A rod belt, in particular for rod belt conveyors of agricultural machines, the rod belt having a running direction and comprising: tensile stress-resistant, elastic and continuous belts running in parallel to one another; transverse rods arranged perpendicular to the running direction and parallel to one another in a pre-determined rod spacing, each transverse rod having mounting sections with which the transverse rods rests on the belts, wherein the transverse rods are fastened to the belts by attachment means, passing through the mounting sections of the transverse rods and the belts; and protective forge covers attached to the belts, each forge cover having a mounting profile and a flexible protection profile.