Page 15 - Vol.36-No.8 issue
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AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT & SERVICE
and scatter seeds into the fields, which re-
sults to a more efficient and effective farm- GRŌV TECHNOLOGIES ANNOUNCES
ing. Discover the latest technology that will
reduce labor intensive roles and expedite WORLD’S LARGEST, MOST ADVANCED
the monitoring process – crucial for a suc-
INDOOR VERTICAL FARMING SYSTEM
cessful output.
FOR YEAR-ROUND FRESH ANIMAL FEED
an inflection point. Indoor vertical farm-
ing technology has emerged as a viable
solution to help farmers address the chal-
lenges of rising feed and labor costs, sup-
ply-chain disruptions, water shortages and
Robotics in Green Houses green-house-gas emissions.
Agri-bots have stepped into greenhous- Grōv Technologies announces world’s “Increased consumer demand for trace-
es around the world, responsible for spray- largest, most advanced indoor vertical able, local food and the agricultural risks
ing, planting and packing the fruit and farming system for year-round fresh ani- associated with climate change have made
vegetables grown in a superficially warm mal feed it essential for farmers to adopt sustain-
environment. In countries where farms and able technologies,” said Steve Lindsley,
greenhouses are positioned away from city Grōv Technologies Tuesday announced president of Grōv Technologies. “We be-
infrastructure, and thus away from workers its newest innovation in controlled envi- lieve Olympus holds the promise to help
– robots have become vital to the process. ronment agriculture (CEA) – the Olympus operators meet the challenges they face
Cost is so important to the producer on the Tower Farm. Combining science and pat- today. Implementing Grōv technology
ented technology, Olympus is an automat- and science has proven to grow a more
ed indoor growing system for commercial nutritious feed and sustainably produced
scale production of fresh animal feed, foods, while improving long-term econom-
helping dairy and beef producers become ic viability for farmers.”
more sustainable and economically viable.
Olympus in action
Sustainable and
Economically Viable As part of its pilot program, Grōv part-
nered with Utah’s largest dairy operation,
Grōv’s team of botanists, animal nutri- Bateman Mosida Farms, to implement
supply chain – and despite initial outlay
– 24-hour labor is priceless in this unpre- tionists and engineers have spent years Olympus Towers and build the world’s first
dictable but essential industry. Meet the developing science and technology-based commercial scale CEA feed center. Con-
designers behind the bots at SAUDI AGRI- growing protocols for Olympus that pro- trolled studies of more than 600 animals,
CULTURE. duces unmatched high-density nutrient that began in 2019 on the Bateman dairy,
(HDN) feed and in trials has shown to pro- found that cows fed a ration including
Sensors & Applications vide health benefits for the animals and Grōv’s HDN sprouted wheatgrass more ef-
improved feed-to-yield efficiency. These
ficiently produced milk on less feed, thus
Soil health is key for successful growth, protocols are formulated by combining improving the farm’s bottom line. Addi-
farmers have previously relied on their thousands of operational and environ- tionally, these independent trials showed
knowledge and time to manually seek mental data points from micro-sensors in that Grōv’s feed product also improved
any crop issues but strategically placed the tower with daily laboratory analysis of meat quality in beef cattle.
remote sensors can dramatically reduce each harvest to ensure the best HDN feed
hours spent on this process. The sensor possible. “The results we’ve seen using the feed
uses algorithms to decipher its surround- from Olympus are exciting. It’s evident that
Taking up only 857 square feet of space, including Grōv HDN in the cow’s diet im-
just one Olympus Tower can produce from proves feed production efficiency,” said
5,000 to 6,000 pounds of sprouted wheat/ Brad Bateman, owner/partner of Bateman
barley grass per day using less than 5 per- Mosida Farms. “We pride ourselves on
cent of the water and replacing between our commitment to sustainability and en-
35 to 50 acres compared to traditional suring the best product possible for our
farming. Olympus requires minimal labor customers. Olympus has put us on the path
by leveraging proprietary, robotic seed- to more efficiently feed our animals year-
to-harvest technology. Plant growth is con- round and ensure the next generation of
ings and provides readings detailing solu- stantly analyzed with data collected from Batemans have a sustainable and profit-
tions to contributing factors such as weath- integrated tower sensors and testing per- able future.”
er or pest invasion. Apps are in abundance formed by Grōv’s scientists to adjust and Due to the success of this collaboration,
for various purposes including weather optimize tower performance, yield and Bateman has committed to feed up to 5,000
predictions, tractor computer information nutrition. animals in 2021 using the Grōv feed sys-
sharing, and marketplace for agri-prod- Grōv Technologies enters the $90 bil- tem.
ucts and photos for crop analysis. lion global market for dairy and beef cat-
tle feed at a time when the industry is at
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Vol. 36 No. 8 13