Alfalfa & Forage News

It is both a blessing and a curse that alfalfa in California's Central Valley essentially grows all winter long. Although we can get very high early yields, if conditions are too wet, the fields look pretty ragged after a winter which saw rains in excess of 130% of normal.

There is little doubt that the heavy late rains we've seen in spring, 2019 in the northern part of California will reduce yields and quality for many alfalfa growers. How much depends upon soil type and the flooding risk of individual fields and the health of the plants during this stress period.

Have you seen this crop injury in your Roundup-Ready Field or conventionl field? If so, we want to hear from you. We are asking alfalfa growers everywhere to look for the following symptoms (below) of injury in Roundup-Ready (or RR-HarvXtra) alfalfa or even in conventional fields.

In a period when we've had high rains, it's very difficult to manage excessive winter growth in a Mediterranean climate.

Alfalfa and grass hays produced in the US ending up feeding dairy cows in Riyadh or Bengbu? Who would have thought? What was once a minor curiosity has fully emerged as a major market for western US hay producers.