Stovers are an often overlooked farm resource, consisting of dried stalks and leaves remaining after crop harvest. Instead of wasting them, farmers can convert them into useful livestock feed easily.

Although stovers are generally high in fibre, they usually contain limited protein and energy. Feeding them alone may therefore restrict animal performance, especially in growing or productive livestock systems.

However, farmers can improve stover quality by incorporating ingredients such as urea, molasses, soybean meal, cottonseed, sunflower meal, and suitable concentrates to create balanced feeding options for livestock production systems.

These additions can improve palatability, increase nutrient availability, and support better feed intake. Proper treatment and formulation can transform low quality crop residues into valuable livestock feeding resources for farmers.

Farmers should understand that effective livestock production depends on using available resources wisely. Properly managed stovers can reduce feeding costs while improving nutrition, productivity, and farm profitability sustainably over time.

Abdullah Opeyemi Akande
B.Agric. (FUNAAB)
GAS (NIAS)
M.Sc. Animal Sci. (UI)
RAS (NIAS)
M.Sc. Int’l Business (UU, UK)
Ph.D. in view