Walla Walla Welcomes NAFA Board Members for Summer Meeting

Perhaps best known for its production of sweet onions and winter wheat, Walla Walla, WA, served as an attractive location for the National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance annual summer board meeting. Held at the Marcus Whitman Hotel on June 27-28, board members met to discuss industry issues, as well as to tour local alfalfa seed and hay production farms.

NAFA members were treated to an impressive guided tour of Walla Walla-based Nelson Irrigation, a NAFA sponsor and manufacturer of irrigation and sprinkler products for agricultural and industrial applications. Mark Wagoner, NAFA board member representing the Washington Alfalfa Seed Commission and one of the largest alfalfa seed-producing farmers in the region, led NAFA representatives on a farm tour which featured alfalfa seed production fields and alkali bee beds. Drex Gaunt, NAFA board member representing the Washington State Hay Growers Association, followed with a tour of his alfalfa hay production farm.

NAFA would like to specially thank meeting sponsors 5B Farms, Baker Boyer, Crop Production Services, Monsanto, Nelson Irrigation, Nikonetz Farms, Northstar Seed, Papé Machinery, Ricard Farms, The McGregor Company, Touchet Seed & Energy, Washington Alfalfa Seed Commission, Watts Leafcutter Bees Corporation, and Wrigley Farms for sponsoring NAFA’s 2017 summer board meeting.

NAFA Receives 34 Proposals for First-Ever Alfalfa Checkoff

In an impressive response to the first-ever request for proposals (RFP) for NAFA's U.S. Alfalfa Farmer Research Initiative (alfalfa checkoff), NAFA received a whopping 34 research proposals requesting more than $1.4 million, demonstrating the high demand among researchers for funding for alfalfa-related research. Proposals covered a wide range of topics intended to drive innovation and profitability in the alfalfa industry

A NAFA board-appointed review panel will now review, score, and discuss proposals to determine which will receive approval for this initial round of funding. Proposals will be scored using the following categories: 1) methodology and analytical approaches; 2) industry need; 3) cost effectiveness/budget/matching funds; 4) partnerships; and 5) outreach.

Be sure to watch for more information about funded proposals in future editions of NAFA News.

Managing Equipment During Harvest to Minimize Leaf and Yield Loss
Dr. Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin

How was the quality of alfalfa you harvested this year? Weather often has a large impact. However, harvest management can have a huge effect on drying rate and quality of the harvested forage. Now is the time to evaluate how this year went and to plan for what changes might be implemented next year. Click here for the complete article.

NAFA Expands Montana/Wyoming Grower Opportunity Zone

NAFA received, and subsequently approved, a request to expand a Genetically Enhanced (GE) Grower Opportunity Zone (GOZ) from alfalfa seed growers in Carbon County Montana and parts of Park and Big Horn Counties in Wyoming to include parts of Yellowstone County, MT.

A GOZ is a seed grower-defined geography within which a validated super-majority ≥80% of alfalfa seed growers, or alfalfa seed growers representing >80% of the alfalfa seed production acres, elect to focus on the production of either APS or GE alfalfa seed, facilitating meeting isolation requirements for these markets.

Since the start of NAFA's Grower Opportunity Zone program, NAFA has approved the formation of 27 GOZs, 21 Genetically Enhanced (GE) GOZs and six Adventitious Presence Sensitive (APS) GOZs. Visit NAFA's GOZ webpage for a complete list of GOZs and their corresponding maps.

University of Minnesota to Host Webinar on Managing Ash Content in Alfalfa Hay

On Wednesday, August 23 from 12:00 to 1:00 pm (central time), the University of Minnesota will host a free webinar titled “Managing Ash Content in Hay”. Dr. Marvin Hall, Professor of Forage Management from Penn State University, and Abby Neu, Extension Educator from University of Minnesota-Extension, will present the webinar.

The webinar will discuss the importance of reducing ash content, different types of ash, general strategies to manage ash content, and highlight new research that explored the impact of hay rake type on ash content. The webinar is interactive, and participants can ask questions of the presenters throughout the webinar. The hay rake research was funded through the USDA-NIFA Alfalfa Seed and Alfalfa Forage Systems Research Program (AFRP) and was a collaboration between researchers at the University of Minnesota, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Wisconsin.

To join the free webinar, click here 10 minutes before the start of the webinar and select “connect to audio.” Participants will automatically be able to see the presentation. Both the audio and visual will be broadcast through the computer and the webinar will be recorded and posted online at a later date. Questions can be directed to Krishona Martinson at 612.625.6776 or krishona@umn.edu