Grass meal from lucerne

Grass meal - natural protein-vitamin forage (additive in compound feeds) for farm animals made from the grass cleaned in early phases of the vegetation which is quickly dried up at high temperature and ground in flour.

It is well-known that the basis of diet of many species of farm animals is made by grass. As the fresh grass is available only in the summer, during this period its preparation for the future is made. Earlier the grass was prepared for the stabling period of keeping of animals mainly by drying in hay. With development of technologies ways of preparation of grass with the best preservation of useful components appeared. One of them - production of grass meal and grass granules.

In spite of the fact that grass meal and grass granules belong to roughages, on the energy value they approach concentrates. Correctly prepared flour (or granules) on the general nutritiousness concedes to grain sterns a little and contains in one kilogram 100-140 g of the digested protein, 200-300 mg of carotene, almost all essential amino acids. For these reasons the granulated grass meal is very demanded goods.

For production of grass meal and grass granules use new-mown grass bean, cereals and rich in herbs green material.

The production technology of grass meal is of great importance. It is known that vitamins quickly (in only a few seconds) collapse at strong heating. Therefore, for production of vitamin grass meal the crushed grass has to be dried up to 9 - 12% of humidity for several seconds.

The content of nutrients and vitamins B to grass meal considerably is influenced by form and storage conditions, in the granulated look safety of nutrients is more. Therefore for prolonged storage (and also transportation reductions in cost) vitamin grass meal need to be granulated.