By Jamie Martin
Fyto, a U.S.-based startup, is offering farmers a new way to produce sustainable cattle feed and fertilizer using nitrogen-rich wastewater from dairy farms.
Founded by Jason Prapas, a former director at MIT’s Tata Center, Fyto uses automation to grow Lemna, also known as duckweed, an aquatic plant rich in protein that doubles in mass every two days.
Fyto’s system is designed to operate in shallow pools on low-productive land, using robots that monitor Lemna growth, detect issues, and harvest the crop. The harvested Lemna can be used as high-protein cattle feed or as a fertilizer, offering a dual benefit to farmers.
“We developed from scratch a robotic system that takes the guesswork out of farming this crop,” said Prapas.
Prapas started his journey growing Lemna in backyard pools before expanding the system into large-scale farm trials. He partnered with Valerie Peng, now head of engineering at Fyto, to build the company’s technology and lead field operations.
Lemna has shown higher protein yields per acre than soy, but it needs nitrogen to grow. Fyto’s method solves this by using nitrogen-rich farm waste, like dairy manure water. The system has even worked with waste from chickens and cheese production.
Currently, Fyto’s system is being trialled on farms with units as large as 160 feet wide. Lemna has already been approved for feed use in Europe, and Fyto is awaiting similar approval in California. Its fertilizer version is licensed and showing strong trial results.
Fyto plans to sell these systems directly to farmers soon. “Think of us like a polishing step you could put on the end of any system that has an organic waste stream,” said Prapas.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-imaginegolf
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