Getting started.

[simme]

In this area, not much alfalfa grown. Lots of work and expensive to get established. Very good seedbed required. If you don't get a good stand, you can't just overseed. Mature alfalfa plants emit something that keeps alfalfa seeds from germinating. So, the stand gets sparse over time and you have to start over. Then the alfalfa weevil comes and you need to spray strong insecticides quickly. Timing is everything on cutting and baling. Loss of leaves in our very hot climate works against you. Imported small squares here are in the $18 to $22 dollar range and come from very far away.

 

[Silver]

Alfalfa is our bread and butter here.

 

[GoWyo]

Alfalfa is our bread and butter here.

Here too. Finding grass hay can be a challenge. Grass-alfalfa mix is available, but usually pricier than straight alfalfa. My hay guy has a thin stand of alfalfa he interseeds forage barley into and that makes a nice grass-alfalfa mix.

 

[Silver]

Here too. Finding grass hay can be a challenge. Grass-alfalfa mix is available, but usually pricier than straight alfalfa. My hay guy has a thin stand of alfalfa he interseeds forage barley into and that makes a nice grass-alfalfa mix.

Interesting. I have tried no-tilling oats into poor alfalfa stands and have had no luck.
We plant grass (brome, Timothy ) with our alfalfa. But when drought hits it’s the grass that takes the biggest beating with its shallower roots.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

No alfalfa grown here, Birdsfoot trefoil is our substitute.

 

[wbvs58]

In this area, not much alfalfa grown. Lots of work and expensive to get established. Very good seedbed required. If you don't get a good stand, you can't just overseed. Mature alfalfa plants emit something that keeps alfalfa seeds from germinating. So, the stand gets sparse over time and you have to start over. Then the alfalfa weevil comes and you need to spray strong insecticides quickly. Timing is everything on cutting and baling. Loss of leaves in our very hot climate works against you. Imported small squares here are in the $18 to $22 dollar range and come from very far away.

"Aliphatic effect", that is something I have seen with lucerne (alfalfa) when I tried to add a subtropical grass to a small plot of lucerne, absolutely zero germination when I drilled the seed in and there was plenty of bare soil between the plants. I ended up having to spray it out to get something else to grow. The lucerne did persist well though even with our acid soil.

Ken

 

[gman4691]

I never saw alfalfa grown anywhere around me. Dunno why..all the show kids and horse people used it.
Maybe it didn't do well in E Texas heat and prolific rain.

Some guy that lives just up the road from us has a sign that says quality ryegrass and alfalfa hay for sale...the pastures look nice but I wouldn't know alfalfa if it walked up and punched me in the nose...

 

[Silver]

Alfalfa. The stuff in the foreground is about 18-20” tall. It is the re growth from when I cut the outside rounds on this field. The stuff in the background I did finally manage to get put up in nice shape. Should all make nice grazing when the cows come home.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

In over 500 acres of hay I probably have 50 individual alfalfa plants. I've tried establishing it but it doesn't do well here. My guess is the combination of saturated soils, cold clay, and winter kill just do it in.

 

[wbvs58]

In over 500 acres of hay I probably have 50 individual alfalfa plants. I've tried establishing it but it doesn't do well here. My guess is the combination of saturated soils, cold clay, and winter kill just do it in.

It does like well drained soils.

Ken

 

[Silver]

It does like well drained soils.

Ken

That’s what they say. I have 4” of topsoil on top of hundreds of feet of blue gumbo clay. I think being in valleys with some slope to the fields helps quite a bit though. Some winters we have little snow and weeks of cold weather so I’m not really sure about winter kill, even though everyone claims it’s a problem.
It is expensive to rejuvenate, but more expensive to buy. Because if we don’t have hay likely no one else does either

 

[Travlr]

In over 500 acres of hay I probably have 50 individual alfalfa plants. I've tried establishing it but it doesn't do well here. My guess is the combination of saturated soils, cold clay, and winter kill just do it in.

I'm no crop expert, but I've been led to understand that Alfalfa puts down some very long roots and that's why it doesn't need to be replanted very often. Something like 20 feet or more. I would expect a high water table to kill it.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

That's what they say. I have 4" of topsoil on top of hundreds of feet of blue gumbo clay. I think being in valleys with some slope to the fields helps quite a bit though. Some winters we have little snow and weeks of cold weather so I'm not really sure about winter kill, even though everyone claims it's a problem.
It is expensive to rejuvenate, but more expensive to buy. Because if we don't have hay likely no one else does either

I have 4" of topsoil on endless red clay. We have lots of winter snow which leads to standing ponded water in the spring often for weeks on end. Not uncommon for fields to have standing water for 4-6 weeks with some freezing and icing over.

I had a good 20a stand of a variety of alfalfa that was more suited to poorly drained soils. Then on year 3 or so we got 1' of slush then 3" of rain then a hard freeze. Neighbor kids played hockey on the ice rink in the field. That was the end of the alfalfa ha. Haven't spent the money to try it again.

If a guy wants to buy alfalfa hay it has to come from south or east of here a couple hours where they have drier soils and less winter.

 

[Dave]

Neighbor has an alfalfa field which is 10+ years old. He has talked about plowing it down for the last 5 years. Well this year he must have been dissatisfied with the yield from the first cutting. He no tilled corn into the field. I am not talking about 20 or 26 inch rows. Just whatever the spacing is on his drill (7 in?). The corn is now up over the alfalfa. At some point he plans to cut and bale this mixture. Too late to get much if any corn on it. So it will be green corn, alfalfa, and weed hay. We are all waiting to see how this turns out.

 

[Rafter S]

I never saw alfalfa grown anywhere around me. Dunno why..all the show kids and horse people used it.
Maybe it didn't do well in E Texas heat and prolific rain.

I suspect you're right about that. About 30 years ago when I was working bees in North Dakota it grew wild in the ditches beside the road, and I remember going down a road where someone had cut and baled it, and then didn't even pick it up. The alfalfa was big enough to cut again.

I was told that it sold there for about the same as Johnsongrass did back home.

 

[GoWyo]

Neighbor has an alfalfa field which is 10+ years old. He has talked about plowing it down for the last 5 years. Well this year he must have been dissatisfied with the yield from the first cutting. He no tilled corn into the field. I am not talking about 20 or 26 inch rows. Just whatever the spacing is on his drill (7 in?). The corn is now up over the alfalfa. At some point he plans to cut and bale this mixture. Too late to get much if any corn on it. So it will be green corn, alfalfa, and weed hay. We are all waiting to see how this turns out.

View attachment 60940

If he times it to max the forage value of the weeds it could be decent cow hay.

 

[gcreekrch]

Alfalfa. The stuff in the foreground is about 18-20" tall. It is the re growth from when I cut the outside rounds on this field. The stuff in the background I did finally manage to get put up in nice shape. Should all make nice grazing when the cows come home.
View attachment 60920

There is no way that would escape being baled here if a second crop was that nice

 

[gcreekrch]

 

[gcreekrch]

Two days cutting left.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Still summer up there? Down here summers over and fall is here, leaves changing and talking frost this week...