Green fodder

Green fodder makes up 174 m² (8.7%) of the Global Field. The term green fodder is usually used to describe plants such as grasses, alfalfa or clover that are grown as feed for animals or, like beet leaves, are left over as plant parts for feed. The fodder plants are often harvested before they have finished growing and, unlike hay, are fed to farm animals while still fresh or as silage (fodder that has been fermented).

Temporary grassland

Green fodder areas are also referred to as temporary grassland, as grasses and legumes are cultivated that can also be found in meadows and pastures. Unlike long-term (pure) grassland however, temporary grassland is grown on arable land and is therefore replaced by other arable crops after one to five years. In practice, temporary grassland and other plants are often cultivated as mixtures. Green fodder – especially clover grass – plays a special role in organic farming: clover grass fixes nitrogen, suppresses weeds and improves soil fertility.

Green fodder for animal husbandry

The main purpose of growing green fodder is to feed ruminants. Cattle, goats and sheep are the ruminants usually raised as farm animals, but deer, roe deer and elk, as well as antelopes and giraffes, are also ruminants. They all have four stomach chambers in which they process hard-to-digest food in stages. The pre-digested food pulp is regurgitated, chewed again and swallowed once more before it is finally digested. Microorganisms soften the food pulp and can also break down substances such as cellulose, which are indigestible for other animal species and humans, and convert them into energy. The gases released during this fermentation, such as carbon dioxide and methane, are released by the animals through belching. Finally, fats and proteins are digested by the body’s own enzymes.

Cattle are among the most important farm animals for humans. They are originally prairie animals that mainly ate grass. When fed exclusively on pasture, a cow in Central Europe can produce 18 to 20 litres of milk per day in the high season of May and June. ‘High-yield’ cows produce around twice this amount. In order to achieve this level of productivity, cows need concentrated feed – these breeds would starve if they were only allowed to graze. However, giving them concentrated feed results in lower milk quality, as milk from cows that primarily eat grass, hay and grass silage contains more omega-3 fatty acids. Milk from pasture-raised cows has an omega-3 value of at least 1.0 gram per 100 grams of milk in summer. The amount found in the milk from cows kept in stalls and fed a high proportion of corn silage and concentrated feed is about half that.

Given that only slightly more than 40 per cent of the global harvest of the most important field crops is used directly for human consumption, the likely best approach for feeding cows, sheep and goats lies in the cultivation of pastures and meadows.

Green fodder and grasslands for climate protection

Ecologically, the large-scale cultivation of crops designated for concentrated animal feed leads to the destruction of rainforests and threatens valuable ecosystems (including meadows and pastures) and biodiversity in flora and fauna. In contrast to arable land, pasture provides more food and habitat for insects and birds. Grassland areas, even simply clover and alfalfa fields, demonstrate higher biodiversity than on arable land planted with concentrated feed crops. These grasslands have been shown to be home to up to 1,600 different species of insect.

In addition, the enrichment of organic matter into the soil binds almost 19 tonnes of carbon per hectare every year. This enrichment is facilitated both by grasses with their root mass and by legumes such as red clover and alfalfa, which are able to bind atmospheric nitrogen through symbiosis with soil bacteria and store it in a form that is available to plants. A higher proportion of such fodder mixtures on the world’s agricultural fields could drastically reduce the reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertilisers. This would lead in turn to an improvement in crop yields through natural means, without the input of artificial fertilisers and pesticides (and their associated energy consumptions) that is common today. Unfortunately, according to statistics from the FAO, most green fodder cultivation is currently focused on grasses rather than legumes.

The enrichment with organic matter also helps to maintain long-term soil fertility and to protect the soil from leaching caused by many years of cultivation with artificial fertilisers. The enrichment occurs in the following way: firstly, incorporation of plant residues and mulching with mown grass as fertiliser for other arable crops leads to the rebuilding of the humus layer. The subsequent decomposition of organic matter in the soil then feeds the plants. Livestock grazing of the land completes the cycle by making use of the above-ground plant mass as feed and the manure produced as fertiliser.

Sources

Biosphärenreservat Bliesgau: Grünfutter
Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Umwelt Nürtingen-Geislingen: Weltacker 2023
Greenpeace: Bessere Milchqualität dank Grünfutter