ABSTRACT
Storing forage for use in the nongrowing season is an ancient practice which probably originated in countries where climatic conditions for preservation of food were favorable and livestock were important. Storage of straws and crop residues for feed is probably as old as crop production. In the Indian context, the feed resources for animals include mainly native plants, fodder trees, and farm by-products. On the contrary, the use of forage crops like pasture plants are limited to the advanced regions where mainly dairy farming is practiced. It is important to make good use of the feed resources which are produced in these regions and are inexpensively and easily available. It is necessary to solve the production and utilization problems of forage crops, like pasture plants, by considering the land use, cost of production and feed needs in the dairy farming, etc. As to the use of farm and food processing by-products, the condition of the production, availability, prices, and methods for procurement like transportation should be examined. It is necessary to adjust the moisture content of the silage materials, accelerate fermentation and improve the nutritional value of the feed by adding these by-products to the materials of feed crops or native grasses at the time of silage making.
