Harbers, L.H.Brazle, F.K.Owensby, Clenton E.2011-03-042011-03-042011-03-04http://hdl.handle.net/2097/7905What's Ahead for Cattlemen? is known as Cattlemen’s Day, 1977The scanning electron microscope has been used to observe the digestion of alfalfa hay and warm- and cool-season grasses. Photomicrographs show that leaves of all species are digested by bacteria and protozoa attacking either the upper part of the leaf or exposed edges; lower leaf surfaces are never attacked. Intake of a forage depends on how rapidly rumen bacteria and protozoa can enter the upper leaf surface and digest underlying material (mesophyll) leaving most of the highly lignified nutrient-carrying vessels (vascular tissue) undigested.BeefIntakeAlfalfa hayForageConference paper