This robot that grows animal feed is 400 per cent more productive than a human farmer

By Leanna Garfield

In recent years, many small American farms have been struggling due to low commodity prices. As a way to cut down on expenses, some farm owners automate their labour, which helps them harvest crops and raise animals more efficiently.

A California-based company called Fodderworks makes robots that grow fodder (feed for cows, chickens, and other animals). According to Kyle Chittock, the company’s general manager, an average person can harvest approximately half a tonne of fodder per day, while Fodderworks’ bot can do two tonnes — a productivity increase of  400 per cent. 

As reported by Motherboard, Fodderworks’ bots grow fodder indoors without soil, fertiliser, or sunlight. A conveyor belt-style track moves the bot so its arms can spread seeds on vertically stacked trays filled with nutrient-rich water. Automatic nozzles above the trays also add water periodically during the growing process. After the trays sit under LED lights for six days, the bot transfers them to a washing station, where a nozzle sprays water on the plants.

While the bots can also grow leafy greens and other produce, Chittock says sprouted grains — known as fodder when fed to animals — are becoming increasingly common on farms because they are more nutritious for livestock than corn. 

The bots use about 98 per cent less water than it takes to grow sprouts outside, since they can control how much water is sprayed on the crops. That allows farms to scale up (i.e. increase the number of animals they raise by growing more fodder for them), while using less water and land.