Fodder Production and Grassland Management

What are cereal fodders?

CEREAL FODDER

• Cereals, grains or cereal grains, are grasses belonging to the members of the monocot families Poaceae or Gramineae. These are cultivated for the edible components of their fruit seeds having the endocarp, germ and bran.
• In their natural form (as in whole grain), they are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats and oils, and protein. However, when refined by the removal of the bran and germ, the remaining endocarp is mostly carbohydrate and lacks the majority of the other nutrients.
• The word cereal derives from Ceres, the name of the Roman goddess of harvest and agriculture. The word fodder refers to food for animals
• Cereal fodders play an important role in the feeding of dairy animals. Farmers in general are not growing cereals exclusively for fodder purpose.
• Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple crops.
• Rather they grow them mainly for grain and after the separation of grains through harvest, the residue (straw /stover) is used as cattle feed. But such straw/stover are very poor in their nutritive value compared to their value as green fodder. There are varieties developed for fodder purpose in the Cereal group that are called cereal fodders.
  • Cereal fodder crops for irrigated Condition.
  • Cereal Fodder for rainfed condition.
  • Cereal fodder for hilly/temperate zone.
  • The word Cereal was derived from `Ceres’ meaning roman goddess of agriculture. Earlier history referred cereal as `grass yielding edible grain’. Fodder refers to `food for animals’