Feed Crops

Feed crops are crops grown specifically to meet livestock nutritional needs. They may include grain, oilseed, and forage crops. Grain crops are grasses that are grown for their dry, edible seeds. These include small grains such as wheat, oats, barley, and rice and larger, taller crops like corn and sorghum. Oilseed crops are those with seeds high in oil and protein. A commonly grown oilseed crop for animal feed is soybean.

Forage crops are livestock feeds grown for their edible plant parts other than the separated grain. These parts typically are the stems and leaves of green, actively growing grasses and legumes. Livestock, particularly ruminants (such as cattle and sheep), may consume forages within the field as grazed pasture or they may be fed them as stored forages. Stored forages include hay, silage, and green chop.

Hay crops are forages that are cut while still green, allowed to dry in the field, processed and then stored before being fed to livestock. Silage crops are forages that are harvested in a green, succulent condition and stored under anaerobic conditions where controlled fermentation breaks down plant sugars to organic acids, especially lactic acid. Green chop refers to forages that are cut, harvested, and fed while still in a green and wet condition.