Fodder
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In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, including cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some fodder is of animal origin.
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[edit] Common plants specifically grown for fodder
- grass (for grazing as pasture and for harvest and storage as hay and silage)
- ryegrass
- Bermuda grass
- timothy-grass
- danthonia
- Orchard grass
- Brome
- wheat
- millet
- soybeans
[edit] Types of fodder
- hay, silage, stover and straw
- oil cake and press cake
- compound feed and premixes, often called "pellets" or "nuts"
- yeast extract and oligosaccharides
[edit] Health concerns
In the past, mad cow disease spread through the inclusion of ruminant meat and bone meal in cattle feed due to prion contamination. This practice is now banned in most countries where it has occurred. Some animals have a lower tolerance for spoiled or moldy fodder than others, and certain types of molds, toxins, or poisonous weeds inadvertently mixed into a food source may cause economic losses due to sickness or death of the animals.
[edit] Growing Fodder Hydroponically
Some types of fodder may be effectively grown in a hydroponic environment. Growing fodder, instead of feeding the "raw" grain to stock, can greatly increase the value of the grain. For instance, 1 ton of barley can be converted to 7 tons of fodder in less than two weeks.
[edit] See also
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