Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to anima ...

. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially as hay or silage. 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.

Common forages

Grasses

Grass forages include: *'' Agrostis'' spp. – bentgrasses **'' Agrostis capillaris'' – common bentgrass **''

Agrostis stolonifera ''Agrostis stolonifera'' (creeping bentgrass, creeping bent, fiorin, spreading bent or carpet bentgrass) is a perennial grass species in the family Poaceae. Description ''Agrostis stolonifera'' is stoloniferous and may form mats or tufts. The p ...

'' – creeping bentgrass *'' Andropogon hallii'' – sand bluestem *''

Arrhenatherum elatius ''Arrhenatherum elatius'', with the common names bulbous oat grass, false oat-grass, tall oat-grass, tall meadow oat, onion couch and tuber oat-grass, is a species of perennial grass, native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. This ...

'' – false oat-grass *''

Bothriochloa bladhii ''Bothriochloa bladhii'' (commonly called, variously, Australian bluestem, Caucasian bluestem, forest-bluegrass, plains bluestem, and purple plume grass) is a Neotropic grass in the family Poaceae, found primarily in tropical Africa, and tropical ...

'' – Australian bluestem *'' Bothriochloa pertusa'' – hurricane grass *'' Brachiaria decumbens'' – Surinam grass *'' Brachiaria humidicola'' – koronivia grass *'' Bromus'' spp. – bromegrasses * '' Cenchrus ciliaris'' – buffelgrass *'' Chloris gayana'' – Rhodes grass *'' Cynodon dactylon'' – bermudagrass *'' Dactylis glomerata'' – orchard grass *''

Echinochloa pyramidalis ''Echinochloa pyramidalis'' is a species of large grass, occurring naturally in flooded regions and beside lakes in tropical Africa and America, and introduced to various other countries. It is commonly known as antelope grass. Description ''Ec ...

'' – antelope grass *''

Entolasia imbricata ''Entolasia'' is a genus of African, Australian, and Papuasian plants in the grass family. They are rhizomatous perennials.Festuca'' spp. – fescues **'' Festuca arundinacea'' – tall fescue **'' Festuca pratensis'' – meadow fescue **'' Festuca rubra'' – red fescue *'' Heteropogon contortus'' – black spear grass *'' Hymenachne amplexicaulis'' – West Indian marsh grass *'' Hyparrhenia rufa'' – jaragua *'' Leersia hexandra'' – southern cutgrass *''

Lolium ''Lolium'' is a genus of tufted grasses in the bluegrass subfamily (Pooideae). It is often called ryegrass, but this term is sometimes used to refer to grasses in other genera. They are characterized by bunch-like growth habits. ''Lolium'' is ...

'' spp. – ryegrasses **'' Lolium multiflorum'' – Italian ryegrass **'' Lolium perenne'' – perennial ryegrass *'' Megathyrsus maximus'' – Guinea grass *'' Melinis minutiflora'' – molasses grass *'' Paspalum conjugatum'' – carabao grass *'' Paspalum dilatatum'' – dallisgrass *'' Phalaris arundinacea'' – reed canarygrass *'' Phleum pratense'' – timothy *''

Poa ''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some New Zealand species), a ...

'' spp. – bluegrasses, meadow-grasses **'' Poa arachnifera'' – Texas bluegrass **'' Poa pratensis'' – Kentucky bluegrass **'' Poa trivialis'' – rough bluegrass *'' Setaria sphacelata'' – African bristlegrass *'' Themeda triandra'' – kangaroo grass *''

Thinopyrum intermedium ''Thinopyrum intermedium'', known commonly as intermediate wheatgrass, is a sod-forming perennial grass in the Triticeae tribe of Pooideae native to Europe and Western Asia. It is part of a group of plants commonly called wheatgrasses beca ...

'' – intermediate wheatgrass

Herbaceous legumes

Herbaceous legume forages include: Lucerne with hay bales behind

*'' Arachis pintoi'' – pinto peanut *'' Astragalus cicer'' – cicer milkvetch *''

Chamaecrista rotundifolia ''Chamaecrista rotundifolia'', round-leaf cassia,Cook, B.G. et al. (2005). “Chamaecrista rotundifolia”. Tropical Forages. Retrieved 18 November 20130 from http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Chamaecrista_rotundifolia.htm ...

'' – roundleaf sensitive pea *'' Clitoria ternatea'' – butterfly-pea *''

Kummerowia ''Kummerowia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. These plants were formerly in genus '' Lespedeza''.Gucker, C. L. 2010''Kummerowia stipulacea'', ''K. striata''.In: Fire Effects ...

