A California dairy operator has committed $15 million to install an automated hydroponic feed system that promises to slash water use while keeping a herd of more than 7,000 milking cows fed year-round. Forever Feed Technologies (FFT) signed the contract with Bar-20 Dairy Farms of Kerman, California, marking the company's second major commercial GrowSystem™ deployment announced in 2026 — the first being a similar facility for River Ranch Farms, revealed in March.
The System at Scale
Two FFT GrowSystem™ units planned for Bar-20 will produce more than 75 tons of ForeverFeed™ sprouted grain feed per day while saving more than 95% of the water that would otherwise be required to cultivate over 800 acres of alfalfa. The feed center is designed with capacity for a third unit, ultimately supporting Bar-20's full 15,000-animal operation. Each individual GrowSystem™ can generate up to 50 tons of fresh sprouted grain per day, giving operators a scalable, modular path to on-farm feed production.
For foodservice supply chains and beverage industry analysis professionals tracking dairy input costs, the technology addresses a persistent pressure point: feed procurement vulnerability. Drought, commodity price swings, and logistical disruptions have made consistent, affordable feed supply an operational risk for large dairy operators — the same operations that anchor fluid milk, cheese, butter, and ingredient supply for restaurants and food manufacturers.
Why It Matters for Operators
Bar-20 Dairy Farms, part of the Shehadey family group of companies, has an established record on sustainability infrastructure, having previously integrated dairy methane digesters and a microgrid fuel cell system with California Bioenergy and Bloom Energy in 2021. That existing biogas infrastructure also produces renewable hydrogen transportation fuel. The FFT installation extends that sustainability stack into feed production itself.
Steve Shehadey, family member and manager of Bar-20 Dairy Farms, cited three years of watching FFT develop its system before committing. "This is exactly the kind of innovative dairy technology needed for the next generation of successful operators, reducing our water footprint and helping us become more efficient," he said. Jack de Jong, CEO and Co-Founder of Forever Feed Technologies, framed the deal as proof-of-concept at commercial scale: "We are delivering on our promise to help dairy operations become more productive, resilient, and sustainable for generations to come."
The broader implication for the foodservice and restaurant technology coverage community is upstream: as large dairy producers modernize feed infrastructure, the resilience of dairy ingredient supply — a cornerstone input for countless restaurant menus and packaged food lines — improves alongside it. Indoor hydroponic sprouted grain feed also delivers consistent nutritional profiles year-round, independent of seasonal crop variation, which translates to more predictable herd output and, ultimately, more stable wholesale pricing for buyers across the hospitality and food manufacturing sectors.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
