The agricultural industry faces an urgent need to address mounting challenges, including water scarcity, climate change, and the global demand for sustainability. These issues are particularly pronounced in the dairy and livestock sectors, where traditional feed production relies heavily on natural resources, such as land and water. In response to these challenges, Forever Feed Technologies™ (FFT), led by co-founder Jack de Jong, partnered with JR Automation®, a Hitachi Group Company, to create an indoor feed production system that could redefine modern agriculture.
A sixth-generation dairy farmer, de Jong's firsthand experiences facing water scarcity and regulatory pressures led him to envision an alternative to producing traditional feed crops. He drew upon his decades of experience to conceptualize a solution that would reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint while meeting the growing demand for sustainable farming practices. His goal: to develop a controlled environment growing system, allowing year-round feed production independent of weather conditions.
By combining de Jong’s expertise with co-founder Steve Lindsley’s FFT team and JR Automation’s technology integration expertise, FFT developed the world’s first automated sprouted grain growing system, capable of feeding large commercial dairy and beef operations. This revolutionary feed production system integrates innovative automation with agricultural ingenuity, offering a sustainable, efficient, and scalable approach to growing high-quality feed in a controlled environment.
The FFT Grow System™ transforms the production of cattle feed. Unlike traditional feed crops that demand vast amounts of water, land, and transportation, the grow system operates in an indoor controlled environment. Using automation technology in innovative ways, the system cultivates ForeverFeed™, a nutritious sprouted wheat grass supplement, in six-day cycles. The feed is irrigated with less than 5% of the water needed to cultivate field-grown alfalfa, eliminating the need for pesticides and herbicides, and replacing between 350 to 500 acres of land.
The FFT Grow System operates seamlessly, integrating all components of the process—from seeding trays to watering, germination, and harvesting. Each step is monitored and optimized for maximum efficiency, ensuring consistent quality and yield. JR Automation’s expertise in industrial automation played a critical role in designing and building the system, which is capable of producing 35 tons of fresh feed daily.
The collaboration between FFT and JR Automation tackled several critical challenges head-on.
One of the most significant hurdles was optimizing throughput while maintaining system reliability. Initially, the project focused on simulations to optimize aisle dimensions and quantity, ensuring efficient tray turnover within specified time constraints. These simulations also informed the creation of a customized tray storage pattern used within the Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) to optimize run times and maintain consistent harvest yields.
Another challenge was developing the ASRS operating system to manage the various growing cycles of sprouted grain. The FFT Grow System required a solution capable of handling lighter loads quickly and efficiently. JR Automation partnered with an experienced vendor capable of delivering a solution that met these unique needs, enabling rapid movement and retrieval of trays without compromising product integrity.
Beyond resource efficiency, the system offers notable benefits for cattle health and productivity. Early experience and research indicate that adding freshly sprouted wheat grass to the total mixed dairy cow diet improves digestibility, resulting in more efficient milk production. Animal nutritionists also see the potential of reducing enteric methane emissions for cattle that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Preliminary studies indicate that adding sprouted grain to the total mixed feed ration has the potential of lowering enteric methane emissions as cattle digest their feed, positioning Forever Feed growing protocols as a potential tool in the fight against climate change.
Economically, by producing feed on-site, farmers can significantly reduce transportation costs and reliance on external feed suppliers. Furthermore, the system’s scalability ensures that it can be tailored to large commercial farms, making it practical for a broad range of animal agricultural operations.
The River Ranch Dairy in Hanford, California, is the site of the Forever Feed Innovation Center and FFT Grow System, showcasing the feasibility and ability to refine indoor feed production. The center enables FFT to experiment with different seeds, growing protocols, and system enhancements, driving ongoing innovation and improvement.
From the outset, both companies approached the project as a joint effort, with FFT providing agricultural expertise and JR Automation delivering technological solutions. This collaborative spirit fostered open communication and mutual problem-solving, resulting in a system that is a first of its kind.
According to JR Automation’s engineers, the success of the FFT Grow System relied heavily on designing with reliability and scalability in mind. By selecting proven components and incorporating fail-safe redundancies in the system, JR Automation ensured that the system would operate consistently under demanding conditions. This approach reflects the shared commitment of both companies to delivering a robust, user-friendly solution.
"We didn’t come into this saying we knew everything,” de Jong said. “It was about working together to find the right solutions. JR Automation’s expertise in automation complemented our agricultural experience perfectly."
Martin Gershenson, an account manager at JR Automation, echoed the sentiment, emphasizing how the partnership allowed them to design reliability into the system from the start.
"Animals rely on a consistently high-quality diet, so reliability is critical,” Gershenson said. “JR Automation is uniquely positioned to deliver a reliable solution, and our partnership with Forever Feed has been instrumental in achieving that. From the start, we designed reliability into the system—addressing factors like the mean time between failures and the mean time to repair—rather than trying to fix issues later. This proactive approach made a dramatic difference. Animals can’t miss a meal, so ensuring the system operates reliably and consistently was absolutely vital."
FFT and JR Automation have a shared vision of transforming agriculture on a global scale with the FFT Grow System, extending beyond its current application in dairy and beef cattle feed. The system holds the potential to support other livestock industries, including chickens, lambs, and pigs. The FFT Grow System represents a bold step toward creating a more sustainable and resilient agricultural industry.
Beyond its immediate applications, the FFT Grow System provides a forward-looking blueprint for sustainable agriculture. Its modular design and adaptability enable it to address diverse challenges, from feeding livestock in arid regions to cultivating crops in urban environments. This flexibility ensures the technology can evolve alongside the changing needs of farmers, industries, and communities.
As the adoption of the FFT Grow System expands, its potential to revolutionize agriculture becomes increasingly evident. The impact of this innovation extends beyond individual farms, addressing critical global challenges such as food security, climate change, and resource conservation.
This groundbreaking system underscores that the answers to our most pressing issues often emerge from the synergy of collaboration and innovation. FFT and JR Automation have proven that it is possible to develop systems that are both economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and socially impactful, paving the way for a more resilient and equitable future in agriculture.
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