If the feeds or feed ingredients become wet because of leakage of rain water from broken roof, can develop moulds, which in turn can become a probable cause of serious diseases to animals leading to morbidity and mortality. This information was shared by Dr. APS Sethi, HoD, Animal Nutrition Department of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana. He advised that one should have keep or store the feeds in a dry place. Your feed stores should be well ventilated and feed is stacked in such a way that air can circulate within the rows. Avoid stacking alongside the wall. Store as much quantity of feed which can be utilized within a short period. Clumpy feeds should not be used for feeding livestock. Aflatoxin levels should be evaluated from time to time. Such facilities can be availed from the Feed Analytical Laboratory of Department of Animal Nutrition, GADVASU.
Livestock sector is one of the fastest growing segment of the agricultural economy. The supply of the green forage throughout the year is an economic priority to the farmers, in order to maintain the production from the ruminant stock. Most of the cultivated fodder is grown in the state and only about 7% of the area is under fodder crops. Another source of fodder is from grasses and shrubs that grow abundantly on the rangeland and roadsides during the monsoon season. Most of these reach their flowering stage during August-September. Grass that grows in the rainy season have lots of water as well as fiber. The water fills up the stomach and therefore, it is virtually of no use. This causes animals to pass watery dung in the wet seasons. Livestock farmers must chop some of the young grass of rainy season and dry it up in sunlight before feeding. It will penetrate water from the grass and will turn it into a good feed.
Rain during harvests and filling can be annoying. Weather events can affect quality due to leaching, which leads to movement of water-soluble components out of the forage. Many of the compounds are highly digestible carbohydrates. Almost one third of the dry matter leached by rain is soluble carbohydrates. Generally, lactic acid bacteria produce sufficient acid and reduce pH quickly enough to inhibit clostridia from growing. However, a quick pH drop is more difficult to achieve when forage is wet and/or low in sugars, due to overcast conditions or even rain-leaching.
