ITS Campus, ITS News – The large number of cattle breeders in Lamongan Regency that still use its cattle feed from green plants and agricultural waste. Thus it makes them difficult to get their cattle feed during the dry season. Therefore, several lecturers and students from Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) conducted community service or Abdi Masyarakat (Abmas) Teknologi Tepat Guna and Kuliah Kerja Nyata (KKN) to overcome this problem.

Those lecturers are Siti Zullaikah PhD (Departement of Chemical Engineering), Bambang Pramujati PhD (Departement of Mechanical Engineering), Dr techn Endry Nugroho P (Departement of Biology), and Afifatul Jannah ST (Departement of Chemical Engineering). These lecturers were also assisted by the KKN team that is composed of Yoga Ilham Maulidi (Department of Mechanical Engineering), Joseph Johannes De Brito Krisnanda Widiarta (Department of Mechanical Engineering), Fahreza Aji Taruna (Department of Mechanical Engineering), Rohmah Hidayah (Department of Electrical Automation Engineering), and Nur Jihan Salsabila (Department of Business Statistics).

Joined in that team, they helped the people of Bluri Village, Solokuro District, Lamongan Regency, to make cheap and easy cattle feed. In making them, they take advantage of fermentation technology for agricultural waste in the community.

The team leader, Siti Zullaikah Ph.D. said, that Lamongan is a district with superior rice and corn agricultural commodities. However, apart from being farmers, most of the people in the area are also cattle breeders. “On average, the villagers own one to three cows,” she said.

This lecturer, who is often called Zulle continued, these cattle breeders in Bluri Village still raise their livestock traditionally. They only use animal feed from green plants and agricultural waste. This makes it difficult for breeders to get animal feed during the dry season. “Because they only rely on green plants and agricultural waste, the feed they produce is of low quality,” she added.

The handover of milling machines from the ITS Abmas team to Pokmas AMS Mandiri, Lamongan

Zulle said that another problem that is no less important is that the residents in the village do not have sufficient land to cultivate green plants as animal feed ingredients. Generally, the land that they own can only be used to grow food crops. “This can affect livestock of productivity, due to the lack of available animal feed,” she said.

Zulle menjelaskan bahwa untuk mengatasi hal tersebut perlu adanya pakan alternatif sebagai pengganti tumbuhan hijau. Pemanfaatan limbah pertanian dengan menggunakan bioteknologi dinilai cocok untuk diterapkan. Berdasarkan hal tersebut, Zulle dan tim sepakat menggunakan limbah jerami padi dan tebon jagung, karena jumlahnya yang melimpah di desa tersebut.

Zulle explained that to overcome this, it is necessary to have an alternative feed as a substitute for green plants. The utilization of agricultural waste using biotechnology is considered suitable to be applied. Based on this, Zulle and the team agreed to use waste rice straw and corn sugar because of the abundance in the village.

This doctoral graduate of the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) explained that her team’s community service began with a survey of the target villages to search for primary and secondary data. Next, they made a milling machine that reduced the size of rice straw and corn sugarcane.

This milling machine was donated to the MSA Mandiri Community Group (Pokmas) in the village. “Then proceed with making microbial cultures, making modules, and making animal feed,” she explained.

ITS Abmas Team with the residents of Bluri Village, Lamongan

Zulle said that in general, the manufacture of animal feed begins by reducing the size of rice straw and corn sugarcane using a milling machine. Next, these ingredients are stirred evenly and added with a mixture of microbes, drops, salt, and water. The dough is made with a moisture content of 30 to 40 percent. “After that, the dough is fermented for one week,” she said.

After the cattle feed has been successfully made, Zulle and her team conducted trials on cattle and measured the increase in cow weight per day to see the results. Community service was continued by conducting the socialization and training on making animal feed from agricultural waste to residents. “Not to forget, we also conduct training for them,” she said.

According to this hijabi woman, the abmas, which has been done for one month, can help breeders in providing food. This is evidenced by the increase in daily cattle weight that much greater than the previously used animal feed. “The increase is almost six times greater,” she added proudly.

Zulle hopes residents can continue to use this fermented animal feed for their livestock. He also hopes that the productivity of farmers in Bluri Village will increase. “Hopes the solution we offer can help breeders overcome the problem of feed,” she concluded hopefully.  (dil/far/ ITS Public Relations)