It is called a Green Crop Drier because it dries fresh green forage. But our crop drier is green for another reason. It only uses renewable energy as its heat source. Our biomass boiler burns straw from our farm to heat hot water. The hot water is then pumped to the drier, passing through 6 heat exchangers to create hot air for drying.  

The crop is mown and left to wilt for 24 hours before being picked up by our forage harvester. It is delivered straight to our farm, ready for drying through our green crop drier. By ‘force’ drying the forage, its nutritional qualities are locked in. 

The dried forage enters our pellet press and under immense pressure, it is pushed through the holes in the “die” to form pellets. Due to the pressure and friction involved in the process a huge amount of heat is generated, creating natural steam to aid the binding process. The hot pellets then enter a cooler which draws ambient air over the pellets. Once cooled the pellets harden and can then be moved into their designated storage bay.  

Constant monitoring of the press is required. Small samples are taken regularly over the day. These samples are aggregated to produce a batch average which is then sent off for testing. This simple method allows us to keep track of the nutritional qualities of our products. 

The Feed Material Assurance Scheme covers all feed ingredients intended for direct feeding to animals, or for inclusion in compound feeds and blends. Based on the HACCP Principles, it ensures high levels of feed safety and hygiene are maintained throughout the process. We are audited annually by an independent body, and our samples our sent to a registered laboratory for testing.