Fodder

Fodder (/ˈfɒdər/), also called provender (/ˈprɒvəndər/), is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs.

In many cases the production of grass for cattle fodder is a valuable intercrop between crops for human consumption, because it builds the organic matter in the soil.

[citation needed] In the past, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow disease") spread through the inclusion of ruminant meat and bone meal in cattle feed due to prion contamination.

[citation needed] Increasing intensities and frequencies of drought events put rangeland agriculture under pressure in semi-arid and arid geographic areas.

During extended dry periods, some farmers have used woody biomass fibre from encroacher bush as their primary source of cattle feed, adding locally-available supplements for nutrients as well as to improve palatability.