Duckweed
Feed Industry Overview:
Duckweed feed has been found to be a very nutritious feed source for many types of livestock. The fact that duckweed can be fed to animals in its wet form or dried for a more concentrated food source make an efficient, cost effective, harvester a possible attractive product for this market. Traditional Harvesters are economically unfeasible and manual harvesting is very labor intensive for medium to large scale operations. Feed prices can vary drastically due to crop yields, gas prices, and product demand. After the initial investment of the Proskimmer the costs for producing this feed additive would be minimal. There is opportunity for duckweed to be used more as a feed source in coming years to alleviate increasing demand on corn and soy yields.
Analysis
According to North Carolina Reasearchers: “Duckweed holds great promise as an alternative feed supplement. One of the smallest plants known to man could help us produce cleaner water while at the same time providing a high quality feed for domestic stock animals (poultry, swine, and cattle). The nutrient uptake ability possessed by duckweed along with its fast reproductive rate and environmental requirements make it easy to manage. The problem with duckweed is in the harvesting of the small plants and removing the excess water. Assuming that can be done efficiently, we will be well on our way to making new strides in the supplemental feeding of duckweed.” These statements are made by some of the leading duckweed researchers in the feed/fuel/watstewater. A duckweed harvester is a natural fit to solve the harvesting needs of the market.
Recent studies have confirmed duckweed’s potential as a valuable high-protein, vitamin-rich feed supplement. A two acre pond surface with duckweed yields as much as 30 tons of dry matter or approximately 12 tons of protein per year. This protein is of very high quality for feeding to animals (or human beings). Experiments show that the
Duckweed feed has been found to be a very nutritious feed source for many types of livestock. The fact that duckweed can be fed to animals in its wet form or dried for a more concentrated food source make an efficient, cost effective, harvester a possible attractive product for this market. Traditional Harvesters are economically unfeasible and manual harvesting is very labor intensive for medium to large scale operations. Feed prices can vary drastically due to crop yields, gas prices, and product demand. After the initial investment of the Proskimmer the costs for producing this feed additive would be minimal. There is opportunity for duckweed to be used more as a feed source in coming years to alleviate increasing demand on corn and soy yields.
Analysis
According to North Carolina Reasearchers: “Duckweed holds great promise as an alternative feed supplement. One of the smallest plants known to man could help us produce cleaner water while at the same time providing a high quality feed for domestic stock animals (poultry, swine, and cattle). The nutrient uptake ability possessed by duckweed along with its fast reproductive rate and environmental requirements make it easy to manage. The problem with duckweed is in the harvesting of the small plants and removing the excess water. Assuming that can be done efficiently, we will be well on our way to making new strides in the supplemental feeding of duckweed.” These statements are made by some of the leading duckweed researchers in the feed/fuel/watstewater. A duckweed harvester is a natural fit to solve the harvesting needs of the market.
Recent studies have confirmed duckweed’s potential as a valuable high-protein, vitamin-rich feed supplement. A two acre pond surface with duckweed yields as much as 30 tons of dry matter or approximately 12 tons of protein per year. This protein is of very high quality for feeding to animals (or human beings). Experiments show that the