Schmidt Hop Farm Supplies - Miscanthus Natural Bedding

About Miscanthus Natural Bedding

Get to know Giant Miscanthus

Giant Miscanthus is a perennial grass with the ability to grow on marginal land. It maintains high water efficiency, is non-invasive, requires low fertilizer needs, and sequesters carbon. Its unique properties make it an amazing animal bedding product. Miscanthus has been used for animal bedding in Europe for over 50 years, and now we know why!

MISCANTHUS

Giant Miscanthus is a perennial grass with the ability to grow on marginal land. It maintains high water efficiency, is non-invasive, sequesters carbon and requires minimal nutrient, herbicide and pesticides. Mathure yields can range from 8-14 tons per acre.

USES

It's Unique properties make it an amazing animal bedding product. Use in Horse Stalls, Chicken Houses, Turkey Houses, Pigs along with small animals. Miscanthus can also be used as erosion control with it's high absorbson rate.

SUSTAINABLE

In a world where deforestatin is a envromental disaster, Miscanthus can be grown and harvested annuall without cutting any trees. Miscanthus is grown to help reduce greenhouse gas emmission and is a C4 perennial crop that is extremely effiient.

Benefits of Miscanthus Natural Bedding

The cost and health benefits are undeniable

Animal bedding is a major cost center for any operation. Based on surveys of our customers, the average material cost per week per stall (12 x 12) after switching to Natural Bedding dropped by 20%, and for many, much higher. The reason is that our bedding is so absorbent, muckers can easily remove concentrated areas without much loss of fresh material. This results in much lower consumption of bedding and more than offsets the price per pound difference.

Vet Recommended
For Horses with allergies and respiratory issues due to significant reduction of dust

100% biodegradable
Allows for direct land application and fertilizer benefits

High moisture absorption
Absorbs 4 times its weight and reduces risk of thrush

Naturally unpalatable
Reduces risk of animal consumption

Significantly reduces waste
Reduces waste disposal volumes and removal cost by 30- 60%

Reduces those pesky flies
It will improve the smell in your stalls and will significantly reduce flies

Compare (Miscanthus vs. Wood Shavings)

Dust-Extracted
Easy to muck
Unpalatable to horses
Highly Absorbent
Low Disposal Cost

Dusty
Hard to muck
Risk to digestion
Low Absorbency
High Disposal Cost

Cost Savings Analysis of Natural Bedding vs. Shavings

Customers begin to see cost savings from switching to Natural Bedding starting from week 2.

In this example, our customer pays ~$20 per bag of Natural Bedding and used to pay $7.50 per bag of shavings.
He only needs to add 2 new bags of Natural Bedding per stall per week, while he used to need to add 14 bags
of shavings per stall per week.

(Per Stall)	Natural Bedding	Shavings	Cost Savings
Initial Setup	$120 (6 Bags)	$75 (10 Bags)	$45
Week 2	$40	$105	$65
Week 3	$40	$105	$65
Week 4	$40	$105	$65
Total Cost	$240	$390	$150

In just 4 weeks, he saved $150 per stall. He owns 23 stalls, which means he has already saved almost $3,500.
This doesn’t include the additional savings he also received from the significant reduction in manure removal,
lower manure removal or dumpsters fees fees, and reduction in labor hours associated with waste disposal.

Composting - Best Practices

As miscanthus is similar to straw grass, it tends to have a significantly lower C:N ratio compared to wood shavings,
thereby reducing nitrogen immobilization in the soil. Perhaps most important, as shown in these comparative photos,
the high absorption and lattice structure of miscanthus bedding reduces fiber carryover in the compost product.
Not only does this reduce bedding costs, but it increases the biosolid ratio in the compost, making it richer in
nutrients when compared to rival products.