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Ammonia Processor Now Available in US
New ammonia processors that turn any cellulose material ù including straw, corn stover, vines, sawdust, and grass into high quality feed have caught on like wildfire in Europe and are now available in the U.S.
Farmers in the U.S. and Canada have already been experimenting with the ammonia process by covering straw bales and other materials with plastic, then soaking them with ammonia until the material is converte to a palatable feed. The advantage of the new machine, imported from Denmark, is that it is faster, totally automatic, and allows better control of the process, according to distributor C.A. McDade Co., Inc., of Monroeville, Penn.
"Straw is worth virtually nothing as a feed without this treatment. By spending approximately $12 per big round bale, you end up with 2,000 lbs. of high quality, high protein grain-equivalent feed," a McDade representative told FARM SHOW.
The standard processing unit which McDade sells holds two big bales, or the equivalent amount of square bales or loose material. You simply load up the unit, shut the air-tight door and let the unit go to work.
The bales are inundated with ammonia ù at a rate of about 3% of their total weight ù and held at 90? for about 4 hours. Then, they are aerated for 4 hours by air forced into the units. After 24 total hours they are taken out, completely processed, for direct feeding or for storage and the unit is ready for another load.
The unit uses about 50 KW of electricity per load. Different size units are available to handle an almost unlimited amount of material.
According to the company, processing of wheat straw more than doubles the amount of crude protein in the material from about 3% to 8% and boosts total digestible nutrients to 15%. "By processing straw and other materials through the unit, you get a product that's as nourishing as a good quality hay," the McDade representative told FARM SHOW.
The two bale unit sells for right at $1,100.
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, C.A. McDade Co., Inc., P.O. Box 277, Monroeville, Penn. 15146 (ph 412 468-8888).


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1982 - Volume #6, Issue #6