Hay and straw conservation for small scale farming and pastoral conditions FAO Plant Production and Protection paper Series, Vol. 29
Langue : Anglais
Hay is the oldest, and still the most important, conserved fodder, despite
its dependence on suitable weather at harvest time. It can be made with
simple equipment, manually or with mechanization, and many small-scale
farming systems make hay to assure livestock feed through the lean season.
This publication discusses hay and hay crops in a wide range of
situations, emphasizing small-scale techniques. Livestock must have feed
all year round. Crop growth is determined by the weather, but green feed
is only available at certain times of year, and the shorter the growing
season, the more uneven its distribution in time. In all but the most
clement climates, therefore, in times of scarcity, if loss of weight and
production is to be reduced or avoided, feed must be provided to
supplement grazing and green forage. The conservation of forage and crop
residues is a traditional way to reduce seasonal variations in
availability.
Haymaking involves reducing the moisture content of cut herbage in the field
from an initial 70 - 90% to 15 - 20% - simple in theory, but very
dependent on the weather and demanding skill and judgement from the
farmer. Hay is classed as a roughage, i.e., a feed with over 18% crude
fibre and under 20% crude protein in its dry matter (DM); in practice,
most hays have a feeding value well below these levels. It is rarely a
complete food and must be used as part of an overall feeding system. Crop
residues, straws and stovers, mainly but not exclusively from cereals, are
also important as lean-season feed for ruminants, and are often used in
association with hay. Since the subjects are so closely linked and the
technology and equipment similar, they are dealt with together. The
emphasis is on crops specifically grown for hay, and on natural grassland.
Leys which are both mown and grazed are traditionally used in rotations on
large farms in some temperate regions, but for small-scale farmers (and in
this context many farms are less than 2 ha arable), grazed pasture is not
a practical option.
Storing forage for use in the non-growing season is an ancient practice which
probably originated in countries where climatic conditions for hay-making
were good, where livestock were important and where herbage could dry off
as standing hay. Lucerne, the finest forage and hay crop, was developed in
central Asia (Asia Media, when that meant a country!) several centuries
before our era. Storage of straws and crop residues for feed is probably
as old as cereal cultivation. The domestication of lucerne was closely
associated with the development of the horse as a war animal. The
evolution of fodder growing and haymaking, until modern times, was more
associated with draught animals, cavalry and transport than with dairying.
Until the development of railways and the internal combustion engine, vast
quantities of feed were needed, in cities and in the country, to feed
draught animals. Such animals have largely vanished from developed
countries, but remain important elsewhere, in both rural and urban work.
Date de parution : 12-2000
Ouvrage de 302 p.
Thème de Hay and straw conservation for small scale farming and... :
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