Forever Feed Technologies, Dr. Greenhouse Design Climate Controls for World’s Largest Sustainable Animal Feed Mill

The feed mill will grow automated sprouted grain to enrich the diets of over 5,000 dairy cows.

The Forever Feed Mill will grow Automated Sprouted Grain in an indoor controlled environment.
Photo courtesy Forever Feed Technologies

Hanford, Calif. — Forever Feed Technologies, a provider of sustainable indoor feed growing systems, announced a definitive agreement with Dr. Greenhouse, Inc., to design the climate controls for an enterprise-scale indoor feed mill at the River Ranch Dairy in Hanford, Calif. The feed mill will grow Automated Sprouted Grain (ASG) to enrich the diets of over 5,000 dairy cows. FFT anticipates the indoor feed mill will begin production in late 2024.

“According to research and controlled trials, we are confident that ASG supplemented feed will increase the health and production of our herd while reducing methane emissions,” said Jack de Jong, River Ranch Farms owner and chairman of Forever Feed Technologies. “Dr. Greenhouse will enable us to optimize the output of the FFT Feed Mill and significantly reduce the amount of water, land, fuel and fertilizer we’d otherwise need to grow forage in the field.” 

Since its establishment in 2017, Dr. Greenhouse has provided consulting and engineering design services for over 180 Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) indoor farms around the world. Climate-controlled farms allow local and regional communities to increase the diversity and consistency of food sources while lessening their dependence on international supply chains. Locally grown indoor crops reduce the costs and carbon footprint associated with food miles and the risks of water and weather disruptions.

“Using state-of-the-art climate technologies and experience-driven growing practices, we are designing an indoor farm that will be the leading indoor environment for animal feed agriculture,” said Dr. Nadia Sabeh, president and founder of Dr. Greenhouse, Inc. “As the first project of its kind in the dairy business, River Ranch Dairy and Forever Feed Technologies can change the course of dairy production and help the industry reach its goal of being ‘climate neutral’ by 2050.”

“Automated growing systems for animal feed and the controlled environment engineering needed to maximize germination and nutritional efficiency is critical,” said Nathan Bastow, SVP engineering services, Forever Feed Technologies. “We are confident the Dr. Greenhouse team will meet our goal to deliver high-value ASG Feed around the clock for farmers.”