In agriculture, fodder is a plant or mixture of plants used to feed livestock. It consists primarily of leaves and stems, but this does not exclude roots for some plants. In the management of fodder, it is essential to use agricultural equipment that is intended for this purpose. So what is this equipment? To find out, it is important to know the steps to be followed in harvesting the forage.
Mowing fodder
When it comes to agricultural fodder, the harvest is often the result of climatic situations. The harvesting period begins in May and lasts until September. The forage can grow back again and again, provided there has been sufficient rainfall in the summer. The first step in harvesting fodder is mowing. This is when the grass is cut. There is equipment for this purpose. You can use the sickle or scythe if you decide to mow the grass manually. But to be more efficient, it makes sense to use an agricultural machine, i.e. a mower. There are two types of mowers, the legume mower and the grass mower. The type to be used must be respected so as not to break the stems and to allow rapid regrowth.
Fodder conservation
In order to be able to feed the animals at any season, it is essential to conserve agricultural fodder. The second step after mowing is tedding. This consists of turning the grass with a tedder, an agricultural equipment, to allow the hay to dry through its full thickness. This step must be done before the grass is completely dry so that the leaves do not fall off. The next step is the windrowing. To do this, you will use a windrower to group the grass in regular rows. Swathing will make the next step, pressing, easier. The latter consists of making bales of hay into round bales or parallelepiped bales with a baler or baler, in order to facilitate transport and storage in a hay shed or hayloft. For transport, you can use trailers.
The distribution of the fodder
This step is of particular concern to farmers. The equipment for distributing agricultural fodder depends on the type of livestock farm. The destemmer bucket, which is a tractor with a telescopic arm, is intended for the production of complex rations. The straw silage unloader is a versatile piece of equipment and even allows the realization of complete rations. The distributor trailer requires little power and is suitable for farms that have solved the difficulty of strawbedding. The mixer allows the mixing of several forages. The feeding robot is ideal for cattle breeders or milk producers.