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

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

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 animals ...

. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...

crop residue Crop residues are materials left in an agricultural field after the crop has been harvested. These residues include stalks and stubble (stems), leaves and seed pods. Good management of field residues can increase efficiency of irrigation and c ...

, or immature

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially as

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

silage Silage () is a type of fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation to the point of acidification. It can be fed to cattle, sheep and other such ruminants (cud-chewing animals). The fermentation and storage ...

. 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 Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

forages include: *'' Agrostis'' spp. – bentgrasses **''

Agrostis capillaris ''Agrostis capillaris'', the common bent, colonial bent, or browntop, is a rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial in the grass family ( Poaceae). It is native to Eurasia and has been widely introduced in many parts of the world. Colonial be ...

'' – 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 ...

'' – creeping bentgrass *''

Andropogon hallii ''Andropogon hallii'' (sand bluestem, sand hill bluestem, Hall's bluestem, Hall's beardgrass, prairie bluestem, turkey-foot) is a sod-forming perennial species in the grass family, Poaceae. It is a bunchgrass which grows in tufts and can reach ...

'' – 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 bun ...

'' – false oat-grass *'' Bothriochloa bladhii'' – Australian bluestem *''

Bothriochloa pertusa ''Bothriochloa pertusa'' is a species of grass. It is widely used as a fodder and a graze for livestock. Common names for the plant include hurricane grass, Indian couch grass, Indian-bluegrass, pitted bluestem, Seymour grass, Barbados sourgr ...

'' – hurricane grass *''

Brachiaria decumbens ''Brachiaria'', or signalgrass, is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, southern Europe, the Americas, and various islands.Brachiaria humidicola ''Brachiaria'', or signalgrass, is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, southern Europe, the Americas, and various islands.Bromus ''Bromus'' is a large genus of grasses, classified in its own tribe Bromeae. They are commonly known as bromes, brome grasses, cheat grasses or chess grasses. Estimates in the scientific literature of the number of species have ranged from 100 ...

'' spp. – bromegrasses * '' Cenchrus ciliaris'' – buffelgrass *''

Chloris gayana ''Chloris gayana'' is a species of grass known by the common name Rhodes grass. It is native to Africa but it can be found throughout the tropical and subtropical world as a naturalized species. It can grow in many types of habitat. It is also ...

'' – Rhodes grass *''

Cynodon dactylon ''Cynodon dactylon'', commonly known as Bermuda grass, is a grass found worldwide. It is native to Europe, Africa, Australia and much of Asia. It has been introduced to the Americas. Although it is not native to Bermuda, it is an abundant invasi ...

'' – bermudagrass *''

Dactylis glomerata ''Dactylis Glomerata'' is the sixth studio album by Swedish doom metal band Candlemass, released in 1998. This was their first album released since their split in 1994. The album was originally destined to be the second release by Candlemass ...

'' – orchard grass *'' Echinochloa pyramidalis'' – antelope grass *'' Entolasia imbricata'' – bungoma grass *''

Festuca ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on ever ...

'' spp. – fescues **''

Festuca arundinacea ''Festuca arundinacea'' ( syn., ''Schedonorus arundinaceus'' and ''Lolium arundinaceum'') is a species of grass commonly known as tall fescue. It is a cool-season perennial C3 species of bunchgrass native to Europe. It is an important forage g ...

'' – tall fescue **''

Festuca pratensis ''Festuca pratensis'', the meadow fescue, is a perennial species of grass, which is often used as an ornamental grass in gardens, and is also an important forage crop. It grows in meadows, roadsides, old pastures, and riversides on moist, rich ...

'' – meadow fescue **''

Festuca rubra ''Festuca rubra'' is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue or creeping red fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to well-drained soils in c ...

'' – red fescue *''

Heteropogon contortus ''Heteropogon contortus'' is a tropical, perennial tussock grass with a native distribution encompassing Southern Africa, southern Asia, Northern Australia, Oceania, and southwestern North America. The species has also become a naturalised weed i ...

