**Andrzej Marczuk 1, Wojciech Misztal 1,\*, Sergey Bulatov 2, Vladimir Nechayev <sup>3</sup> and Petr Savinykh <sup>4</sup>**


Received: 5 December 2019; Accepted: 31 January 2020; Published: 2 February 2020

**Abstract:** Forage from grain plays a special role in animal nutrition because it constitutes feed with a high content of readily available carbohydrates. Unfortunately, the equipment used to prepare forage is often manufactured without the necessary justification and confirmation of the declared sizes and indicators of the work process. This forms the basis for our theoretical and experimental studies. Research has been carried out to provide justification of the design and operating parameters of the patented station for producing forage from cereal crops. This article describes the technology for preparing forage from grain and provides a detailed description of the station used and the principle of its operation. During the experiments, we studied the influence of the angle α of setting the grid-work (plate) and the distance S from the nozzle to the grid-work on the quality of forage. Qualitative, quantitative, and energy indicators have been evaluated using up-to-date measuring instruments and equipment. The method is described, and the studied factors and evaluation criteria for the preparation of forage from grain are indicated. The forage quality results are presented, as determined by the content of whole grains in it via the residue on a sieve with a sieve size of 3 mm when preparing it with a different combination of the studied factors. The analysis of the energy consumption results of the process of preparing forage from grain under various operating conditions of the plant is shown. As a result, the optimal location parameters of the passive grinder have been found, allowing to obtain high-quality forage with minimal power consumption of the electric motor. A grid-work should be used as a grinder. Its installation angle should be 30◦, and the distance between the grid-work and the nozzle should be 205 mm. With this combination of parameters, the specific energy consumption is minimal and amounts to 41.5 W·h/L.

**Keywords:** forage from grain; cereal grain; energy consumption

#### **1. Introduction**

Obtaining high performance indicators for farm animals is determined by a scientifically validated diet and feeding regime, which must include properly processed cereal grains [1–6]. Preparation of feed directly on the farm will give a positive result if a producer has his/her own grain raw materials. With this knowledge, agricultural producers are trying to find feed preparation equipment that is optimal in terms of quality and quantity, separately or as part of a line, depending on the volume of production [7]. These are mainly crushers or flatteners for producing dry concentrates, which are the most known

and proven [8–13]. However, studies show that processing carried out using this type of equipment does not ensure full utilization of the energy value of the grain [11–17]. As previous studies [16,18–22] show, it is possible to obtain feed in the form of forage from grain with a high content of readily available carbohydrates (this kind of feed has great value, primarily for dairy cows). Unfortunately, corresponding equipment is manufactured for such needs without the necessary justification and confirmation of the declared sizes and indicators of the work process [21–24]. Recognizing the practical importance of addressing these issues, theoretical and experimental studies have been carried out to provide justification for the design and operating parameters of the plant for producing forage from cereal crops on the basis of an agreement between the leading manufacturer of animal feed equipment "Doza-Agro" LLC and the Nizhniy Novgorod State Engineering and Economic University (NNSEEU). The article presents the data reflecting the key research insights obtained in the framework of R&D.
