Home > Courses (online)

Forage Management BAG226

Option

Quantity •» •»

Pin It

To manage forage resources, you need to have a good understanding of both the plants growing in an area, and the animals that graze on those plants. It requires an appreciation of plant and animal ecology and the impacts which man can have on that ecology.

This course has 8 Lessons:

1. Scope and Nature of Forage Resources
• Introduction
• Terminology
• Types of Forage
• Types of Forage Lands
• What different Animals Eat - Avian, Monogastric, Ruminants, Pseudo Ruminant
• Managing Forage Ecosystems
• Over grazing
• Continuous vs Rotational Grazing
• Ecosystem Health
• Weed Types
• Weed Populations

2. Grassland Species and Ecosystems
• Different Ways to Feed Animals
• Different Fodder Systems
• Different Fodder Plants - grasses, legumes, roots, wildflowers, forbs

3. Fodder Trees & Shrubs
• Definitions
• Advantages & Disadvantages of Fodder Trees
• Using Fodder Trees
• Harvesting Foliage - pollarding, coppicing, browse blocks, leaf fall, silvopasture systems
• Criteria for plant selection
• Financial considerations
• Considering Tree Species - Acacias, Bamboos, Beech, Black locust, Carob, Honey Locust, Pome Fruits and many more

4. Forage Establishment
• Natural area Grazing
• Seeding
• Soil - soil biome, rhizosphere, autotoxicity
• Weed Management
• Biodiversity -riparian zone, birds

5. Forage Management
• Regenerative Grazing Management
• Improving Soil Quality
• Strategies for Soil Improvement - crop rotation, tillage, zero tillage, fertility testing, soil compaction, soil cover
• Fertiliser Management
• NPK
• Using Legumes
• Irrigation Management
• Animal Management
• Animal Access Management - hedges, wire, barbed wire, electric fence, stone walls, banks/rises, gates, digital fencing tech
• Controlled Burning
• Pest and Disease Management

6. Forage Quality and Use
• Understanding Quality -palatability. intake, digestibility. nutrients, anti quality forage, animal performance
• Composition and Analysis- moisture content, crude protein, fibre, energy, minerals, relative feed value etc
• Cutting

7. Forage (animal) related disorders
• Recognising ill health
• Seasonal and Conditional Disorders -bloat, acidosis, nitrate poisoning, prussic acid, grass tetany, phytoestrogens, etc
• Overgrazing
• Parasites
• Worms
• Species Related Disorders - fescue taxicosis, endophyte toxins, ryegrass staggers, antiquality components, phenolic compounds
• Seasonal and Conditional Disorders -plant poisoning
• Disorders Associated with Stored Forages

8. Preserving Forage as Hay & Silage
• Making Hay - curing, weather factors, etc
• Mowing
• Conditioning
• Swathe Manipulation to Speed Drying
• Hay Storage and Preservation
• Phases in Silage Fermentation
• Silage Storage
• Silage Management

Aims:
•Discuss the nature and scope of forage plants eaten by animals, both in captivity and in the wild.

•Identify the comparative characteristics of grasses and other low growing fodder plants from different natural and created habitats, including grasses, legumes and forbs.

•Identify the comparative characteristics of grasses and other low growing fodder plants from different natural and created habitats including a range of trees and shrubs.

•Explain how forage plants may be established effectively in a managed pasture.

•Explain how to manage a landscape to optimise forage production in a way that is sustainable, both economically and environmentally.

•Explore factors that impact the quantity and quality of forage produced by a landscape and the effect on productivity of forage production.

•Identify common problems that can arise in livestock and other animals as a result or the forage/fodder they eat.

•Harvest and store forage plants for feeding animals after a period of storage.

Write a Review

Please ensure you are logged in to write a review.