UNAIR NEWS – After conducting an activity with the community in the first week of May, Saturday, May 5, the Department of Social Affairs of Student Executive Board Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FKH) Universitas Airlangga once again visited Sumurgung Village, Montong Sub-district, Tuban Regency. The activity was named FKH Menyapa 2018.
“This is a continuation of the first FKH Menyapa (first week of May, ed). We are very pleased that our presence was welcomed by the village head, village officials, and the people of Sumurgung Village as well as the babinkamtibmas of Montong and Babinsa police, “said Devi Kurniawan, head of BEM FKH UNAIR.
For livestock feed processing, the activities on Saturday-Sunday, May 19-20 was initiated by giving counseling. Then, the activity continued with a demo of making silage which is a feed preservation technique. The silage can be used in the feed famine season and there was fermentation feed as an effort to improve the quality of feed in the community.
The given demonstration was expected to provide answers to public complaints due to the rarity of feed during the dry season including the abundance of agricultural waste during the rainy season. Not only explore the potential of human resources, the activity was also expected to develop natural resources in the agricultural and livestock sectors.
After doing the demo, the next day the students gave 250 dwarf elephant grass seeds so during the dry season there will be no more complaints about the shortage of animal feed.
The dwarf elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum cv. Mott) has several advantages. They have relatively short stems, relatively fast growth, preferable by livestock, the leaves are soft and hairless, it can adapt to the soil, can grow about 50-80 stems in one clump and it does not require special treatment, and has a moisture content around 80 percent so cattle can avoid dehydration .
Head of Sumurgung village, Widodo welcomed the follow-up activities. He hoped people can receive the information and innovations that have been given, including to implement it in order to improve the living standard of village community. (*)
Author: Pradita Desyanti
Editor: Feri Fenoria Rifai
