Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture

Climate Smart and Regenerative Forage Systems in Southern Bangladesh Taking Lessons on Grass Cutting from the Cows! A common practice on farms is to cut grass for fodder from the very roots, to give the cow the largest quantity of fodder in one reaping. If you look at an actual cow grazing in the field or at the second picture, however, you’ll notice that the cow doesn’t eat below a certain height while grazing! This is because a grazing cow will never choose to consume the hard stems at the base, with low nutritional value. They also know that munching on the stems will result in the plant taking around a month longer to grow back, lengthening the time to when the cow can return to grazing in that spot! When we cut the whole plant and give it to cattle, they are only receiving a third of the nutrition as they would from the same quantity of fodder without the stems, so it's an economic loss in the accounting books too. Have a good look as Dr. Weiss shows in the last two photos grass cutting at which height the plant, the animal and the farm will thank you for! Isn’t it remarkable how much we can advance by learning straight from nature? The USAID-funded FtF Livestock and Nutrition Activity and the research team at Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, Texas A&M University, have many more interesting and important updates to share from the workshops so stay with us!  #usaid #feedthefuture #LivestockandNutrition #FarmManagement #Forrage #Fodder #climatesmartagriculture #ClimateSmartLivestock #climatesmart

Climate Smart and Regenerative Forage Systems in Southern Bangladesh  Gradually Going into Grazing Did you know plants can warn each other about diseases? Plants communicate with each other through a mechanism known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). They use this to warn each other of threats or diseases. The research team at Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, Texas A&M University shared many more interesting information at the workshop with USAID-funded Livestock and Nutrition Activity. Have a look at the moringa plants in the photos. They grow all over Bangladesh, and much of South Asia. Cattle if allowed to graze freely event for an hour or day in a week or a month will always munch on some of these if they’re on the plot. Moringa has many medicinal properties, contributes to better milk yield for dairy cows and growth for cattle. Just like moringa, there are so many other healthy plants your cattle would take a bite of, if they were allowed to venture out to graze for a little. Grazing cattle will really have them looking better, too! Gleaming coats, healthy temperaments, and no signs of injured knees or hooves from being confined to concrete floors all day. So, trust that nature’s pharmacy is the first place your cattle wants to be and let them graze once in a while! #usaid #feedthefuture #livestockandnutrition #grazing #foraging