A Review of The Current Status of Forage Crops Cultivation and Evaluation in Türkiye

Abstract

With the changing market conditions in Turkey, the shortage of quality roughage causes an increase in input costs. In the livestock sector, feeding and maintenance expenses are forcing the enterprises. Compared to the previous year, in 2022, there is a 5,6% decrease in total cattle presence and a 2,2% decrease in small ruminants. Parallel to the increase in population, the importance of continuous and effective farming of forage crops and animal husbandry has emerged. The cultivation areas of forage crops have increased significantly since the 2000s, thanks to government subsidies. However, the current situation is not sufficient for feeding the livestock. In this article, the existence of bovine and small livestock is studied, and detailed current data on the roughage resources, cultivation areas and production amounts of Turkey are presented. The availability of roughage resources to meet the needs of animal presence has been revealed. In addition, evaluations on what can be done to improve the production of quality roughage are presented. The future of the livestock sector depends on the government's encouragement of the producer to sustainable and effective forage crop farming.