Fodder NZ manufactures hydroponic growing rooms for sprouting barley, other seeds and grains. Designed and built in New Zealand to meet our demanding environmental conditions Fodder NZ rooms are certified to New Zealand’s regulatory standards.

Each room is designed with an upgrade path in mind. As Fodder NZ continues its research and development resulting in the release of upgrades to hardware and software, these will be available to the owners of our existing rooms.

We offer three types of growing environments.

FULLY TRANSPORTABLE SYSTEMS

These rooms consist of either one, two or three bays. Each bay comprises six shelves with each shelf holding 8 trays for the production of fodder. With a choice of two tray sizes, production in these rooms ranges from 120 KG a day through to over 500 KG a day.

Regardless of the size of the room, each requires a flat site, a (recommended 15amp) single phase power supply, and a good, clean water supply. The grow room has an internal water tank that holds sufficient to process warm water into the room. Water may be from roof collection, bores or streams but should enter the room from a pressurised (pumped) system. We recommend a filter be installed before the room to ensure the best quality water for the plants.  If you are unsure about the quality of your proposed water source, we may be able to assist you with preliminary testing and advice. We will also provide you with a “floor plan” for placing the room on site. The room may be placed outside or under a covered area (such as a lean- to). To provide a firm stable base for the room to sit on, as a minimum, we recommend that a square concrete paver is placed under each of the legs of the room to keep the room stable on the flat surface.

All of our rooms are electrically certified. While you can operate the single bay rooms on a 10amp electrical connection, we recommend a 15amp connection be used for our two and three bay rooms.

PERMANENT PURPOSE  BUILT GROWING SHED

These, like our transportable rooms, are fitted out on a modular basis. Each module can produce up to 1000 kgs of fodder per day. Shed configurations range from one tonne upwards. Due to the production demands of a full shed, they require a committed power supply and will need to be consented in accordance with New Zealand’s Building code. Fodder NZ is working with a group of specialist building companies to produce a standard design that will meet the varying regulatory frameworks found throughout New Zealand’s regional consenting bodies (primarily local councils).

As with our transportable grow rooms, water may be from tanks, bores or streams but should be from a pressurised (pumped) system. Internal water tanks form part of our shed configurations with heating systems installed to ensure a constant temperature at which water is delivered to the growing fodder. We recommend a filter be installed before the room to ensure the best quality water for the plants.  If you are unsure about the quality of your proposed water source, we may be able to assist you with preliminary testing and advice.

Electrically, the shed will need a dedicated 15amp supply with a resettable RCD fitted at the board. Under New Zealand building & electrical regulations, the shed will require independent electrical certification. We will assist you to meet these legal requirements.

RETRO FITTED EXISTING SHED

The retro fitted shed concept is perhaps the most challenging version of a fodder growing facility to undertake and has both advantages and disadvantages. From a general perspective, a retrofitted shed will require each of the factors set out above for a permanent shed.

The advantages of a retro fitted shed are:

  • the capital cost of the building is already in place
  • services such as power and water may already be connected to the shed
  • access to the shed may already be formed
  • the shed may already be closed in (although an open shed is no more difficult to work with)
  • the fit out of an existing shed may provide some tax advantages over a new construction and may have different insurance implications to the construction of a new building.

The disadvantages of a retro fitted shed are:

  • the number of modules that may be placed in the shed may be limited by the sheds configuration, such as the shed is too narrow to fit in all of the modules the farmer is seeking to install, however, we have flexible designs and configurations.
  • the floor of the shed, if not concrete, will need to be concreted. If the shed has a concrete floor this may have to be cut to install a drainage track.
  • Insulation will have to be installed within the shed but we have a number of innovative and cost effective options available.

If you are contemplating either a new shed to house a Fodder NZ system or retro fitting an existing building, please call us to discuss the options. We know where our systems can go and the requirements for their efficient operation. Call us on 0800 16 32 64 during office hours; 021 494 622 after hours or email support@fodder.nz 

We are here to help.