Avoid Late Fall Harvest of Alfalfa

The drought has growers scrambling to make use of any available forage resources.  Care should be taken not to harvest alfalfa after September 10^th in our local area. Once alfalfa is cut, it must regrow enough in the fall to replenish the carbohydrates which will allow it to survive the winter.

 

Often, growers will indicate that have cut alfalfa before and not seen the damage.  However, it is hard to realize the damage as it is across the field. Late cutting of alfalfa will reduce the number of plants in the field. The amount of damage is dependent on weather.

 

Another option to utilize alfalfa is to graze it once it becomes dormant.  The tops of alfalfa are killed by frost at lower temperatures than other plants. Once it is frosted and soil temperatures have dropped so it will not come out of dormancy, then it can be grazed.

 

For more information, contact Wayne Flanary at 660-446-3724 or Heather Benedict at 660-425-6434, Regional Agronomists, University of Missouri Extension.