'' – annual lespedezas **'' Kummerowia stipulacea'' – Korean clover, Korean lespedeza **'' Kummerowia striata'' – Japanese clover, common lespedeza *'' Lotus corniculatus'' – bird's-foot trefoil *''

Macroptilium atropurpureum ''Macroptilium atropurpureum'', commonly referred to as purple bush-bean,Macroptilium atropurpureum. (n.d.). Tropical Forages Factsheet. Retrieved from http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Macroptilium_atropurpureum.htm or ''sir ...

'' – purple bush-bean *''

Macroptilium bracteatum ''Macroptilium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. Species ''Macroptilium'' is made up of 19 species segregated into two monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organis ...

'' – burgundy bean *'' Medicago'' spp. – medics **'' Medicago sativa'' – alfalfa, lucerne **'' Medicago truncatula'' – barrel medic *''

Melilotus ''Melilotus'', known as melilot, sweet clover, and kumoniga (from the Cumans),Bulgarian Folk Customs, Mercia MacDermott, pg 27 is a genus in the family Fabaceae (the same family that also includes the ''Trifolium'' clovers). Members are known ...

'' spp. – sweetclovers *''

Neonotonia wightii ''Neonotonia wightii'', the perennial soybean, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to subSaharan Africa, Yemen, India, and Sri Lanka, and widely introduced as a forage in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina, t ...

'' – perennial soybean *'' Onobrychis viciifolia'' – common sainfoin *'' Stylosanthes'' spp. – stylo **'' Stylosanthes humilis'' – Townsville stylo **''

Stylosanthes scabra ''Stylosanthes scabra'', the shrubby stylo, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to tropical South America, and introduced to Hawaii and Australia. It is widely planted as a droughttolerant livestock forage Forage is ...

'' – shrubby stylo *'' Trifolium'' spp. – clovers **''

Trifolium hybridum ''Trifolium hybridum'', the alsike clover, is a species of flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae. The stalked, pale pink or whitish flower head grows from the leaf axils, and the trifoliate leaves are unmarked. The plant is up to tall, and ...

'' – alsike clover **''

Trifolium incarnatum ''Trifolium incarnatum'', known as crimson clover or Italian clover, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to most of Europe. It has been introduced to other areas, including the United States and Japan. This upright ...

'' – crimson clover **'' Trifolium pratense'' – red clover **'' Trifolium repens'' – white clover *'' Vicia'' spp. – vetches **''

Vicia articulata ''Vicia'' is a genus of over 240 species of flowering plants that are part of the legume family (Fabaceae), and which are commonly known as vetches. Member species are native to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some other ...

'' – oneflower vetch **'' Vicia ervilia'' – bitter vetch **'' Vicia narbonensis'' – narbon vetch **'' Vicia sativa'' – common vetch, tare **'' Vicia villosa'' – hairy vetch *''

Vigna parkeri ''Vigna parkeri'', the creeping vigna or vigna menjalar, is a climbing or prostrate perennial vine that grows in subtropical areas such as Kenya, Indonesia, and Madagascar. Description ''Vigna parkeri'' has climbing or prostrate stems, sometime ...

'' – creeping vigna

Tree legumes

Tree legume forages include: *'' Acacia aneura'' – mulga *'' Albizia'' spp. – silk trees *''

Albizia canescens ''Albizia canescens'', commonly known as Belmont siris, is a species of '' Albizia'', endemic to Northern Australia. Description While superficially similar to the closely related '' A. lebbek'', which has an overlapping native range, ''A. ...

'' – Belmont siris *'' Albizia lebbeck'' – lebbeck *'' Enterolobium cyclocarpum'' – earpodtree *'' Leucaena leucocephala'' – leadtree Sheep feeding on silage in the snow, Baltasound - geograph

Silage

Silage may be composed by the following: * Alfalfa * Maize (corn) *Grass-legume mix *

Sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family ( Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many ot ...

s * Oats

Aquatic feeds

*'' Lemna minor'' – Duckweed *'' Pistia stratiotes'' – Water lecttuce *'' Eichhornia crassipes'' – Water hyacinth *'' Salvinia molesta'' – fern *'' Ipomoea aquatica'' – Water spinach

Crop residue

Crop residues used as forage include: *Sorghum *Sweet potato vines *Corn or soybean *Fruit tree by-products

stover Stover are the leaves and stalks of field crops, such as corn (maize), sorghum or soybean that are commonly left in a field after harvesting the grain. It is similar to straw, the residue left after any cereal grain or grass has been harvested a ...

Common forages

Grasses

Herbaceous legumes

Tree legumes

Silage

Aquatic feeds

Crop residue

Less common

See also

References

External links