No-till alfalfa

[harry]

Has anyone had good success no-tilling alfalfa with a no-till drill, J.D.750? I have some rolling pasture I would like to hay but sure don't want to think about plowing and discing if no-till will work.

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,

No-till alfalfa works fine here.

 

[mom to 4]

Harry -- just wondered if you tried the no-till alfalfa and how it worked. We're thinking about trying it. Just hate to get a new field all seeded and then get a big-gully washer.

 

[preston39]

harry,

What bed are you planning to no till alfalfa in?..it makes a difference. Also, what is your objective with the alfalfa...
Hay?
Pasture?

 

[cowwrangler]

we have a guy here that no tills into wheat stubble every year,its the only way he seeds alafalfa,he seems to get an awsome stand all the time doing it

 

[mom to 4]

harry,

What bed are you planning to no till alfalfa in?..it makes a difference. Also, what is your objective with the alfalfa...
Hay?
Pasture?

We're establishing new alfalfa fields for hay. The fields have been no-tilled for several years straight. We're planting into corn and bean stubble and we will plant oats as well. We've asked around our area and no one seems to have much experience with it. In the past, we've sown the alfalfa conventionally and hoped that it wouldn't wash before the oats were established.

 

[3MR]

we have a guy here that no tills into wheat stubble every year,its the only way he seeds alafalfa,he seems to get an awsome stand all the time doing it

He no-tills alfalfa into wheat stubble "every year"? Sounds like a waste of money to me. Why does he do it every year? You usually dont even get your best stand of Alfalfa the first year.

 

[cowwrangler]

he raises hay and wheat and sows down some new alfalfa every year,always into wheat stubble that has been harvested,that is his rotation,notills the alfalfa into wheat stubble and when he has a feild which is not produtive anymore he kills off the alfalfa and then notills wheat into that

 

[3MR]

I kind of thought that may have been what you were saying later on when I was thinking about it.

 

[MoGal]

Most people no till the alfalfa around here but they don't wait until after the wheat is harvested (I'm assuming here that is what you mean by wheat stubble). Most plant it late March to early April (hubby says the best alfalfa is planted the monday after easter....... couldn't prove it by me as I don't have a clue) but if you're in doubt call your extension agent and talk with them.

 

[cowwrangler]

most of the time planted in the spring here also in the wheat stubble from the year before,but sometimes if we have enough moisture he will plant it in the fall a few weeks before freeze up