III.

Forage Crops

Forage-crop farming serves as the basis for much of the world’s livestock industries. Forage crops are mowed, dried, and stored as hay; chopped and stored wet as silage; or fed directly to cattle as pasture or as freshly chopped forage. In tropical and subtropical regions, most livestock consume forages as pasture. In temperate zones, forages are commonly stored as hay or silage for winter use.

Common legume forages of the temperate zones include alfalfa; red, white, and alsike clovers; and birdsfoot trefoil. Popular grasses include timothy, orchard grass (cocksfoot), smooth bromegrass, tall fescue, and bluegrass. Forage-crop farmers normally grow one or more legumes in association with a grass. Bacteria in the root nodules of the legumes convert atmospheric nitrogen (see Nitrogen Fixation) into forms available to these plants and enrich the soil for the grasses as well, thereby reducing the need for fertilizer and increasing the yields and the quality of the forage.