Development of New Varieties and Production of Forages in Korea

The livestock industry in Korea is still primarily carrying out feeding method through utilization of concentrates and rice straw. Recently, however, the supply of domestic good quality forages is increasing rapidly, particularly in winter (Italian ryegrass, forage barley and so on). The productivity per area of winter annual forages are also increasing, 21.5('06), 26.2('07), and 27.3MT/ha ('08) as a silage in Yeonggwang district. The important fields for forages production are upland, paddy land, grassland, woodland, and rest areas. The main feature of grassland agriculture is it's dependence on perennial grasses, legumes, and high quality annual forage crops, such as corn, sorghum×sudangrass hybrid, Italian ryegrass, forage barley, rye, oats, hairy vetch, forage rice, forage rape, and others. In addition, proper land use and increased animal profitability is maintained through grassland agriculture. There are over 40 varieties of varied forage crops amongst the 9 species in Korean specifically Italian ryegrass, forage barley and corn. However, the seed supply of newly developed varieties is weak. Increasing of forage productivity per area, reducing of production cost, silage manufacture with uniform moisture content and quality, simple evaluation of silage quality on farm (including marketing bale silage), forage biotechnology for development of stress resistant variety, and on-farm research demonstration on forage production and utilization are on-going researches. Rice straw is also one of the most important roughage in Korea. However, the utilization of rice straw should be reduced in the near future. The aim of forage production in the past was to fulfill the domestic need of herbivores. Nevertheless, forage production in 21st century is geared towards international competitiveness in animal husbandry. The most important factor is the enhancement of forage sufficiency in relation to the environmental-friendly livestock. Fortunately, there are many possibilities for forage production in Korea. No forages no cattle concept should be emphasized.