What is forage in agriculture?
Forage crop. A crop of cultivated plants or plant parts, other than separated grain, produced to be grazed or harvested for use as feed for animals. Aftermath. Forage grown following a harvest.
What is cattle forage?
Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. While the term forage has a broad definition, the term forage crop is used to define crops, annual or biennial, which are grown to be utilized by grazing or harvesting as a whole crop.
What is forage in animal feed?
Forages are the wide selection of plants the animal has to choose from when grazing. These could be native grasses, legumes, groomed pastures or woody forbs, and the wide range of plants available in a well-balanced pasture.
What is forage production?
Forage crops are grown specifically for grazing by livestock or harvested to help make up seasonal shortfalls between feed demand and supply. They form a vital part of livestock production.
What is the importance of forage?
Forage crops are rich in minerals which helps poultry for bone, eggshell formation, fluid balance and in hormone production. Enhance seasonal distribution of forage production throughout the year to complement warm-season perennial grasses. Forage crops reduce weed development. It reduces soil erosion.
What is difference between forage and fodder?
Fodder refers mostly the crops which are harvested and used for stall feeding. Forage may be defined as the vegetative matter, fresh or preserved, utilised as feed for animals. Forage crops include grasses, legumes, crucifers and other crops cultivated and used in the form of hay, pasture, fodder and silage.
What is the importance of forage crops?
They are used to extend a growing season, as emergency feed, weed control, and utilize the land during times when grasse and legume production subside. Producers can often more fully utilize their labor, land, water, and growing resources by planting a miscellaneous forage.
What are examples of forage crops?
Grasses, legumes, and brassicas either sown alone or in mixtures are used as annual forages. Annual forage crops are fed fresh by grazing or green-chopping or conserved as hay, silage, or grain. Specialist annual forage crops are grown for conservation of feed reserves.
Why do ruminants need forage?
Native grasses supported grazing animals well before man began to domesticate livestock. Forages have always been an extremely important source of nutrients in livestock rations. Additionally, they provide fiber in the ration which enhances proper digestion in forage-consuming animals.
What are the uses of forage crops?
Uses of forage crops: (i) Livestock feed: Forage crops are usually used for feeding livestock like cattle, sheep and goat. Hay, straw and silage are prepared from forage crops. (ii) As cover crops: Most forage crops, especially leguminous plants, serve as cover crops which add nutrients to soil and control weed growth.
What are the importance of forage crops?
What is forage crops with example?
What does grass (forage) fed mean?
“Grass (Forage) Fed” means that grass and forage shall be the feed source consumed for the lifetime of the ruminant animal, with the exception of milk consumed prior to weaning.
What is the difference between silage and forage?
Forages have been described as bulky feeds that have relatively low digestibility. However, corn silage is a forage, but it can be more than 70 percent digestible. Perhaps the best way to understand forages is to look at the properties that make them unique.
What is the importance of forages in the human diet?
Through their conversion into milk and meat products, forages continue to be one of the primary sources of nourishment in the human diet. Feed costs represent the single largest expense in most livestock operations.
What are the different methods of forage harvest and preservation?
Astute producers recognize the economic significance of producing high-quality forage crops. The primary methods of harvesting and preserving forage crops include silage making, hay making, green chopping and pasturing. Each of these methods of forage harvest and/or preservation has benefits and limitations.