Feed issues are crucial in the livestock industry. Currently, many farmers in Indonesia struggle to obtain livestock feed, especially during the dry season. However, some farmers have begun using silage or fermented forage to meet feed needs during the dry season.
Starting from this issue, five students from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) sought to devise an appropriate solution. They developed an automatic silage maker named Eco-Chopper through extensive research and discussions.
Dharmawan Satria Pambudi (Mechanical Engineering Technology), Muhammad Fadhiil Dzaky (Mechanical Engineering Technology), Erwin Yulianto (Electrical Engineering Technology), Orchidia Ummu (Mechanical Engineering Technology), and Nuraini Islami Kamiliiya (Animal Science and Industry) created the Eco-Chopper.
This tool was developed through the Student Creativity Program (PKM) and fully funded by the Ministry of Education.
Citing the Research and Development Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Dharmawan Satria Pambudi explained that silage reduces the loss of nutritional value from forage while preserving it for more extended storage.
It is made when forage production is abundant, such as during the rainy season, and stored for feed during the dry season.
He mentioned the Eco-Chopper, designed by integrating tools used in silage making, such as a chopper machine, packaging, vacuum, and sealer, into a single device. Combining these tools makes silage production more effective and efficient.
“The Eco-Chopper is also equipped with solar panels as a backup power source, making it more environmentally friendly,” Pambudi said at the UGM campus on Friday (Jul. 5).
Erwin Yulianto added that using the Eco-Chopper could reduce silage production costs. This is because the power used to operate the electronic devices is reduced by up to 25 thousand per hour.
The UGM PKM team’s supervising lecturer, Ma’un Budiyanto, hopes that the Eco-Chopper can be mass-produced and benefit goat farmers or other ruminant livestock farmers. He said this tool marks a significant leap in technological development in Indonesia’s livestock sector.
Author: Leony