CONTINUOUS SUPPLY OF Green Fodder (YEAR ROUND FODDER PRODUCTION PLAN)
To make a whole year fodder plan we have to know about the requirement of the animals according to season, the fodder crop which is available in a season, the approximate yield of the fodder per acre or hectare. To make the planning better we have to choose leguminous fodder and multi cut verities of fodder. The animal requirement is very necessary to calculate, because fodders are main feed of the animals. The fodder requirement varies with the age and production status of the animal. The maintenance requirement can be only fulfilled from fodders. For stall fed animals the key role is to feed ad-libitum. A buffalo or cattle one animals unit requires 0.5-0.6 acre land for fodder cultivation in a season. The requirement of green fodder will vary according to the live body weight of the animal. On an average 8-10 % of live weight of the animal is to be provided in the form of green fodder. An adult Cattle weighing 400 kg body weight will consume 32-40 kg green fodder. Out of the total requirement of green fodder one third of green fodder is to be provided as Leguminous fodder and remaining two third is to be provided as non leguminous fodder. For an example a mini dairy with 10 Cows and 5 calves will require green fodder as follows
10 Cows x 35 kg/day x 365 days = 127.75 tonnes.
05 Calves x 20 kg /day x 300 days = 30.00 tonnes.
Totally approximately 150 tonnes /year.
Leguminous fodder : 50 tonnes
Non leguminous fodder : 100 tonnes.
To produce the above quantity of green fodder the land area is to be worked out based upon the type and variety fodder crops that are cultivated.
Eg : Co5 variety yields 150 tonnes /acre/year Lucerne yields 80 tonnes / acre means two third
acre is to be allotted for production of Co5 grass and 60 cents are to be allotted Lucerne to get
sufficient fodder to meet the requirement of 10 cattle with its 5 followers
FODDER PRESERVATION
Fodders are very important source of livestock feeding. Due to change in the weather the
availability of fodder is drastically reduced, so the production of animals also reduced. In India there are two periods of fodder shortage i.e., May – June and October – November. However very large amount of fodder is produced before these two periods such as February to April and July to September. In these days surplus fodder can be preserved as a hay and silage making, so it shows the year round fodder supply.
HAY MAKING
The fodder which is harvested during growing period and preserved by drying and used during the days of feed shortage. The fodder is harvested during optimum stage of maturity. The principle involved in hay making is to reduce the water contents of fodder from 65 – 85% to 20% or less. In IndiaLucrne and Barseem are suitable leguminous fodder crops for hay making. In hilly area natural grass pasture also can be harvested for hay making.
METHOD OF HAY MAKING
The fodder crop which is used as hay making should be mowed as early as possible after reaching early bloom stage of maturity and as circumstances allow.
Efforts should be made to select the rain free weather for harvesting. Minimum of 2 – 3 days are required for good drying weather are necessary for hay curing. So weather forecasts are very necessary in hay making. Conditioning of harvested fodder crop can reduce the drying period. In this procedure fodder is passed to set of rollers to crack open the stems thus facilitate drying. To avoid excessive shattering losses and over exposure to sun harvested fodder should be raked before complete drying. To facilitate drying turning of windrow is done. When the fodder is sufficiently dry baling should be done. Round and square bales can be made. Store the bales in the damp proof store house.
It can be grown in all the three seasons. It is suitable for year round cultivation.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD HAY
Leafiness: the hay which has high leave to stem ratio is considered good.
Color: the desirable color of hay is bright green, brown color is undesirable.
Aroma: the aroma from hay should be pleasant.
Moldiness: hay should not be moldy,
ADVANTAGES OF HAY MAKING
In hay most of the moisture is has been removed so there is low transport cost.
Good quality hay leads to desirable DMI by animals.
The fodder which is surplus in the season can be conserved and used in the days of feed
shortage.
DISADVANTAGES OF HAY MAKING
- Hay making requires optimum weather conditions.
- The digestive and crude protein value of hay is not sufficient for maintenance plus production.
- If the is not sufficiently dry and is stored, it can be damaged by fire.
- If hay is containing excessive moisture the mold can grow on it.
- If fodder is improperly harvested then the loss of leaves can occur. So most nutritious part of fodder is loss.
- If the harvested fodder or hay is given excessive exposure to sunlight then it causes loss of nutrients as carotene.
- If harvested fodder or hay is rained during the drying period then water soluble nutrients are loss.