Cereal Straws as Ruminant Feeds: Problems and Prospects Revisited

Straws from cereal crops are used for animal feed and other purposes since ages. They are likely to also play a role in future livestock farming systems even if the nature of their use may change. This paper describes use of straws for animal feed from ancient time till today, keeping in mind alternative uses such as for soil improvement and fuel. It defines straws and it reviews work on straw feeding methods in temperate and tropical regions, especially for stall feeding conditions and distinguishing between ‘straw’ (from fine grains) and ‘stover’ (from coarse grains). By doing so it identifies five stages and some major paradigm shifts in straw R&D thus far. The paper also ventures to discuss the next (sixth) stage in development, i.e. on use of straws for a sustainable future. Conclusions are, among others, that straws are here to stay and that their proper use for sustainable farming needs new concepts such as redesign of grain crops and re-design of optimal farming systems.