Golden valley farm quinonez9/20/2023 ![]() ![]() Putnam says these hydroponic containers are expensive, about $100,000 each. "If you really apply a little bit of economics to it and animal nutrition to it, it doesn't appear quite as promising as one might think," says Putnam. "The margins are pretty slim," says University of California, Davis agronomy professor Daniel Putnam. The farm produces 2,400 pounds of sprouts every day.īut not everyone thinks growing indoors is worth it. In a matter of days these sprouts will stand 6 inches tall and be ready for the sheep to eat. That amount of water is just enough to start germination. wait seven days and it will be ready to feed," says Quiñonez.Įvery hour, sprinklers mist the seeds for 20 seconds. "We just get the tray, just dump the barley, and spread it really good."Įzra David Romero/Valley Public Radio Jose Quiñonez says 2,400 pounds of sprouts are fed daily to about 1,100 sheep.Īfter he fills each tray he pushes the row forward until the container is full and closes the door. Daccarett's nephew Jose Quiñonez says the growing process is quite simple. ![]() Inside each 10 by 20 foot shipping container are five horizontal rows of shallow black trays. You can produce a tremendous amount of feed in a very, very small area. "I think that's a big advantage if you don't have a lot of land," says Daccarett. He's using just 2 percent of the water it would take to grow the crop outside. Growing barley as feed isn't anything new, but Daccarett sprouts barley seeds inside shipping containers using hydroponic technology and indoor grow lights. He feeds his sheep one part oats and hay and one part sprouted barley. "We plant every day and we harvest every day, and it takes six days to complete the cycle," Daccarett adds. That ingredient? Sprouted barley grown indoors. And to cut the cost of all that feed, Daccarett says he has a secret ingredient that enriches his cheese while at the same time saves a lot of water. To make that much milk it takes a lot of feed – like oats and hay. He says he gets about 800 pounds of milk a year from each ewe. "They tell me that our Golden Ewe cheese is the best for grilled cheese sandwich ever," Daccarett says. ![]()
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