Alfalfa Intensive Training Seminar (AITS) - Register Today!

Registration to attend one of the most successful programs available for training professionals in the alfalfa industry about alfalfa growth and management is now open! NAFA's Alfalfa Intensive Training Seminar (AITS), scheduled for October 11-13, will again be held virtually making it convenient and affordable to participate.

AITS is a must for anyone growing or working with alfalfa, including agronomists, sales managers, crop advisors, nutritionists, extension agents, and alfalfa farmers. AITS will feature the same valuable content and interaction with the nation's leading experts in the fields of alfalfa production and management you've come to expect.

Topics include: the role of alfalfa in animal diets; pest management; mowing & field drying; genetics, variety testing and selection; seed and seed production; growth and development; irrigation and water use; and much, much more. Don't miss this great opportunity to enhance your knowledge of all things alfalfa. Click here to register today!

Five New Research Projects Funded Through NAFA's Alfalfa Checkoff
Research Projects Funded from California to Virginia

The Alfalfa Checkoff program, also known as the U.S. Alfalfa Farmer Research Initiative (USAFRI), awarded funding to five projects in its recent review of proposals submitted by researchers in response to NAFA’s latest request for proposals. Researchers from California to Virginia were the beneficiaries of funding generated by the checkoff, now in its sixth year of enhancing alfalfa research across the country.

“It’s encouraging to see new researchers submitting proposals with each new round of funding for NAFA’s Alfalfa Checkoff program,” said Beth Nelson, NAFA President. “We envisioned this program as one which would re-energize research into alfalfa and forages and that’s exactly what we’ve seen.” Click here for the complete article.

September 30 Crop Insurance Deadlines

Farmers interested in purchasing Forage Production APH or alfalfa seed crop insurance coverage (where available) for the 2023 crop year should consult with their crop insurance agent as the sales closing dates for those products is approaching soon.

The sales closing date is the last day to buy federal crop insurance for the coming crop year. Current policyholders and uninsured farmers must make crop insurance coverage decisions, especially which crops to insure and what level and type of coverage to purchase, before the sales closing date. The sales closing dates for Forage Production APH and alfalfa seed coverage are:

• Forage Production APH - Sept. 30 (Oct. 31 in AZ, CA)
• Forage (Alfalfa) Seed - Sept. 30 (Oct. 31 in CA, NV, UT)

Farmers are encouraged to visit their crop insurance agent soon to learn specific details for the 2023 crop year. Federal crop insurance policies are sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance companies and agents. To find a crop insurance agent near you, use RMA's Agent Locator page by clicking here.

The Viability of Alfalfa During Historic Droughts
Bill Talley, CEO, Summit Seed Coatings

The reality of increasingly common drought conditions is here to stay as the climate crisis continues. With agriculture’s ability to adapt as it is now quickly diminishing, growers are left with fewer options to support a livelihood and make do - and this can mean taking less drought adaptable crops completely off the table in certain regions.

One crop that is enduringly drought resistant across many areas, and not liable to go away anytime soon, is alfalfa. Both an impressive multi-year cover crop and highly nutritious animal feed source, farmers in drought-stricken regions have been able to test the limits of this luscious legume, finding out that it will bend rather than break in the face of scant water and rainfall - even without the farmer’s typical arsenal of summer irrigation supplies. Click here for the complete article.

"Drought is common in the West and producers need research-based irrigation strategies to stretch limited water supplies. Strategies such as regular maintenance of irrigation systems, reducing irrigation rates, and advanced irrigation scheduling, may be helpful options but have not been tested with experimental rigor. The objective of our study was to identify which inexpensive water management strategy may maintain yield with less water. An experiment was conducted at 12 alfalfa (medicago sativa L.) fields in southcentral Utah in 2019-2021. Alfalfa was cut and harvested 2 to 4 times each year. Existing sprinkler equipment (regulators, nozzles, sprinkler bodies) on these pivots ranged from 3 to over 20 yr old. Three equipment (existing, new, new with 10% rate reduction) treatments were implemented on one span of the pivot at each site. Four irrigation scheduling treatments (grower schedule, irrigation scheduler application, soil moisture-based, and a commercial model [FieldNET Advisor®]) were also implemented on 16 adjacent sectors (each ~50 ft wide)."

All CHECKOFF/ASAFS/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.