Grasses:
• Palatable when immature
• Ability to grow in most environments
• Low mineral, vitamin content
Legumes:
• Protein roughages > 10% CP
• Improve soil fertility, high in Ca and Vit A
• High yield of palatable feed correct answers What are the differences between grasses and
legumes?
Adv
• Alfalfa - high quality, high protein, highest yield potential
• Clover - quality
Disadv
• Alfalfa - bloat problems, not tolerant of continuous grazing
• Clovers - bloat problems
• Red - less root, shorter life
• Sweet Clover - coumarin + mold → dicourmerol (rat posion) correct answers What are the
advantages and disadvantages of legumes?
Adv
• Kentucky Bluegrass - long lived
• Smooth Bromegrass - erosion control
• Timothy - hay, pasture
Disadv
• Orchardgrass - palatability declines as it matures, deterrent to bloat correct answers What are
the advantages and disadvantages of grasses?
Big bluestem
Indian grass
Switch grass
Timothy
Kentucky Bluegrass
Fescue
Orchardgrass correct answers What are the common grass forages?
Alfalfa
Red Clover
White Dutch Clover
Alsike Clover
Ladino Clover
, Soybeans
Crownvetch
Hairy Vetch
Birdsfood Trefoil
Sweet Clover correct answers What are the common legume forages?
1. Fresh forage
2. Made for grazing
3. Has endurance
4. Can withstand trampling
5. Mix of plants correct answers What are the characteristics of pastures?
1. Preserves crops due to fermentation
2. Proper moisture
3. Feeds more per acre
4. High quality feed
5. Wastes little correct answers What are the characteristics of silages?
1. Dried
2. Can provide a lot of energy correct answers What are the characteristics of hay?
Making - chopping: allows for better packing so excess air is forced out
Preserving - packaging: sealed, oxygen limiting structures, in upright silos correct answers What
is the most important factor to making and preserving good silage?
1. Corn grounds - add dry matter and energy
2. Molasses - sugars for the microbes to ferment
3. Sulfur dioxide - fermentation will convert to sulfuric acid
4. Limestone - more complete fermentation
5. Urea - converted to CP by microbes to raise feeding value
6. Microbial cultures - lactic acid formers correct answers What additives might you add to
silage and why?
Neutral Detergent Fiber - reflects forage intake, indicates bulkiness of feed correct answers What
is NDF and what does it pertain to and indicate?
Acid Detergent Fiber - basically cellulose and lingin, reflects digestibility,
(High ADF = low digestibility) correct answers What is ADF and what does it pertain to and
indicate?
1. Species of plant
2. Stage of growth
3. Fertility
4. Losses in harvest