Fodder

What Does Fodder Mean?

Fodder is any type of agricultural food item that is harvested as animal feed for livestock farming (cattle, chicken, pig, rabbit etc.). Globally, millions of tonnes of fodder is produced and it is a huge industry. Fodder or animal feed is also known as provender. However, fodder cannot be interchanged with forage as forage is food that livestock graze for whereas fodder is animal feed provided to animals in livestock farming facilities.

Maximum Yield Explains Fodder

Fodder can be created from a variety of crops and includes coarse grasses such as corn and sorghum which are harvested with the seed and leaves. They are then cured and used as livestock feed. Examples of fodder range from grass and hay to sprouted legumes. Although a majority of fodder fed to animals comes from plants, it is not uncommon for some manufacturers to also include ingredients to processed fodder that have animal origins.

The range of fodder used determines the type of meat, dairy and egg produced from livestock farming. For example, sprouted grains are a type of fodder that contains several essential nutrients, minerals and vitamins needed for high-quality meat, dairy and egg production and can help farmers practicing modern agriculture techniques get the best out of their livestock. There is immense research efforts dedicated to producing allocating and budgeting ideal fodder for livestock farming.