alfalfa question

[diamond hunter]

I am possibly adding a 20 acre hay field to my farm thats next door.The man that raises and cuts the hay Im sure wont want to lose it.Personally,for my honeybees and deer Id love alfalfa.What is necessary to convert a regular hay field to alfalfa and would it even be in my best interest to do so? Is it something most cattle farmers would care about?

 

[BSK]

Alfalfa is a highly preferred plant for deer. I've seen them walk through clover to get to alfalfa. The big downside to alfalfa is the amount of maintenance it requires to keep out competition.

 

[TNTreeman]

Deer LOVE it. Most deer I've ever seen at one time was in an alfalfa field. I believe it was around 60 of them. It is somewhat hard to get established and takes maintenance . I'd suggest roundup ready and on the best ground you have.

 

[Headhunter]

I have always heard deer love alfafa, but where we hunt in KY there are always a few alfafa fields, the area is infested with deer, I have never seen a deer in one of the alfafa fields there.

 

[megalomaniac]

Alfalfa requires optimum soils to do well. I failed miserably with it 4 years ago :( Very expensive lesson learned.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Local alfalfa fields near the house are loaded with deer on a regular basis....they absolutely love it in our area.....but as mentioned.....it requires maintenance and cutting it for hay has to be timed out and done correctly or you can end up with a bunch of stems.....if time and resources allow it's nice to have around....makes some high dollar hay....but it isn't cheap to get started or to maintain.

 

[diamond hunter]

Any way to estimate starting or maintenance costs per acre?

 

[BSK]

Alfalfa requires optimum soils to do well. I failed miserably with it 4 years ago :( Very expensive lesson learned.

I've seen it successfully established and maintained on ridge-top soils ONCE, and just once. The landowner had to fiddle with it constantly to maintain it. But wow, those plots would get hammered.

 

[Popcorn]

No one mentioned that alfalfa has a self defeating mechanism. This mechanism is a natural defense to reduce competition that works by preventing germination of seed. The problem arises as the prevention builds annually and reaches a point where even the alfalfa seed struggle to germinate and bald areas begin to appear and the stand thins. Many growers automatically kill it every 5th year and plant a cover crop for 2 seasons before re-establishing. I have kept a stand going for 7 years by regular mowing and fall plantings of cereal rye and turnips which fill in the bald areas, disrupt the chemical mechanism and encourages the alfalfa to spread and compete. I fight the battle because the landowner wants alfalfa, otherwise its too expensive, too needy (spray 3X's year for bugs) and does not do anything a great stand of clover doesnt do better on less acreage for far less money. Oh! and it will disappear in winter leaving bare dirt if you dont plant cereal rye or wheat into it. JMHO

 

[DoubleRidge]

No one mentioned that alfalfa has a self defeating mechanism. This mechanism is a natural defense to reduce competition that works by preventing germination of seed. The problem arises as the prevention builds annually and reaches a point where even the alfalfa seed struggle to germinate and bald areas begin to appear and the stand thins. Many growers automatically kill it every 5th year and plant a cover crop for 2 seasons before re-establishing. I have kept a stand going for 7 years by regular mowing and fall plantings of cereal rye and turnips which fill in the bald areas, disrupt the chemical mechanism and encourages the alfalfa to spread and compete. I fight the battle because the landowner wants alfalfa, otherwise its too expensive, too needy (spray 3X's year for bugs) and does not do anything a great stand of clover doesnt do better on less acreage for far less money. Oh! and it will disappear in winter leaving bare dirt if you dont plant cereal rye or wheat into it. JMHO

Thanks Popcorn....your explanation is a prime example of why I appreciate TNdeer and the opportunity to learn from others experiences....very interesting.

 

[BSK]

Fantastic first-hand knowledge Popcorn!

 

[Popcorn]

Any way to estimate starting or maintenance costs per acre?

Start with soil samples and applying required amendments to get to a place Alfalfa will accept.
Then do not till as erosion will be hard to manage and ponding will drown seedlings.
Spray and kill existing stand then drill in Alfalfa as shallow as possible while still making seed to soil contact.
Drill at 20 to 25 lbs per acre but drill at half that and plant twice using a criss cross pattern.
Plan at least the first year to establish. Straight alfalfa is too much protein for cattle but can fed as a supplement if they will pay the price.
Horse people want alfalfa hay. Cut it young and often, buy a moisture tester, a good one, learn to forecast the weather.

