Dairy farmers in Kandang Tepus Village, Senduro District, Lumajang Regency, faced challenges in feed preparation because the processes of chopping forage and mixing feed were still performed manually. This resulted in lengthy feeding preparation times and required significant physical effort. This community service initiative aimed to implement grass-chopping and feed-mixing machines in the feed preparation process while enhancing the partners' ability to operate and perform basic maintenance on the equipment. The activity employed a participatory and applied approach across five stages: identifying partner needs and issues; designing and fabricating the technology; testing and refinement; training and technology implementation; and mentoring, monitoring, and evaluation. Prior to the technology's implementation, forage chopping was done using sickles, and feed ingredients were mixed by hand. Following implementation, chopping was mechanized producing cut lengths of approximately 2 to 3 cm and feed mixing was carried out using a mechanical mixer. Interviews with the partners indicated that the technology reduced feed preparation time by approximately 30% compared to the previous manual method. Training and mentoring outcomes demonstrated that the partners were capable of operating the grass-chopping and feed-mixing machines and performing basic equipment maintenance. The introduction of these two machines transformed the feed preparation process from one dominated by manual labor into a more mechanized and structured operation. This initiative demonstrates that implementing grass-chopping and feed-mixing machines—complemented by training and mentoring can improve feed preparation efficiency and enhance the partners' capacity to utilize and maintain the technology.
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