The document discusses various challenges related to feed and fodder availability for dairy animals in India. It notes that feed accounts for 60-65% of dairy production costs. Factors like decreasing land availability and increasing costs are exacerbating feed and fodder shortages. The document then presents several alternatives for addressing these shortages, including the production of silage, hay, hydroponic fodder, complete feed blocks, intercropping, and fodder trees. It provides details on the production processes and benefits of each of these alternatives for providing sustainable sources of feed during periods of scarcity.

1. Department of Animal NutritionDepartment of Animal Nutrition
College of Veterinary Science and Animal HusbandryCollege of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry
Masters training programme on “improving reproductive efficiency of dairy animal using artificial
insemination technique” from 10/02/2020 to 14/02/2020.

2. v Inspite of achieving the highest milk production, the performance of
Indian cattle has been extremely poor and average milk yield is far
below the yield in other countries.
v Underprivileged performance of indigenous cattle is due to more
populations of nondescript animals and deficiency of quality feed
and fodders.
v Feed itself accounts 60 to 65% of the total cost of production in
dairy cattle and the main determinant of production system
profitability.
v Shrinkage of irrigated lands for fodder production, higher labour
cost and small land holdings further increases cost of rearing of
dairy animals.

3. v Additionally, increased pressure on land for production of human
food crops from the increasing human population leaves little
available land for further forage cultivation or feed production to
nourish livestock.
v Availability of crop residues is further declining due to adoption of
high yielding dwarf varieties and field wastage due to extensive use
of grain picker/mechanical harvester in cereal crops.
v The cost of green fodder increased by three times between 2011 and
2016.
v An deficit of 65 percent of green fodder and 25 percent of dry
fodder is expected for Indian livestock by 2025.

4. v Higher cost of feed and fodder leads dairy farming a challenging
enterprise for landless, marginal and small dairy farmers and their
livelihood is at the stake in rural areas.
v Due to deficit of green fodder, farmers are feeding little quantity of
green fodder to livestock affecting their health, breeding and milk
yield.
v Various alternatives viz silage and hay, hydroponics technology,
CFB, intercropping, tree fodder etc. can be used as an alternative
feed and fodder source during scarcity period.

5. “Silage or grass pickle is the green succulent roughage preserved under
controlled anaerobic fermentation in the absence of oxygen by
compacting green chops in air and water tight receptacles”
v Good quality fodder can be supplied round the year by the preparation of
silage.
v Green fodder can be preserved as silage and stored for long period.
v The silage quality is influenced by dry matter (30-45%) and soluble sugar
content (8-10%). All these factors are responsible for the development of
lactic acid and other organic acids, which act as preservative.
v Harvesting the crop at 50% flowering to milk or dough stage can make
good quality silage of crops like maize, sorghum and pearl millet.

6. v In the ensiling process, the absence of oxygen, leads to the
fermentation of water soluble carbohydrates to produce organic
acids which increase acidity of the material.
v Such anaerobic acid production (mainly lactic acid) arrests the
growth of bacteria and moulds as well as inactivates putrefying
organisms, i.e. acts as a preservative.
v Consequently, the process reduces nutrient losses and change in
nutritive value. It serves as one of the best method of fodder
conservation.

7. v The green fodder is filled in the silo either as such or after chopping and it
is well packed to reduce air.
v Better packing may be obtained by trampling with tractor, bullocks or
manually with man.
v The top must be covered with dry straw and then sealed with mud plaster
or covered by polythene sheets.
v The silage will be ready after 4-6 weeks.
v The golden brown or greenish yellow colour and the pleasant fruity odour
will speak more than the chemical parameters regarding the quality of
silage.

10. Tones Tones

15. ü Feed silage @ 4 kg/100 kg BW
ü Never fed silage at the time of
milking

18. v Corn silage is used for feeding all dairy cattle on the farm: growing
animals, dry cows, and lactating cows.
v The amount of corn silage fed to dry cows and heifers must be
restricted due to its high energy content.
v Feeding unrestricted quantities of corn silage throughout the dry
period will result in fatty cows which tend to have lower feed intake
and higher incidence of metabolic problems such as ketosis and fatty
liver following calving.

19. Supplier Cost (INR)
Silage Agro Private Limited 4.75/kg
Keyul Enterprise 7.00/kg
Asawa Global Trading Company 7.00/kg
Punjab Silage Private Limited 5.50/kg
IRA Feed Industries 6.50/kg
Patanjali 6.00/kg

20. Crops with thin stems and more leaves are better suited for hay
making as they dry faster than those with thick stem and small
leaves. These may include: oats, berseem, lucerne , cow pea,
napier grass etc.
“Hay making is the process of turning green, perishable forage
into a product that can be safely stored and easily transported
without danger of spoilage, while keeping nutrient loss to a
minimum’

22. v If hay is dried in a moist environment (during heavy rains season), mould
may grow on the hay. These moulds can be extremely toxic to animals as
well as the people handling it.
v In such cases it is advisable to wait till the end of the rainy season before
cutting the forage. This may lead to lower nutritional content in the hay, but
this is better than toxic hay.
v On the other hand, drying the hay too fast may lead to shattering of the
delicate parts of the plant, causing a subsequent loss of nutrients.
v Although artificial drying produces hay of good quality, it is expensive, but
can be attempted on a community basis in areas where there is a need.