'' – black spear grass *'' Hymenachne amplexicaulis'' – West Indian marsh grass *''

Hyparrhenia rufa ''Hyparrhenia rufa'' is a species of grass known by the common names jaraguá,''Hy ...

'' – jaragua *''

Leersia hexandra ''Leersia hexandra'' is a species of grass known by the common names southern cutgrass, clubhead cutgrass, and swamp rice grass.

'' – southern cutgrass *'' Lolium'' spp. – ryegrasses **''

Lolium multiflorum ''Lolium multiflorum'' (Italian rye-grass, annual ryegrass) is a ryegrass native to temperate Europe, though its precise native range is unknown. It is a herbaceous annual, biennial, or perennial grass that is grown for silage, and as a cover ...

'' – Italian ryegrass **''

Lolium perenne ''Lolium perenne'', common name perennial ryegrass, English ryegrass, winter ryegrass, or ray grass, is a grass from the family Poaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but is widely cultivated and naturalised around the world. ...

'' – perennial ryegrass *''

Megathyrsus maximus ''Megathyrsus maximus'', known as Guinea grass and green panic grass, is a large perennial bunch grass that is native to Africa and Yemen. It has been introduced in the tropics around the world. It has previously been called ''Urochloa maxima'' ...

'' – Guinea grass *''

Melinis minutiflora ''Melinis minutiflora'', commonly known as molasses grass, is a species of grass. It is a perennial grass native to Africa, where it occurs in disjunct populations (an arc from central Angola to Cameroon in western central africa, the areas arou ...

'' – molasses grass *''

Paspalum conjugatum ''Paspalum conjugatum'', commonly known as carabao grass or hilo grass, is a tropical to subtropical perennial grass. It is originally from the American tropics, but has been naturalized widely in tropical Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands. It h ...

'' – carabao grass *''

Paspalum dilatatum ''Paspalum dilatatum'' is a species of grass known by the common name dallisgrass, Dallas grass, or sticky heads. It is native to Brazil and Argentina, but it is known throughout the world as an introduced species and at times a common weed. Its ...

'' – dallisgrass *''

Phalaris arundinacea ''Phalaris arundinacea'', or reed canary grass, is a tall, Perennial plant, perennial bunchgrass that commonly forms extensive single-species stands along the margins of lakes and streams and in wet open areas, with a wide distribution in Europe ...

'' – reed canarygrass *''

Phleum pratense Timothy (''Phleum pratense'') is an abundant perennial grass native to most of Europe except for the Mediterranean region. It is also known as timothy-grass, meadow cat's-tail or common cat's tail. It is a member of the genus ''Phleum'', consis ...

'' – timothy *'' Poa'' spp. – bluegrasses, meadow-grasses **''

Poa arachnifera ''Poa arachnifera'', the Texas bluegrass, is a species of Poaceae, grass. It is a dioecious perennial plant, native to the southern Great Plains of the United States. Hybridization with Kentucky bluegrass During the 1990s, botanists began expe ...

'' – Texas bluegrass **''

Poa pratensis ''Poa pratensis'', commonly known as Kentucky bluegrass (or blue grass), smooth meadow-grass, or common meadow-grass, is a perennial species of grass native to practically all of Europe, North Asia and the mountains of Algeria and Morocco. Altho ...

'' – Kentucky bluegrass **''

Poa trivialis ''Poa trivialis'' (rough bluegrass; ''UK:'' rough-stalked meadow-grass or rough meadow-grass), is a perennial plant regarded in the US as an ornamental plant. It is part of the grass family. Description It is very common in meadows and pastur ...

'' – rough bluegrass *''

Setaria sphacelata ''Setaria sphacelata'' is a tall African grass, also known as South African pigeon grass and African bristlegrass. It is native to tropical and subtropical Africa, and is extensively cultivated globally as a pasture grass and for cut fodder. Th ...

'' – African bristlegrass *''

Themeda triandra } ''Themeda triandra'' is a species of perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and re ...

