Hydroponic barley seeds overcome fodder crisis

The fodder crisis was scientifically overcome on Steve Collins’s beef farm in West Cork. He fed his herd of 50 Dexter cattle, on hilly land situated between Glengarriff and Bantry, with hydroponically grown barley seeds.

British company Fodder Solutions provides the climatically controlled growing system in which Dr Collins grows the seeds.

They produce a lush mat of barley grass within six days, and his hydroponic unit produces 350kg to 450kg of fresh green fodder each day.