Okuzeka
Agriculture vocabulary · Livestock

Forage

Meaning in agriculture, with examples

/ˈfɔːrɪdʒ/nounCommon term

In agriculture, forage means: Plant material such as grass, hay, alfalfa or silage that grazing animals eat, either in the field or after it has been cut and stored.

In Turkish: kaba yem, yem bitkisi

How it is used

Contrasted with concentrates such as grain and compound feed. Farmers grow forage crops, talk about forage quality and aim for a balanced forage-to-concentrate ratio. 'Fodder' is a close synonym, especially for cut and stored feed.

Example sentences

  1. Alfalfa is the most valuable forage crop on our farm.

  2. Poor forage quality forced us to buy more concentrate feed.

Common collocations

  • forage crops
  • forage quality
  • forage harvester
  • forage-to-concentrate ratio
  • high-quality forage
  • silageGreen fodder such as maize or grass that is chopped, packed tightly and stored without air, so that it ferments and keeps as feed for months.
  • feedFood given to farm animals, such as hay, silage, grain or manufactured mixtures, chosen to meet their nutritional needs.
  • pastureLand covered with grass and other plants where farm animals graze; also the plants growing on it.
  • balerA machine that picks up cut hay, straw or forage from the field and presses it into tight, tied bundles called bales.
  • livestockAnimals such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry that are kept on a farm for meat, milk, eggs, wool or work.

More terms: Livestock

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