Abstract: An intense forage conditioning machine includes: a mower, either a cutter bar or disks, perpendicular to the direction of travel for cutting fresh forage off the ground to leave a stubble; a conveying unit to move the cut forage; a macerating unit composed of a series of grooved rolls rotating at different speeds to severely condition the conveyed cut forage; and a double track pressing unit to compress the macerated forage and to deposit the resulting thin mat on the stubble. The macerating unit can be used without the tracks and can comprise only three rollers arranged to form two nips. The rollers can be grooved and can rotate at different speeds.