Join Us for the 9th Annual DC Fly-In

Be sure to mark your calendar for NAFA’s 9th Annual DC Fly-In scheduled for February 4-7. NAFA continues to make progress in its efforts to bring much-needed attention to the nation’s 3rd most valuable field crop - and much of that success goes to all those who have participated in past Fly-In’s.

The 2018 Alfalfa Seed and Alfalfa Forage Systems Research Program (AFRP) appropriation was $2.25 million, the same as the previous year and an increase from the 2016 ($2 million) and 2015 ($1.35 million) appropriations! Additionally, the Risk Management Agency continues to work on new and enhanced risk management tools for alfalfa. In 2019, we will continue to build on these accomplishments to keep alfalfa competitive with other cropping choices.

Interested in joining this effort? Email or give us a call to discuss the opportunity to add your voice in support of the alfalfa industry in our nation’s capital.

Hot Off the Press - Get NAFA's 2019 Alfalfa Variety Ratings

The National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance (NAFA) has released the 2019 edition of its popular “Alfalfa Variety Ratings - Winter Survival, Fall Dormancy & Pest Resistant Ratings for Alfalfa Varieties” - a useful tool for hay and dairy farmers, extension specialists, or anyone involved in the production of alfalfa.

NAFA’s Alfalfa Variety Ratings is a publication unlike any other in providing an extensive listing of alfalfa varieties and their corresponding ratings for fall dormancy, winter survival, bacterial wilt, aphanomyces, leafhopper, and a host of other pests. The publication also includes grazing tolerance, salt tolerance, and standability, to provide you the information you need to make better informed decisions about the varieties which will perform best in a given environment.

Looking for a variety with specific attributes? Use NAFA’s searchable database to search for varieties using up to 23 different parameters. With this tool, NAFA has made finding the perfect variety as effortless as possible.

NAFA’s Alfalfa Variety Ratings publication is available in the November issue of Hay & Forage Grower magazine or by visiting NAFA’s website. Be sure to get yours today!

NAFA’s 2018 Alfalfa Intensive Training Seminar Filled to Capacity

More than 40 participants attended NAFA’s sold out Alfalfa Intensive Training Seminar (AITS), considered to be the most comprehensive and successful alfalfa training and education seminars available. Held at Land O’Lakes Headquarters in Arden Hills, MN, on November 13-14, AITS featured many of the nation's leading experts in the fields of alfalfa production and management. This year’s seminar attracted participants from as far away as California, Texas, and Georgia. Click here for the complete article.

Plant breeders are continually striving to improve the forages we feed our livestock. These genetic improvements, combined with other factors, have increased milk production per cow in the U.S. by 50-60% in the last half century. This large jump in production has been aided by the utilization of higher digestible feeds and high-intake forages such as alfalfa. Click here for the complete article.

NIFA AFRP Funding Goes to Seven Alfalfa Research Projects

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has awarded funding to seven projects in the Alfalfa Seed and Alfalfa Forage Systems Research Program (AFRP).

Now in its fifth year, the AFRP was created to support integrated, collaborative research and technology transfer to improve the efficiency and sustainability of alfalfa forage and seed production systems. It encourages projects that establish multi-disciplinary networks to address priority national or regional science needs of the alfalfa industry. Click here for the complete article.

There has never been a more important time for innovation in agriculture. Our world faces enormous challenges, from a changing climate, to limited natural resources to a growing population.

For more than 150 years, Bayer has been dedicated to creating products that help people in a changing world. Our focus has been on new treatments for diseases, helping people get well and stay well, and providing farmers with breakthrough innovations to help nourish our growing world and preserve natural resources. We call it Science for a Better Life. Click here for the complete article.

"Broadleaf and buckhorn plantain (Plantago major and P. lanceolata, respectively) are perennial weeds that are notoriously difficult to control in alfalfa cropping systems. The use of commercially available herbicides labeled for the control of plantain weeds has proven ineffective in the field."

All CHECKOFF/AFRP/APRI final reports and current project objectives can be found on NAFA's website at http://alfalfa.org/research.php in a convenient searchable database.