Southern leader excited by Arkansas being oddly deficient in forage for cattle (4,5)

I believe the answer is:

sago grass

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'forage for cattle' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'southern leader excited by arkansas being oddly deficient' is the wordplay.
'leader' indicates taking the first letters.
'excited' becomes 'agog' (similar in meaning).
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'being oddly deficient' means one should take alternating letters (letters in odd-numbered positions removed).
The initial letter of 'southern' is 's'.
The alternate letters of 'arkansas' are 'rass'.
's'+'agog'+'rass'='SAGO GRASS'

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.