The price of the products used for animal supplementation and the existence of a rich native flora of eudicotyledon forage, drove the idea for develop a technique feed supplementation aiming improve livestock yield levels in the semiarid zone. The fodder salt technique has been developed by the Tropical Zootechnical Rsearch Group at the Centro de Ciências Agrárias Ambientais e Biológicas da Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia (CCAAB/UFRB). Defined as a mixture of mineral salt and ground eudocotyledon forage hay, among them, some xerophitas species, the"fodder salt" consisting to a low cost technique with high applicability potential for ruminant production in semiarid environment. The salt controls consumption, for it facilitates the offer of eudicotyledon hay. When added to the mixture, it becomes salty, and the animals ingest it slowly and repeatedly. This behavior results in a reduction of feed intake, in less fighting among animals, and allows a better even distribution of feed for all of them. The researches on "fodder salt" have presented satisfactory responses of animal performance, and without doubt, this technique facilitates feed management and increases herd yield.
caatinga; forrage; livestock; semiarid; sustaintability