Costs will be determined by your suppliers and if you have the equipment.

 

[Granddaddy]

Alfalfa in the south where there is heat & humidity is generally a losing proposition. In many instances it's treated as an annual crop because it lacks persistence & is so difficult to perpetuate. I'm sure there are exceptions but this seems to be the rule. I've had great success with a combination of successive clovers (ladino clover, Redland III clover & crimson clover). The first two are perennials that with little maintenance persist very well for 4-5 yrs. The crimson clover is an aggressive reseeding annual that will also persist much like a perennial. What makes this combination is that the ladino peaks early spring, the Redland III late spring/early summer & the crimson over the summer months. This combination will provide a reliable & highly nutritious good source from early spring before other browse sources are plentiful thru late summer. I add to this mix browntop turnips which provide an attractive & nutritious food source thru it's leaves & after winter freeze when deer will dig up the turnips for an excellent carb source. I let the turnips reseed after they flower in the spring. Through the whole cycle there is a palatable & attractive food source available - and it takes very little maintenance after the initial soil prep. The most crucial bring soil pH near a neutral 7.0 & avoiding the common mistake of covering the mix too deeply at planting. Maybe I'm a little opinionated on alfalfa because I've failed so miserably attempting to make it grow in west TN.

 

[Grnwing]

We have close to a 100ac of alfalfa on our WI farm and it always has deer in it and it also produces 4 good crops of hay a year. I would not spend the time or energy on trying to establish an alfalfa field down here in the TN. As Popcorn and Granddaddy have pointed out, it is a lot of work when there a much better alternatives for our acidic soils.

 

[Granddaddy]

WI is awesome for alfalfa. I've always been very envious both for food plots & feed for horses & cows - green & hay mixes in WI. In fertile soil it seems to grow almost like a weed it's so prolific.

 

[Monk74]

No one mentioned that alfalfa has a self defeating mechanism. This mechanism is a natural defense to reduce competition that works by preventing germination of seed. The problem arises as the prevention builds annually and reaches a point where even the alfalfa seed struggle to germinate and bald areas begin to appear and the stand thins. Many growers automatically kill it every 5th year and plant a cover crop for 2 seasons before re-establishing. I have kept a stand going for 7 years by regular mowing and fall plantings of cereal rye and turnips which fill in the bald areas, disrupt the chemical mechanism and encourages the alfalfa to spread and compete. I fight the battle because the landowner wants alfalfa, otherwise its too expensive, too needy (spray 3X's year for bugs) and does not do anything a great stand of clover doesnt do better on less acreage for far less money. Oh! and it will disappear in winter leaving bare dirt if you dont plant cereal rye or wheat into it. JMHO

Autotoxicity, clover does that as well. But I guess alfalfa is a clover. Weevils are my problem.

 

[Popcorn]

Weevils are my problem.

Weevil control is a matter of timing and is always 2 spray dates per event. I never spray as soon as I see the signs, give it a few days for the hatch to happen then spray making sure to spray adjoining edges and non-alfalfa crops at least 15 feet to maximize the kill. Begin the watch for the next round which should occur 10 to 21 days later. Once the tell tale signs show up wait 3 days and spray it again. Unless you have a really bad infestation this should give you 1 to 2 months relief but they will begin to creep back. Spraying those adjacent areas can make a big difference in how fast or big the re-infestation is.

 

[DoubleRidge]

I've always thought it would be nice to have an alfalfa plot.....but after being educated by reading this thread I've come to the conclusion that alfalfa doesn't fit into our management plan....I never realized it was that complicated to grow a nice stand.....I clearly understand now why alfalfa hay is so expensive.

 

[rukiddin]

Imagine the most high maintenance, selfish, money grabbing, needy woman you can think of. That's what alfalfa is in the crop world…………..

 

[backyardtndeer]

What about birdsfoot trefoil as an alternative? Easier to grow and deer love it.

 

[BSK]

I've always thought it would be nice to have an alfalfa plot.....but after being educated by reading this thread I've come to the conclusion that alfalfa doesn't fit into our management plan....I never realized it was that complicated to grow a nice stand.....I clearly understand now why alfalfa hay is so expensive.

That's why, in all my years of working habitat management projects in ridge-and-hollow terrain, I've only seen ONE example of successful alfalfa production. And the landowner spent a huge amount of time and money maintaining it.