058668A1

WO2013058668A1 - A method of feeding ruminants and herbivores thru the efficient production of more nutritious and digestible roughage without using soil or any growing medium

Info

Publication number: WO2013058668A1
Application number: PCT/PH2011/000019
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christopher Abraham R. BATERINA; Darius ABAINZA
Original assignee: Baterina Christopher Abraham R; Abainza Darius
Priority date: 2011-10-19
Filing date: 2011-10-19
Publication date: 2013-04-25

Abstract

Ruminants and herbivores are fed using roughage that is grown without the use of soil or any growing medium. The roughage is grown in multi-layered trays or platforms to increase production and is done inside a building or structure. The plants grown from this method result in roughage that is more nutritious and digestible and can lead to a more sustainable livestock industry.

Description

TITLE

A method of feeding ruminants or herbivores thru the efficient production of more nutritious and digestible roughage without using soil or any growing medium

DESCRIPTION

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to the method of feeding ruminants and herbivores with roughage that is grown in trays or platforms without using soil or any growing medium and can be grown regardless of harsh winds, rain, or temperature and in any season. The present invention will eliminate the need to have large areas of lands for grazing or for the production of fodder for animals. The roughage that is fed will be a better alternative to most roughage commonly used to feed livestock in terms of nutrition, cost and availability. A market or demand will be created for of grains that are considered as substandard for food or for use as planting material or as ingredient of feeds. This invention will also create a supply of biomass that would have been otherwise used as fodder, for use in making organic fertilizers or as fuel for biomass fed power generators.

The widespread use of this invention will also lessen the greenhouse gas emissions thru the decrease in biomass decomposition and the decrease in the use of chemical fertilizers which would otherwise have been used to grow forage, grass or fodder.

BACKROUND

Pasture development was borne out of the need to provide for the daily sustenance of livestock that were raised for economic purposes. In the 1800s, public land grazing became more prevalent given that capitalization costs needed were minimal. When the range land is already overgrazed, the early ranchers simply needed to move their herds to another location. By the late 1800s, the seemingly unlimited supply of free forage on the public lands caused livestock herds to grow rapidly. Hence, public range lands were severely overcrowded and depleted.

Solutions to the problems of overgrazing started to be practiced by increasing the forage output of a pasture land. Farmers started to improve the varieties of roughages in their farms, built water irrigation systems to address drought, constructed fences to improve security and define boundaries of paddocks and introduced fertilizer to improve soil quality. This made grazing livestock more productive. Despite being able to increase land productivity, limitations and other problems remained as ranchers aimed for expansion. Some of these problems included the high cost per land unit of improvements as well as the limited grazing land that could be acquired by a rancher.

Introduction of Feeds

Given the challenges faced by the livestock industry in expansion, the demand for roughage was sought to be reduced. This lead to the introduction of concentrate feeds. Providing cattle withy concentrate feeds made sure of the faster growth and improved quality of meat and milk from livestock. However, feeding high concentrate feed ratio to ruminants ca result to decreased digestive efficiency causing up to 25 % of the concentrate to go indigested and be excreted. Concentrate feeding also increases the risk of lactic acidosis which occurs due to the rapid fermentation of grain by the bacteria in the rumen increasing acid levels which can lead to death. Therefore, the optimum proportion for livestock feeding should be a combination of roughage and concentrate feeds.

Present day environmental crises like global warming and climate change challenge forage production through pasture development. Furthermore, the heightened awareness of healthy living through eating healthier diets put concentrate feeds in a bad light. This was because of the hormones antibiotics and other synthetic growth enhancers that are usually included in feed concentrates. Hence, there is a greater need to produce healthier meat products through feeding livestock with increased proportion of grass

A New Way of feeding Ruminants and Livestock

This method of feeding ruminants and herbivores will solve the challenges encountered with traditional pasture development and roughage acquisition. This method will:

1. Eliminate the need for large areas of land for pasture or forage production

2. Yield a greater volume from the seed material

3. Reduce or eliminate overhead costs like transportation and storage

4. Create a demand or market for substandard seeds or underutilized seeds

5. Operate yearlong regardless of strong winds, heavy rain, or extreme temperatures

6. Avoid diseases related to foraging in the open field

7. Be easily maintained

8. Use energy efficiently

9. Consume less water

10. Enhance the nutritional value by increasing the digestibility from 30% to 80%

11. Increase the protein and vitamin A content

12. improve the productivity of the animal due to better health This will change the way livestock will be raised all around the world. Imagine:

• A farmer with just a small land with an area of 500m³ can raise 100 heads of cattle when normally at least 250,000m³ (25 hectares) of land would have been needed to raise the same number of heads;

• Cattle farmers in Canada can grow fresh roughage even in winter;

