Market Trends of forage seed Industry
Alfalfa dominates due to its ability to produce high forage yield under different weather and soil conditions.
- Globally, the area under forage crop cultivation reached 80.4 million ha in 2022, which increased by 4.3% between 2017 and 2022. This is due to the expansion of the global livestock industry, driven by increasing demand for meat and dairy products, which has led to a higher demand for forage crops as feed. Among the forage crops, alfalfa is a dominant crop in terms of cultivation area. It accounted for 39.2% of the global forage crop acreage in 2022. This is because of alfalfa's exceptional capacity to produce abundant protein and attractive forage under various weather and soil conditions.
- North America accounted for the major area under forage crop cultivation in the world, with a share of 29.7% in 2022. The United States alone held 59.8% of the region's forage acreage in 2022. This is mainly due to increased demand from the animal feed industry in the country.
- In the Asia-Pacific region, the total area under forage crop cultivation increased by 7.6% between 2017 and 2022. India has the largest area under forage crops, with 52.2% in 2022. The main factors increasing cultivation in the country are the high livestock population and rising demand for animal feed.
- Europe is one of the largest producers of Forages in the world. The total forage cultivation area in the region reached 9.1 million ha in 2022, which increased by 4.6% between 2017 and 2022 due to rising feed demand from livestock. Forage corn and alfalfa have the largest area under cultivation, accounting for 63.5% and 35.4% of the overall European forage cultivation area in 2022. Therefore, increased demand from the animal feed industry and the growing livestock population are estimated to drive the expansion of forage cultivation.
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Increasing demand for fodder in livestock farming is driving the usage of forage seeds with disease resistance, wider adaptability, and early maturity traits
- Alfalfa and forage corn are the major forage crops because of their benefits to livestock rearing, such as more digestibility and high protein. They also allow farmers to attain higher yields with good quality. Wider adaptability for alfalfa was the largest adopted trait as there have been weather changes, increased demand for early maturity, and low lignin content in a single product to minimize the usage of different inputs. Additionally, wider adaptability was the most adopted trait in the global market, especially in South America, as it had a regional market share of 35.4% in 2022. It is the most adopted crop because of the changing agro-climatic conditions, field stress, and growing crop cultivation in different regions.
- Companies such as Bayer, DLF, and Barenbrug have introduced many varieties of alfalfa and forage corn, such as Alfalfa (DKC 3218, DKC 3204, Debalto, and Marcamo), as well as forage corn (Daisy, Fado, and Power 4.2). These varieties can withstand diverse environmental conditions, adapt to various soil types, and withstand field stress and heat conditions. The EU Commission's REFORMA project (2016-2020) aimed to develop advanced breeding techniques and introduce new alfalfa cultivars.
- There is an increase in the demand for seeds with early maturity and high starch content traits as they offer a shorter growing period, allowing farmers to harvest earlier. High starch content in forage corn enhances its nutritional value for animal feed. Therefore, the companies are expected to produce such varieties in larger quantities during the forecast period.
- To prevent the increasing losses from diseases and increase productivity in a shorter period, the seeds with traits such as disease resistance and early maturity drive the market.
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OTHER KEY INDUSTRY TRENDS COVERED IN THE REPORT
- Hybrid breeding dominates the global forage seed market due to its ability to enhance forage crop productivity, quality, and disease resistance
