Alfalfa Harvest Alert May 12th - 14th

Nathan Drewitz, UMN Extension Educator - Crops, Stearns, Benton, and Morrison Counties.

The Alfalfa Harvest Alert Project is now underway. This project aims to provide timely alerts on the current conditions of alfalfa throughout the participating areas and to help identify the current quality and yield potential of those stands. Farmers should make decisions on their own farms based on their specific feed and market needs and field observations. 

Sampling starts when alfalfa is 14-16 inches tall and continues until first cutting. At this point, we have cooperators in Sibley, Nicollet, Carver, McLeod, Wright, Stearns, Benton, Morrison, and Yellow Medicine counties. The results shared below are coming in from Carver, Sibley, Nicollet, and McLeod counties. Cooperators in Benton, Stearns, and Wright counties will begin sampling this week.

Alfalfa Harvest Alert Report for May 12th through the 14th:

Alfalfa Harvest Report May 12th - 14th

You can also compare the different counties, and farms that have participated in the Alfalfa Harvest Alert program since 2010 at z.umn.edu/AlfalfaHarvestAlert. We hope that this new tool will be useful in making better alfalfa management decisions.

You can get the most recent information through email by signing up at z.umn.edu/tricountysignup and looking for the "Hay Auction and Scissor Cut/Alfalfa Harvest Alert Information" box.