What is Forage?
Forage consists of herbaceous plant parts fed to domestic animals (generally, the term refers to such material as pasture, hay, silage, haylage, green chop, and corn silage). Forage crops generally include annual and perennial legumes and grasses. Forages contain significant portions of plant cell-wall material (cellulose) which humans and species with similar digestive tracts have very limited ability to digest. Forage eaters, however, have bacteria and other microbial populations in their digestive tracts that can partially digest these compounds into usable nutrients. This ability is extremely important since cellulose is one of the most abundant materials on earth. Forages, especially the perennial legumes and grasses, make a valuable contribution towards supplying food, conserving soil and water, and contributing to the control of pollution.
