alfalfa

[GMN]

I need to know everything there is to growing alfalfa in MO? Planted alone, with a crop? How much per acre, what to fertilize it with? If you have to spray if cut at the right time? ETC...

GMN

 

[edrsimms]

http://www.americasalfalfa.com/stellent ... 090602.pdf
You need a fall dormancy rated alfalfa of 4 or 5
Archer III or Ameristand 444NT

Must be Seeded on Firm (Hard) Seed Bed
Rolling Compacts Soil to Hold Moisture for a Better Stand
Add Boron and Sulfur to your Fertilizer
High Requirements of Phosphate and Potash
Lime to 6.7 – 7.5 pH Level
Many Producers Plant with 2-4 lbs Arid Orchard Grass per acre
Plant Late Spring Usually with Oat Cover Crop
Watch for Alfalfa Weevil—One Spraying in Spring is a Must
Plant 1/4" to 1/2" Deep
Excellent Source of Protein
Excellent for Horse and Dairy Hay
Well Drained Soils Highly Recommended

 

[dun]

Talk to your NRCS people about alfalfa in your area. Where we are, not all that far east of you, alfalfa is nearly impossible to grow. South by Rogersville it grows great.

 

[novaman]

Talk to your NRCS people about alfalfa in your area. Where we are, not all that far east of you, alfalfa is nearly impossible to grow. South by Rogersville it grows great.

What's the reason you can't grow it? Soil type?

As far as the spraying, there is very little done in my part of the country. Taking the first cutting off exposes the weevils to sunlight which kills them. Successive cuttings that year are weevil free.

Fertilizing and seedbed preperation are essential to a good stand. As was said P & K are heavily used by alfalfa. It is quite difficult to fertilize the stand once it is established as P & K won't move down to the roots with a surface application.

 

[dun]

Talk to your NRCS people about alfalfa in your area. Where we are, not all that far east of you, alfalfa is nearly impossible to grow. South by Rogersville it grows great.

What's the reason you can't grow it? Soil type?

As far as the spraying, there is very little done in my part of the country. Taking the first cutting off exposes the weevils to sunlight which kills them. Successive cuttings that year are weevil free.

Fertilizing and seedbed preperation are essential to a good stand. As was said P & K are heavily used by alfalfa. It is quite difficult to fertilize the stand once it is established as P & K won't move down to the roots with a surface application.

Very heavy (clay/rock) soil but there seems to be something just not right about it. A neighbor has 3 areas that he has planted alfalfa. Brought up to soil test and all that. One grows fair but very sparse, about like when we used to renovate them. One has decent but it's only a patch that he seeded that's only 100 feet square. The other one has one patch about the sixe of a house that the stuff really flourishes, the rest of it ranges from nothing to just an occasioanl plant. Could be the lack of reliable moisture or the occasional high humidity or something. But it sure isn;t a reliable crop.

 

[GMN]

Talk to your NRCS people about alfalfa in your area. Where we are, not all that far east of you, alfalfa is nearly impossible to grow. South by Rogersville it grows great.

What's the reason you can't grow it? Soil type?

As far as the spraying, there is very little done in my part of the country. Taking the first cutting off exposes the weevils to sunlight which kills them. Successive cuttings that year are weevil free.

Fertilizing and seedbed preperation are essential to a good stand. As was said P & K are heavily used by alfalfa. It is quite difficult to fertilize the stand once it is established as P & K won't move down to the roots with a surface application.

We have a neighbor who grows it, and sprays it, another person we know has 3 fields of it, and doesn't spray it, just cuts it every 35 days i think. He has orchardgrass mixed in, and when he use to milk, he said his cows just loved it. Got multiple cuttings a season, and every year it grew back, and he fertilized it heavy.

We got a 20-25 acre field we thought of doing something different in. Its bottom land, and I thought it would be a good field to plant alfalfa in. Only thing is that the field now has fescue, orchard, lezpedeza and clover in it, would have to till and disc it all up, and start over, whereas if we went with just reliming the field, and no tilled straight orchardgrass in, we wouldn't have to mess with all that extra work. I know people say its cheaper to buy alfalfa, but its not for us, would be nice to have a field that a person could get several cuttings off of, with the feed quality dairy cows needed.

GMN

 

[mnmtranching]

In this area it was very difficult getting a good stand of Alfalfa. I think the main thing is the soil is sandy loam and dries out quickly killing the young plants before well rooted.
Then the center pivots, with water and proper nutrients the alfalfa is as good as anywhere. 3-4 cuttings and fertilizer is added after every cutting.
I think the big thing in raising Alfalfa is nutrients and how well your soil holds moisture. Still, Alfalfa does not do well in soil that is not well drained or to wet.