Agriculture

Home > Agriculture > Electives > Innovation & Diversification > The Fodder Factory

Innovation and Diversification - Elective 4

The Fodder Factory

This material addresses aspects of the following syllabus outcomes:

H3.4 evaluates the management of the processes in agricultural systems

H5.1 evaluates the impact of innovation, ethics and current issues on Australian agricultural systems.

Syllabus content areas addressed in this material includes:

appraising the production systems or technological innovations available for some existing agricultural enterprises
appraising economic, environmental and management factors of one alternative agricultural production system or technology
applying knowledge of the biology of a plant or animal to the management of alternative production systems or technology
discussing the techniques that may be used to market the innovation, for example niche markets in alternative agricultural production

Source: NSW Board of Studies Agriculture Syllabus

The Fodder Factory is a hydroponic fodder production system. The production of fodder by this method is an example of a new production method and provides an excellent case study for elective 4, Innovation and Diversification.

Visit the Fodder Factory website and complete the questions below.

Innovation is the application or introduction of a new idea. Outline this innovation, explaining what is innovative about it.
Construct a simple table, which lists inputs and outputs for the system.
Outline the advantages and disadvantages of using this system on a typical grazing property.
Consider a grazier with 800 lambs to raise for the lamb market over a ten-week period, who is considering this purchasing a Fodder Factory. Given that on her existing pastures the lambs can yield a weight gain of 1kg/week, and that with this new feed source a gain of 3kg/week is expected, what other information would she need to make an informed decision?
If the grazier in Question 4 was offered a system for $40,000, and she knew the live weight gain was worth $1/kg, how many flocks of 800 lambs would she need to put through to pay for the system?
How might a typical grazier learn of such new innovations as the Fodder Factory?
If you were in charge of marketing the Fodder Factory, how would you increase awareness of, and promote your product?

Check your Answers