Odd Invention: Idle Livestock Hit the Treadmill to Generate Electricity For Farms | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 492099 United States 04/16/2010 07:10 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Thoughts Faux Fodder (OP) User ID: 941458 United States 04/16/2010 07:13 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | two cows could run a house! Quoting: Anonymous Coward 492099It made me think of draft horses and old style mills, hopefully farmers that utilize this will be kinder to the cows!! Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all.... Emily Dickinson |
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Thoughts Faux Fodder (OP) User ID: 941458 United States 04/16/2010 07:38 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | That is a seriously awesome invention. Quoting: The Philosopher Stonedi think it IS a terrific idea, at least as far as the farmers are concerned. i hope the cows will get alternated- some days in the pasture some on the treadmill... i would hate to think they'd be trapped indoors their entire lives, walking to nowhere. Last Edited by Thoughts Faux Fodder on 04/16/2010 07:39 PM Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all.... Emily Dickinson |
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The Philosopher Stoned User ID: 938349 United States 04/16/2010 07:56 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | That is a seriously awesome invention. Quoting: Thoughts Faux Fodderi think it IS a terrific idea, at least as far as the farmers are concerned. i hope the cows will get alternated- some days in the pasture some on the treadmill... i would hate to think they'd be trapped indoors their entire lives, walking to nowhere. I'm thinking how awesome it would be to throw my goats on there. All they ever do is spend their time trying to break out. If we could make them productive instead that would be the bee's knees! |
Thoughts Faux Fodder (OP) User ID: 941458 United States 04/16/2010 07:59 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | poor cows Quoting: Anonymous Coward 945082How so? Good exercise -> healthier & happier cow, especially in the wintertime. Peace. =One tough Steak! they are talking about milk cows, and say it may up production with possibly less methane production. If we are going to continue farming livestock, it makes sense to become as efficient as possible in all ways,without increasing misery on those animals. just my opinion. Last Edited by Thoughts Faux Fodder on 04/16/2010 08:00 PM Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all.... Emily Dickinson |
Thoughts Faux Fodder (OP) User ID: 941458 United States 04/16/2010 08:02 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | That is a seriously awesome invention. Quoting: The Philosopher Stonedi think it IS a terrific idea, at least as far as the farmers are concerned. i hope the cows will get alternated- some days in the pasture some on the treadmill... i would hate to think they'd be trapped indoors their entire lives, walking to nowhere. I'm thinking how awesome it would be to throw my goats on there. All they ever do is spend their time trying to break out. If we could make them productive instead that would be the bee's knees! i got a heck of a visual from that, i love goats, we used to have 2 and will be getting milk goats once we move :-) Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all.... Emily Dickinson |
Accidental Stoner User ID: 767025 Finland 04/16/2010 08:06 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | That is a seriously awesome invention. Quoting: Thoughts Faux Fodderi think it IS a terrific idea, at least as far as the farmers are concerned. i hope the cows will get alternated- some days in the pasture some on the treadmill... i would hate to think they'd be trapped indoors their entire lives, walking to nowhere. Yes, me too. But the real problem there is the insanity of the War On Small Scale going on, methinks. When I was a kid, we got our milk, all summer long, from a farm nearby our cabin, where one lady farmer seemed to get by and thrive with 10 animals or so... Loved to hear her singing calls for the cows to get back indoors echoing along the waterfront in the evenings. Pure magic! :) Nowadays, you'd need to multiply that number of cows with at least 20, before you can even call it a farm. A bit sad for my own kids, thay never got to experience that kind of thing. That endlessly beautiful rural landscape has turned into something much more industrial-looking...and I don't like it one bit. The population of this country back then was 5 million. We're still (minus the new...ummh...immigrants) about 5 mil. So...why? Seems to me the War On Small Scale is just another modus operandi of the much bigger War On Love, that's been going on for Lord knows how many centuries/millennia. Sorry for long, off-topic rant. Peace. |
