▶ Watch: Focus on the Alfalfa Toolbox
The fourth Focus on Forage webinar in the 2025 series, Focus on the Alfalfa Toolbox, features research-based tools and resources for Wisconsin forage growers.
Alfalfa
▶ Watch: Focus on Alfalfa Companions
The first Focus on Forage webinar in the 2025 series, Focus on Alfalfa Companions, features research-based alfalfa establishment resources and new management strategies to keep stands productive over time.
▶ Watch: Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Program Overview
In the September 25, 2024 Badger Crop Connect webinar, Monica Schauer, the UW NOPP Research Director, discussed an ongoing grant program that funds Wisconsin farmers to do on-farm nitrogen application rate research.
Warm Days Aren’t Always Hay Days
Published: Sept. 20, 2024 Cutting alfalfa when the weather is good can be tempting, but late fall cuttings could be damaging to long term alfalfa productivity and stand persistence. Why it might be bad to cut now As a perennial crop, one must manage alfalfa with not just this year but the next year in […]
Managing fall alfalfa cutting for persistence
From various research efforts into the physiology of alfalfa winter survival, it appears that many of these root reserve compounds are positively linked to winter survival, so preserving them can aid our alfalfa stand in surviving winter and thriving the following spring. Manipulating the time of fall cutting allows us to control the stores of these compounds to give the best chance at winter survival of our alfalfa stands.
▶ Watch: Alfalfa Persistence Is Profit
The August 14 Badger Crop Connect webinar featured Scott Newell, alfalfa outreach specialist with the UW–Madison Division of Extension. This year (2024) has been very challenging to manage alfalfa with rain throwing many cutting schedules off the rails, leaving producers with lower quality forage than expected and trying to catch up with higher quality harvests. Scott Newell discusses the potential implications of this and the importance of managing for persistence in alfalfa to maximize overall productivity.
Establishing alfalfa following wheat
As we head toward the end of summer, we are closing in on time for a late summer alfalfa establishment. Commonly in Wisconsin, this is done following a wheat crop in the spring. This can lead to a few challenges to consider: residual herbicide carryover and the effects of volunteer wheat on successful establishment.
Managing True Armyworm in Wisconsin Corn and Small Grain Fields
True armyworms (Mythimna unipuncta) are a species of moth that lays their eggs in lush, green grasses. They mainly affect corn and wheat production. Pastures and grassy hay fields can also be at risk of damage.
Managing Alfalfa Weevil in Wisconsin Alfalfa Fields
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a valuable forage crop in Wisconsin, that supports dairy and livestock production. However, alfalfa production can be threatened by the alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica), a beetle pest that can significantly damage alfalfa foliage if left unmanaged.
Pricing Standing Alfalfa
Pricing standing alfalfa requires an open conversation between buyer and seller, with both parties understanding the inherent value of the forage as well as the cost and risks of harvesting.
▶ Watch: Set up for success – alfalfa management strategies
The April 24 Badger Crop Connect session features Scott Newell, Extension’s Alfalfa Outreach Specialist.
Alfalfa Herbicide Rotation Restrictions
As we move into alfalfa planting season in Wisconsin, it is important to double-check herbicide records for the field you will be planting into. Many common herbicides used for commercial crop production contain restrictions on the label when rotating to alfalfa. A rotation restriction is the interval between herbicide application and when alfalfa planting can […]
