OK, so your truck got a flat, the cows got out, and you were unable to attend the 2013 alfalfa shin-dig in Reno this year??

If you were not among the nearly 600 attendees, 35 speakers, and >70 exhibitors at the 2013 Western Alfalfa & Forage Symposium, now’s the time to log-in and see many of the presentations on–line.

It’s not quite the same as meeting with your friends in the hallway, perusing the latest technologies from the exhibit hall, participating in the exciting CAFA Auction, or asking questions of the speakers... but you can get a flavor of the meeting this way, from the comfort of your own home!

Please see the complete listing of the symposium talks here:

http://alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/+symposium/2013/index.aspx

Not all of the talks were videotaped, but most were - and we have the Powerpoint presentations and proceedings papers from almost all talks.

We had speakers from virtually every western state: Here are few highlights:

• Economics. See Seth Hoyt’s, Robert Hagevoort’s, and Mike Ottman’s take on the future of hay prices, the dairy industry, and long-term trends in the alfalfa industry. See Bill Matthew’s data on the dynamics of hay exports. Some of this is pretty amazing.
• Water. View Justin Huntington’s talk about the critical western water situation and how it affects forage crops, and breeders Don Miller, Peter Reisen, Ian Ray and Dan Gardner discuss how they hope new varieties will help us deal with drought and salinity. Larry Schwankl covered opportunities for improved water management on Day 2.
• Silage Corn & Sorghum. For those interested in corn, sorghum, and other silage crops, Steve Fransen, Noelia Silva-del Rio, Carol Frate, and Steve Hines provided excellent presentations on methods, pests, and water management. Management of manures in corn or sorghum, variety choices, sorghum as a bioenergy crop, and utilization of sorghum in dairy rations were all discussed by Robert Flynn, Brent Bean, Jeff Dahlberg, and Steve Martin.  Some of the discussion was captured as well.
• Pest Management. Gophers, diseases and nematodes, weeds and insects were covered by Roger Baldwin, Don Miller, Earl Creech, and Larry Godfrey. This wasn't videotaped, but the proceedings papers are there.
• Miscellaneous forages such as fenugreek, use of dual purpose cover crops, brassicas, and nitrogen fertility of grass forages vs. interseeded legumes were covered in a breakout session by Joe Brummer, Christi Falen, Luis Villalobos, and Anowarul Islam. This also was not videotaped.
• Hay Quality. High quality hay for horses, prevention of hay fires, and management of hay harvesting for high quality, avoiding poisonous weeds, and re-thinking the way we do quality and marketing were presented by Laurie Lawrence, Glenn Shewmaker, Dan Undersander, Brian Stegelmeier, and Dan Putnam.
• Diagnostics. Steve Orloff, Steve Norberg and Tim Hays presented an approach to diagnosing problems in the field, with real examples from their experiences. This is a must-see for anyone faced with a mysterious symptom in the field.

We hope everyone enjoyed the symposium this year – it’s a lot of work and we want to thank the planning committee, the speakers, the sponsors and exhibitors, and Sherry Cooper's management group at University of California for a very successful Alfalfa & Forage symposium in Reno this year.

Wishing you and your family the very Merriest of Holidays and a Happy New Year.

Dan Putnam (UC Davis)

&

Earl Creech (Utah State Univ.)

Symposium Co-chairs