About Lesson
Forages and roughages
- In certain books they are used interchangeably but, in most books, forage is used to refer fresh plant materials strictly speaking to grazing and browsing or forages are plants grown to be used specifically for feeding animals such as grasses and legumes whereas roughage is meant to imply either dry or fresh plant material used for animal feeding.
- By definition roughage is any material suitable for feeding of livestock which contains more than 18% crude fiber. Therefore, roughages are bulky feeds high in fiber and low in energy.
- Types of roughage include pasture and other grazed forages, hay and dehydrated forages, silage and crop residues and other by-products of agriculture.