Known for its forward-thinking approach, River Ranch Farms LLC has embraced numerous innovations, from a biogas hub and solar fields to the recent development of an automated indoor feed mill. At the forefront is Forever Feed Technologies, a company that dairy producer Jack de Jong helped establish to explore the possibilities of sprouted grain feeding systems.

Profitable dairy production requires a very efficient conversion of feed to milk. A combination of purchased and home-raised feeds are frequently used to provide the needs of the dairy operation.

You may be asking yourself, “What are hydroponic forages?” The word "hydro" means water and "ponics" comes from the root word meaning work. To put it simply, it means working with water, and in this case, it entails using water and a little bit of light to grow or sprout wheat and barley seeds.

Since dairy producers started milking cows, the search has been ongoing for better, more economic feeds and forages to promote more cost-effective performance while working toward better rumen health, health in general and reproduction.

Small-grain silages are a versatile feed that can add to forage inventory and work within cropping rotations across many geographic locales.

God’s given us 54 organic acres to work with on a grazing system and 110 cows to milk. Four years ago, we put up 55 bales of baleage. Last year, we stacked 400. But was it milk-quality feed? There’s a balance between quantity and quality of forage.