- Author: Rachael Freeman Long
- Author: Morgan Doran
- Author: Brooke Latack
- Author: Dan Putnam
Interest in integrating livestock and alfalfa production is on the rise in the U.S. as a way to produce more food per acre and improve farm income.
There are significant economic and environmental advantages to grazing, including lower costs, pest control, healthier animals, and soil health benefits. The main concerns or negatives may be bloat risk or hoof damage to alfalfa fields, but millions of acres of alfalfa and alfalfa-grass mixtures are grazed safely each year.
An Old Practice Becomes New: The practice of routinely grazing alfalfa and alfalfa-grass mixes is not new. It is a historical practice in the U.S., and in many parts of the world, grazing alfalfa and grasses is an...
- Author: Michael Rethwisch
- Author: Ian M Grettenberger
- Author: Daniel H. Putnam
A new caterpillar was found this fall on alfalfa in the Palo Verde Valley of California and several other alfalfa growing areas of western Arizona.
Is this a New Pest? The initial finding of the ‘dot-lined angle' caterpillar (moth) was reported to UCCE in mid-October by a highly experienced pest control advisor (Richard Wellman), who had collected it in several fields in the Palo Verde Valley but realized it was an unfamiliar species. UCCE advisor Michael Rethwisch (Riverside County, CA) identified the species as the dot-lined angle (Psamatodes abydata), with this identification confirmed by Marc Epstein at the California Department of Food and...
- Author: Rachael Freeman Long
- Author: Morgan Doran
- Author: Robert Poppenga
- Author: Dan Putnam
Sudangrass (Sorghum bicolor L.) is a type of sorghum which is widely grown for hay, greenchop or grazing systems. Typically over 50,000 acres of sudangrass are grown for hay in the Imperial Valley of California, much of it exported to Japan.
However, sudangrass (and sudan-sorghum hybrids) can be grazed or fed as greenchop to livestock particularly beef animals or used as a vigorous cover crop. What are the risks of feeding sudangrass to livestock?
Is Grazing Safe? A couple of questions have come up about grazing sudangrass including: 1) grazing sudangrass stubble after harvest, and 2) grazing sudangrass in a cover crop. Is this a safe practice? Maybe, but pay attention! Care is...
- Author: Rachael Freeman Long
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
- Author: Sarah LIght
- Author: Rad Schmidt
- View More...
Healthy soils are key for ensuring optimum plant health for high quality, high yielding alfalfa stands, not to mention long-term crop production.
What is meant by 'healthy soils'? Those soils which continually improve in structure, organic matter, aeration, and ability to nurture plant growth are key attributes. Soil 'tilth' is another word for the 'crumbliness' and excellent structure of the soil which allows for good water retention, drainage, fertility, and aeration. To improve soil health we need to address some of the problems commonly seen in alfalfa fields such as compaction, lack of aeration, and poor drainage, which in turn leads to poor root growth and low yield. What are the...
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
UC Cooperative Extension and UC Davis will host a Healthy Soils Program field meeting on compost. The meeting will take place on Thursday, July 28th from 10:00am to 11:30am. The meeting will take place off of S. Landi Road, on Roberts Island in the Delta. Presentation topics include how to acquire compost, different types of compost, how compost can improve soil health and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and how to apply for cost-share funding. The meeting location is where we are trialing different rates of green waste compost application for potential soil health and alfalfa yield benefits. Preliminary results will be described. Attendance is free, and...