'' – 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 because of ...

'' – intermediate wheatgrass

Herbaceous legumes

Herbaceous

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

forages include: Lucerne with hay bales behind

*''

Arachis pintoi ''Arachis pintoi'', the Pinto peanut, is a forage plant native to Cerrado vegetation in Brazil. It is native to the valleys of the upper São Francisco River, São Francisco and the Jequitinhonha rivers of Minas Gerais. It has been named after th ...

'' – pinto peanut *''

Astragalus cicer ''Astragalus cicer'', the chickpea milkvetch, chick-pea milk-vetch or cicer milkvetch, is a perennial flowering plant native to Eastern Europe, popularized and subsequently transported to areas in Southern Europe, North America, and South America ...

'' – cicer milkvetch *'' Chamaecrista rotundifolia'' – roundleaf sensitive pea *''

Clitoria ternatea ''Clitoria ternatea'', commonly known as Asian pigeonwings, bluebellvine, blue pea, butterfly pea, cordofan pea or Darwin pea is a plant species belonging to the family Fabaceae, endemic and native to the Indonesian island of Ternate. In India, ...

'' – 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 ''Lespedeza'' is a genus of some 40 species (including nothospecies) of flowe ...

'' – annual lespedezas **'' Kummerowia stipulacea'' – Korean clover, Korean lespedeza **''

Kummerowia striata ''Kummerowia striata'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names Japanese clover and common lespedeza. It is native to much of Asia and it is present in the eastern United States as an introduced species. Th ...

'' – Japanese clover, common lespedeza *''

Lotus corniculatus ''Lotus corniculatus'' is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae, native to grasslands in temperate Eurasia and North Africa. Common names include common bird's-foot trefoil, eggs and bacon, birdsfoot deervetch, and just bird's-foot trefoi ...

'' – bird's-foot trefoil *'' Macroptilium atropurpureum'' – purple bush-bean *'' Macroptilium bracteatum'' – burgundy bean *'' Medicago'' spp. – medics **''

Medicago sativa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

'' – alfalfa, lucerne **''

Medicago truncatula ''Medicago truncatula'', the barrelclover, strong-spined medick, barrel medic, or barrel medick, is a small annual legume native to the Mediterranean region that is used in genomic research. It is a low-growing, clover-like plant tall with trifol ...

'' – 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'' – perennial soybean *''

Onobrychis viciifolia ''Onobrychis viciifolia'', also known as ''O. sativa'' or common sainfoin () has been an important forage legume in temperate regions until the 1950s. During the Green Revolution it was replaced by high yielding alfalfa and clover species. Due ...

'' – common sainfoin *''

Stylosanthes ''Stylosanthes'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae and contains numerous highly important pasture and forage species. It was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Pterocarpus'' clade of the Dalbergieae. The ...

'' spp. – stylo **''

Stylosanthes humilis ''Stylosanthes humilis'', the Townsville stylo, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the New World Tropics, and widely introduced as a forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by graz ...

'' – Townsville stylo **'' Stylosanthes scabra'' – shrubby stylo *''

Trifolium Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

'' spp. – clovers **'' Trifolium hybridum'' – alsike clover **'' Trifolium incarnatum'' – crimson clover **''

Trifolium pratense ''Trifolium pratense'', the red clover, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa, but planted and naturalized in many other regions. Description Red clove ...

'' – red clover **''

Trifolium repens ''Trifolium repens'', the white clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae (otherwise known as Leguminosae). It is native to Europe, including the British Isles,Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg., E.F. 1968. ''Excursio ...

'' – white clover *''

Vicia ''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 ...

'' spp. – vetches **'' Vicia articulata'' – oneflower vetch **''

Vicia ervilia ''Vicia ervilia'', commonly known as ervil or bitter vetch, is an ancient grain legume crop of the Mediterranean region. Besides the English names, other common names include: (Persian), (Arabic), (Spanish), (Greek), and (Turkish). Accordi ...

