Fodder beet cropping using mechanised methods

Abstract

Fodder beet yields a high-energy low-fibre stock food which is attractive to dairy and beef cattle, sheep and pigs. It produces a higher yield of feed units per acre than any other farm crop. It is resistant to most pests and diseases. It is more drought resistant than most crops. The crop may be fed for eight months of the year or more without drying, housing or processing. But because of the many hours of laborious hand work needed to thin and weed this crop the acreage under fodder beet has remained very small. This bulletin outlines a method of sowing, cultivating and harvesting fodder beet which, if followed, will allow the farmer to benefit from the excellence of the crop as a stock food while eliminating the labour of hand weeding and thinning.