23. v Science of growing plants in nutrients rich solutions instead of soil
and can be efficiently used to take pressure off the land to grow
green feed for the livestock.
v Plants require three things to flourish, water, nutrients, and sunlight.
v Hydroponics is a straight forward way of providing all these
nutrients without the need of soil under controlled environment
conditions to optimise the growth of plants.
v Fodder obtained from hydroponics consists of grass with grains,
roots, stem and leaves as compared to only stem and leaves part in
conventionally grown fodder.

26. ü It requires just 2- 3 L of water to produce 1 kg of lush green fodder, as
compared to 60-80 L to conventional system of fodder production. Water
left over in hydroponics is recycled to grow the fodder.
ü Hydroponics green house requires marginal land to erect the system i.e. 10
m x 4.5 m land for 600 kg green fodder/day/unit, in comparison to 1
hectare land for conventional green grass field.
ü Conventional fodder production requires continuous intense labour for
cultivation to harvesting of the grass, but in hydroponics labour required is
2- 3 hours day only.
ü To obtain nutritious fodder requires just over 7 days from seed
germination to fully grown plant of 25–30 cm height. Biomass conversion
ratio is as high as 7-8 times to traditional fodder grown for 60-80 days.

27. ü Technology is capable to make provision for the green fodder round the
year, as per demand. Constant supply can be organised irrespective of
rain, storm, sunshine or drought.
ü Through hydroponics it is possible to enhance the nutritive value by
adding additional growth promoters, nutrients, etc to have quality milk
from the dairy animals.
ü Growing of green fodder through hydroponics is completely by natural
source. No pesticides are used in green fodder production that could
contaminate milk and milk products.
ü Green fodder produced from hydroponics will be fully utilised as there
won’t ‘be loss of the fodder during feeding as compared to wastages of
chopped traditional grasses during consumption by the animal.

29. Supplier Cost (INR)
KCI Hydroponic Fodder Machine, Kovai
Classic Industries
36000/-
Hydroponic Green Fodder Unit, Shree Balaji
Agro Plast
40000/-
Hydroponic Fodder System
R S Enterprises
50000/-
Semi-Automatic Shivraj Green Tech
Shivraj Greentech
4.9 lakh
Ayurvet Automated Hydroponic Fodder
Machines, APHE60
4.9 lakh

30. v The complete feed block (CBF) technology helps the dairy farmers
in providing a balanced feed to the animals, thus increasing milk
production and profit incurred from dairy farming.
v CFB technology offers many benefits like easy transportation,
cheaper storage, easy handling, correcting multi-nutritional shortage
and reduced cost.
v CBF is an intimate combination of processed ingredients that
includes roughage and concentrate parts designed to be the only
source of feed in compressed form.

31. 1. It fulfils the nutrient requirements of the animals in the best possible way.
2. Quality feed is available all around the year.
3. It is cost-effective due to utilization of locally available animal feed
resources.
4. Easy and cheap to store.
5. Provides added benefit of correcting a multi-nutritional deficiency in
animals.
6. Enhances the utilization of poor quality of roughages.
7. Results in low methane emission from animals.
8. Improved productivity.

32. v Intercropping is the practice of cultivating two or more crops
simultaneously on the same piece of land during the same time span.
v To obtain early and good yields on small holdings under severe
conditions, compatible fodder crops can be planted in mixture to
produce high fodder yields with good quality.
v Intercropping has been recognized as a potential system of forage
production for subsistence farming situations, which helps in
providing balanced diet by accommodating cereals and legumes.

33. v Row intercropping, distinct rows of component crops are clearly
identifiable.
v Mixed intercropping entails the intercropping system in which seeds
of different crops are mixed and sown in blended form in the same
row or broadcasted.
v In relay intercropping systems, a second crop is sown in a standing
crop that has nearly reached the end of its production cycle, prior to
harvest.
v In strip intercropping, two or more crops are sown in strips wide
enough to accommodate many rows, but close enough to facilitate
interactions.

34. v During the dry periods trees and shrubs remain green for a longer
period than grasses because of their deeper rooting system, which
can tap water beyond the reach of grass roots.
v So when the availability of grass decreases as it dries up and its
protein content declines, the fodder trees are still green and can
provide the required energy and protein.
v Fodder tree leaves contain high quantities of protein, ranging from
10-30% on DM basis.

35. Sl.
No.
Common
name
Scientific name Commonly grown area’s
1 Drum stick Moringa oleifera
Moist tropics, sub humid
humid
2 Subabool
Leucaena
leucocephala
Sub humid, Semiarid
3 Gliricidia Gliricidia sepium Humid, sub humid
4 Ardu Alianthus excelsa Arid and semiarid regions
5 Agasthi Sesbania grandiflora Arid and semiarid regions
6 Shevri Sesbania sesban Arid and semiarid regions
7 Khejri Prosopis cinereria Arid and semiarid regions
8 Mahua
Bassia latifolia -
Flower
Semi arid
9 Babul Acacia Nilotica Dry and moist tropics
10 Kachnar Bauhinia variegata
Sub tropics, moist and dry
tropics
11 Shisham Dalbergia sissoo Moist tropics
12 Mulbery Morus alba Moist tropics
13 Kikkar Prosopis chilensis Dry tropics
14 Ber Ziziphus mauritiana Dry and moist tropics

36. Various alternatives such as silage and hay, hydroponicsVarious alternatives such as silage and hay, hydroponics
technology, CFB, intercropping, tree fodder etc. can be used as antechnology, CFB, intercropping, tree fodder etc. can be used as an
alternative feed and fodder source during scarcity period for thealternative feed and fodder source during scarcity period for the
maintenance of productivity of the dairy animals.maintenance of productivity of the dairy animals.