Basic terminologies used in fodder and forge production, and are briefed below; Forage is a term for plant and plant parts that are consumed in many forms, by domestic livestock, animals and insects.
Pasture is used for grass or other plants grown for feeding the grazing animals. Pasture land is referring to the land devoted to the production indigenous (native) or introduce forage species that are harvested primarily by grazing.
Permanent pasture described pasture composed of perennial or self-seeding annual plants that are grazed annually, generally for 10 years or more successive years.
Crop land is devoted the production of cultivated crops that is harvested for silage or hay.
Crop land pasture refers to crop land that is grazed for the part of years such as grazing corn stock after the grain is harvested grazing leaves of winter wheat in winter or spring before reproductive growth begins.
In addition to grazing grassland pastures are useful in row crop rotation or winter covered crop to reduce soil erosion.
Agrostology is a specialized discipline of agronomy for the study of forage crops and their management and utilization.
Browse is defined as the leaves, shoots and sprouts of woody plants which are eaten to various extent by the domestic and wild animals.
Crude fibers refer to that portion of feed insoluble in hot diluted H2SO4 and sodium hydroxide solution.
Crude Protein: It gives appropriate value of protein contents of forage. It is obtained by multiplying nitrogen parentage in the plants with the factor 6.25.
Fodder is defined as any plant that is cut before being fed to animals in the green stage or after converting hay and silage.
Forage the term is used broadly to means all the plants material that are eaten by the herbivores animals. Or It is the edible parts of the plants other than grains that provide feed for animals or can be harvested for feeding.
Forb is general terms used for herbaceous broad leaved plant other than grasses. In between cereals and legumes, the other all plants come under like category of forb. E.g. Brassica etc.
Grasses is the term for the members of the plant family, that is “Poaceae” e.g Wheat, Rice, Jao.
Grass land, the land on which vegetation is dominated by grasses which could be annual or perennial. Or It is an open tract of land having plant community of natural herbaceous species in which the dominant species are perennial grasses which a non woody growth.
Grazing, when animals eats or partially defoliate any kind of standing vegetation it is called as grazing.
Silage, forage preserved by field crops dried up to a moisture level, to prevent microbial activity, that leads to silage. Or
Hay is an animal feed, produced by dehydrated green fodder to a moisture content of about less than 15% so that the biological processes do not proceed rapidly.
Haylage: It is called no moisture silage, hay crop silage or drylage is the combination of hay and silage in which moisture in the grass or forage is reduced 40 to 60 % by cutting and wilting in the field before it is chopped and stored in the silage.
Herbage: It is a collective term for the above ground succulent biomass of forage crops fed to livestock.
Legumes: It is a general term for a member of a plant family Fabaceae which perform nitrogen fixing by nodules on the roots.
Ley: A field temporary sown to grass species and grow after 1-3 years, A temporary pasture.
Ley Farming: is a relation of irrible crops requiring annual cultivation or ley occupying the field for two years or longer.
Meadow: An area covered with grasses or succulent fodder legumes grown primarily for hay and silage, rather than for grazing.
Over seeding: is refers to seeding of grasses and legumes in an existing grassland to improve and maintain the reproductive quality of forage.
Pasture: A community of grasses or grass vegetation maintained for grazing purposes.
Range: Natural grassland in which natural vegetation or the potential plant community constitute principally of native grasses, shrubs that are valuable for forages or grazing.
Roughages: is a bulky field stuff for livestock that is relatively high in fiber and low in digestible nutrient. They may be green or dry and usually contain more than 80% fiber.
Straw: Dry stocks of cereals after threshing and removing the seeds.
Silage: is an animal feed uptake by racking fresh fodder in a suitable container and allowing it to ferment anaerobic conditions without undergoing much loss of nutrients.
Soilage: is a general term to indicate a fodder cut green and feeding in fresh conditions.
Stower: is a term for cereal stubbles and broken pieces of threshing.
Silvopasture: describes an agro forestry practice that combines manage pasture land with tree production.
Grassland Agriculture: is a farming system that emphasizes the importance of grasses legumes, livestock and land management. Farmers who plant crops and managed livestock production around their grassland resources are grassland farmers.
Herbivores: Animals that submit primarily on plants and plants materials, convert grassland products into high quality meat and milk foods that complement the nutrient values of plant products for humans.