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Thoughts Faux Fodder (OP) User ID: 941458 United States 04/16/2010 08:11 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Yes, me too. Quoting: Accidental Stoner 767025But the real problem there is the insanity of the War On Small Scale going on, methinks. When I was a kid, we got our milk, all summer long, from a farm nearby our cabin, where one lady farmer seemed to get by and thrive with 10 animals or so... Loved to hear her singing calls for the cows to get back indoors echoing along the waterfront in the evenings. Pure magic! :) Nowadays, you'd need to multiply that number of cows with at least 20, before you can even call it a farm. A bit sad for my own kids, thay never got to experience that kind of thing. That endlessly beautiful rural landscape has turned into something much more industrial-looking...and I don't like it one bit. The population of this country back then was 5 million. We're still (minus the new...ummh...immigrants) about 5 mil. So...why? Seems to me the War On Small Scale is just another modus operandi of the much bigger War On Love, that's been going on for Lord knows how many centuries/millennia. Sorry for long, off-topic rant. Peace. i agree with you - we live close to what used to be a dairy town but most of the farms are long closed. My mom used to get raw milk from them when we were small , that is a crime now, due to food safety laws. Gotta protect us from everything y'know ......... Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all.... Emily Dickinson |
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Rev. Moon Jew User ID: 798834 United States 04/16/2010 08:15 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | poor cows Quoting: Anonymous Coward 945082How so? Good exercise -> healthier & happier cow, especially in the wintertime. Peace. =One tough Steak! You don't generally eat milk cows. Though old ones, beyond milk producing, are used in ground beef sold to instituions and fast food chains. Awesome invention BTW! "Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Albert Einstein revstargazer (at) hotmail.com |
Thoughts Faux Fodder (OP) User ID: 941458 United States 04/16/2010 08:23 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Give the cows a T.V. to watch and the barn would be just like a Gold's gym or Bally's. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 871112... next up on Bovine tv, the cud report... Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all.... Emily Dickinson |
Thoughts Faux Fodder (OP) User ID: 941458 United States 04/16/2010 08:24 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Peace. Quoting: Rev. Moon Jew=One tough Steak! You don't generally eat milk cows. Though old ones, beyond milk producing, are used in ground beef sold to instituions and fast food chains. Awesome invention BTW! I didn't know that , thanks! Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all.... Emily Dickinson |
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Thoughts Faux Fodder (OP) User ID: 941458 United States 04/16/2010 08:31 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Maybe we should do this with congress Quoting: Anonymous Coward 945099oddly enough , one of my first thoughts was, wow , this could open up a whole new job industry from people powered energy. i bet people wouldn't be as consistent as the cows tho. Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all.... Emily Dickinson |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 903601 United States 04/16/2010 08:32 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | [link to www.popsci.com] Quoting: Thoughts Faux FodderCow Power The Livestock Power Mill gives bovines plenty of exercise while providing green energy. If the planet’s 1.3 billion cattle used treadmills for eight hours a day, they would provide 6 percent of the world’s power. William Taylor Instead of milling around aimlessly in pens, as most cows do, William Taylor’s herd is put to work. As they eat, they walk on an electricity-generating treadmill. Taylor has invented, among other contraptions, a better manure mixer and a pen that prevents cows from kicking vets during medical procedures on his farm in Northern Ireland. But this was his first foray into making power. Cows walk as many as eight hours a day while grazing, and one day Taylor realized that he could turn that free motion into electricity. On his Livestock Power Mill, a cow stands on a nonpowered inclined belt that the animal will slowly slide down unless it walks forward, turning the belt, which spins a gearbox to drive a generator. A feed box entices the cow to keep trekking. The one-cow prototype generates up to two kilowatts, enough to power four milking machines. A small farm could earn back a 50-cow system’s estimated $100,000 price in three years. Some studies suggest that cows that exercise make more milk, so Taylor plans to study the system’s health benefits this fall. As a bonus, he speculates that it might cut cattle’s methane problem—cows burp up to 20 percent of the world’s emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas. Humans, he notes, tend to be more gassy if they lounge around. “Helping cows produce less methane while cranking out energy should get them better PR.” Do the cows have to have emissions testing done on them? |
Thoughts Faux Fodder (OP) User ID: 941458 United States 04/16/2010 09:03 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Quoting: Anonymous Coward 903601 i bet so and bovine flatulence omission occurrence inspector may move to the top of my worlds worst job list.... the current holder is : Pig Titillator. [link to blog.ted.com] Last Edited by Thoughts Faux Fodder on 04/16/2010 09:04 PM Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all.... Emily Dickinson |
Thoughts Faux Fodder (OP) User ID: 941458 United States 04/16/2010 10:10 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | It's not a new idea...I saw a 'treadmill' for draft animals in a museum once, I think it powered a thresher Quoting: Anonymous Coward 944675so it's a new application for an old idea.. good to know, thanks :-) :peace: Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all.... Emily Dickinson |
1 | Treadmill Bike: new inventions | 06/02/12 |