![]() ![]() "They really like it."Īnd just like sheep love the sprouts, Daccarett says he loves the financial savings from using this not so-widely-used farming practice. "They go crazy when they see it," he says. ![]() "The more pressure we have from water limitations or the more pressure to become more efficient ourselves and more sustainable - you're going to see more people doing it," he explains.Īnd when Quiñonez feeds the sprouts to the sheep, they come running. He says his first two containers paid for themselves in just over a year. But for sheep rancher Mario Daccarett, it's working. Putnam says these hydroponic containers are expensive, about $100,000 each. ![]() "If you really apply a little bit of economics to it and animal nutrition to it, it doesn't appear quite as promising as one might think," says Putnam. "The margins are pretty slim," says University of California, Davis agronomy professor Daniel Putnam. "We plant every day and we harvest every day, and it takes six days to complete the cycle," Daccarett adds.īut not everyone thinks growing indoors is worth it. That ingredient? Sprouted barley grown indoors. And to cut the cost of all that feed, Daccarett says he has a secret ingredient that enriches his cheese while at the same time saves a lot of water. To make that much milk it takes a lot of feed – like oats and hay. He says he gets about 800 pounds of milk a year from each ewe. "They tell me that our Golden Ewe cheese is the best for grilled cheese sandwich ever," Daccarett says. This creamy milk eventually is turned into cheese and sold at places like Whole Foods. On Golden Valley Farm an hour north of Fresno, Mario Daccarett's employees milk 500 sheep every day, in rounds of 12. The new diet is making some Central Valley sheep very happy. ![]() Among them: growing feed indoors using hydroponics. The extended drought in California has farmers looking for ways to use less water. Farmer Mario Daccarett says the barley, grown in shipping containers, is sweet and keeps his sheep full longer. These Central Valley sheep are happily munching on sprouted barley grown indoors. ![]()
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