• Zoo keepers can produce their own fodder and within the confines of the zoo for their herbivorous animals like elephants or giraffes;

• Transport ship owners can offer exporters of livestock fresh roughage in transit;

• Arid countries like Iran or Saudi Arabia can significantly raise their production of cattle or sheep;

• Russia, one of the largest importers of beef, can lessen their importations because of increased production;

• An increase of food production in underdeveloped countries that will lessen the

problems of hunger; or even

• A self-contained grass-growing module for feeding animals, maybe rabbits, in outer space, or as part of a human and animal food production facility for future planet or moon colonization

All of the scenarios above are incredible. But with this invention, they are now possible. A new method of feeding. A whole new world of livestock production.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and relating it to the claims made, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows seeds placed on a tray or platform after soaking (claim 4)

FIG. 2 shows the plants in their first stage of vegetative growth (claim 9)

FIG. 3 shows multi-layered and tilted trays or platforms with manual watering allowing excess water to flow into a series of layers until it reaches the bottom where the water is collected (claims 7, 11 and 12)

FIG. 4 shows multi-layered and tilted trays or platforms with automatic misting or watering allowing excess water to flow into a series of layers until it reaches the bottom where the water is collected (claims 7, 11 and 12)

FIG. 5 shows an example of a structure that could protect the plants from strong winds, heavy rain, or extreme temperatures (claim 13)

FIG. 6 shows a segmented portion of the roughage, including the entwined roots, grown from the trays or platform being fed to cows (claim 10)

Claims

1. A method of feeding roughage to ruminants and herbivores that is grown through the germination and growth of grains or legumes up to the first stages of vegetative growth using platforms or trays

2. The method of claim 1, where grains, such as corn, wheat, rice, or legumes, like beans, are subjected to moisture, either by dunking or submerging the seeds in water with an ideal temperature of 23° C for 4 hours to initiate germination

3. The method of claim 1, where in choosing what grain or legume to use, it is not necessary to have the largest, the best variety, nor that it be uniform in size. It is enough that the seeds are complete and intact to initiate germination.

4. The method of claim 1, where in the seeds, after dunking or submerging in water, are placed on platforms or trays with a stocking ratio of about 4 kilos of grains or legumes per square meter (m²)

5. The method of claim 1, where the germinated seeds are allowed to grow without any growing medium like soil, peat moss, or coir

6. The method of claim 1, where the grains or legumes, after being placed on the tray or platform, are subjected to moisture either by 1: misting or 2: watering every three hours or at an interval that will not allow the seeds or roots to dry

7. The method of claim 1, where in the misting or watering of the seeds, water-logging is avoided by tilting the platform or tray or by boring holes for the excess water to flow out of the tray or platform. If holes are made for water outlet, the placement of the holes is preferably done only in the bottom end so that the root outgrowth outside the tray or platform or into the holes will be avoided or minimized.

8. The method of claim 1, where the tray or platform is made so that the excess water may be allowed to flow into another tray or platform to save water and make a better watering process for multi-layered platforms or trays

9. The method of claim 1, the germinating grains or legumes are allowed to grow for about twelve days or when the weight of the germinated grains or legumes, including the leaves, stems or stalks, and the roots, has increased to about 800% to 1,200% from the original weight of the seeds

10. The method of claim 1, after attaining the desired weight of the plants, the whole batch of plants, with its entwined roots, can be cut, segmented and then transferred to the feeding troughs and ready for feeding as roughage to herbivorous animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, and rabbit.

11. A method for increasing production of the roughage produced under the method of claim 1 by placing the trays or platforms above another tray or platform

12. The method of claim 11, where the tray or platform placed above another is higher by a length of 18 to 24 inches or such length, depending of the seeds used, as to allow the unhampered growth of the plants until it is ready to be used for feeding

13. A method of protecting the forage, grass or fodder produced under claims 1 and 11 by using a clear, transparent, or translucent structure, or a structure that has windows that allows sunlight to pass thru and strong enough to protect the forage, grass or fodder from harsh winds, rain, or temperature

14. The method of claim 13, where the material used for allowing the sunlight to pass thru can be glass, plastic or film

15. The method of claim 13, where the material used for the structure for support can be iron, wood, aluminum, plastic, concrete, or any material strong enough for structural integrity

16. The method of claim 13, where the amount of sunlight required is minimal and that the size or area of the glass, plastic or film is enough where the plants are exposed to a light intensity ranging from 1000 to 9000 lux in daytime

17. A method of protecting the sprouts or plants produced under claims 1 and 11 by using organic and non-toxic fungicides to prevent molds and fungus, or pathogenic bacteria from contaminating the plants and at the same instance, will be safe for the animal to consume

18. The method of claim 17, where the water used to moisten the seeds or plants is diluted with non-toxic fungicide