ABSTRACT
Cover crops represent an essential component of sustainable agro-ecosystems. In recent years, the use of cover crops for grazing has gained renewed attention among livestock producers in response to adverse impacts of conventional management practices on soil health and crop productivity. Cover crops offer excellent nutritional opportunities for grazing ruminant livestock, whose presence can also improve the pasture and the succeeding cash crops, if managed properly. Generally, non-leguminous cover crops as pastures provide excellent nutrition to breed and grow livestock. The leguminous cover crops can provide high-quality hay for grazing, although excessive amounts of certain legumes are responsible for bloat or other anti-nutritional factors. Cover crops with a diverse range of herbaceous plants often provide valuable resources as forages to livestock as feed, which can help farmers improve livestock production and diversify farm incomes. Legumes are one of the important components of forages to support livestock.