'' – bitter vetch **''

Vicia narbonensis ''Vicia narbonensis'', called Narbon bean, Narbon vetch, Narbonne vetch and moor's pea, is a widely distributed species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Madeira and the Mediterranean countries through to Central Asia and ...

'' – narbon vetch **''

Vicia sativa ''Vicia sativa'', known as the common vetch, garden vetch, tare or simply vetch, is a nitrogen-fixing leguminous plant in the family Fabaceae. It is likely native to North Africa, Western Asia and Europe, but is now naturalized in temperate and ...

'' – common vetch, tare **''

Vicia villosa ''Vicia villosa'', known as the hairy vetch, fodder vetch or winter vetch, is a plant native to some of Europe and western Asia. It is a legume, grown as a forage crop, fodder crop, cover crop, and green manure. Although non-native, it occurs in ...

'' – hairy vetch *'' Vigna parkeri'' – creeping vigna

Tree legumes

Tree legume forages include: *'' Acacia aneura'' – mulga *''

Albizia ''Albizia'' is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and A ...

'' 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. can ...

'' – Belmont siris *''

Albizia lebbeck ''Albizia lebbeck'' is a species of ''Albizia'', native to Indomalaya, New Guinea and Northern AustraliaUSDA (1994) and widely cultivated and naturalised in other tropical and subtropical regions. English names for it include Sirisa, Siris, lebbe ...

'' – lebbeck *''

Enterolobium cyclocarpum ''Enterolobium cyclocarpum'', commonly known as guanacaste, caro caro, monkey-ear tree, or elephant-ear tree, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to tropical regions of the Americas, from central Mexico ...

'' – earpodtree *''

Leucaena leucocephala ''Leucaena leucocephala'' is a small fast-growing mimosoid tree native to southern Mexico and northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala) and is now naturalized throughout the tropics including parts of Asia. Common names include jumbay, ...

'' – leadtree Sheep feeding on silage in the snow, Baltasound - geograph

Silage

Silage Silage () is a type of fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation to the point of acidification. It can be fed to cattle, sheep and other such ruminants (cud-chewing animals). The fermentation and storage ...

may be composed by the following: *

Alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

Maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

(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 othe ...

s *

Oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...

Aquatic feeds

*''

Lemna minor ''Lemna minor'', the common duckweed or lesser duckweed, is a species of aquatic freshwater plant in the subfamily Lemnoideae of the arum family Araceae. ''L. minor'' is used as animal fodder, bioremediator, for wastewater nutrient recovery, and ...

'' – Duckweed *''

Pistia stratiotes ''Pistia'' is a genus of aquatic plants in the arum family, Araceae. It is the sole genus in the tribe ''Pistieae'' which reflects its systematic isolation within the family. The single species it comprises, ''Pistia stratiotes'', is often calle ...

'' – Water lecttuce *''

Eichhornia crassipes ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range.Salvinia molesta ''Salvinia molesta'', commonly known as giant salvinia, or as kariba weed after it infested a large portion of Lake Kariba between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is an aquatic fern, native to south-eastern Brazil. It is a free-floating plant that does ...

'' – fern *''

Ipomoea aquatica ''Ipomoea aquatica'', widely known as water spinach, is a semi- aquatic, tropical plant grown as a vegetable for its tender shoots. ''I. aquatica'' is generally believed to have been first domesticated in Southeast Asia. It is widely cultivate ...

'' – Water spinach

Crop residue

Crop residue Crop residues are materials left in an agricultural field after the crop has been harvested. These residues include stalks and stubble (stems), leaves and seed pods. Good management of field residues can increase efficiency of irrigation and c ...

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

Less common

*''Raphanus sativus'' var. ''longipinnatus'' –

Daikon Daikon or mooli, ''Raphanus sativus'' var. ''longipinnatus,'' is a mild-flavored winter radish usually characterized by fast-growing leaves and a long, white, root. Originally native to continental East Asia, daikon is harvested and consumed ...

radish/"forage radish"

References

External links

* {{Authority control Livestock Non-timber forest products