Alfalfa Harvest Alert Program returns in 2025

 Taylor Herbert, Extension educator

With the warm weather and intermittent rain, alfalfa fields are greening up nicely and it won’t be too long before we are thinking about the first cut of hay. This also means we are getting ready to take alfalfa scissor cut samples for the Alfalfa Harvest Alert Program. 

This program helps forage producers make a decision on the first cut of alfalfa to optimize forage yield and quality. This project is in its 29th year and is a collaboration between the Central Minnesota Forage Council and University of Minnesota Extension with support from area agribusiness sponsors and the farmer collaborators. This year, samples will continue to be collected and forage quality results reported from fields in Stearns, Benton, Morrison, Wright, McLeod, Sibley, Nicollet, and Carver counties. Last year, alfalfa sample collection started on May 9th and ended on May 28th with a delayed harvest due to wet conditions.

As in past years, sampling will begin when alfalfa reaches between 14 to 16 inches tall. Cuttings of sample fields will be taken on Monday and Thursday mornings and sent for analysis to determine Relative Feed Quality (RFQ), Relative Feed Value (RFV), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), and other alfalfa quality factors related to harvest decisions. Forage quality will also be estimated using maturity and plant height using the “Predictive Equation for Alfalfa Quality” (PEAQ) RFV. 

If you are interested in measuring your own PEAQ RFV to follow along with the Alfalfa Harvest Alert numbers our team calculates, here is a procedure you can follow:

• Walk to a representative area of your field and select a 2-foot square area
• Determine the maturity stage (late vegetative, bud, flower) of the most mature stem in that area. If the bud is flat, your plants are in vegetative stages, if you can roll the bud between your fingers you are in bud stage
• Measure the height of the tallest stem from the soil to the tip of the stem (not to the highest leaf)
• Use the height and maturity to estimate the RFV using the following table

Height (inches)	Late vegetative RFV	Bud stage RFV	Flower stage RFV
16	237	225	210
17	230	218	204
18	224	212	198
19	217	207	193
20	211	201	188
21	205	196	183
22	200	190	178
23	195	185	174
24	190	181	170
25	185	176	166
26	180	172	162
27	175	168	158
28	171	164	154
29	167	160	151
30	163	156	147
31	159	152	144
32	155	149	140
33	152	145	137
34	147	142	134
35	145	139	131
36	142	136	128
37	138	133	126
38	135	130	123
39	132	127	121
40	129	124	118

• Repeat these steps in at least 4 representative spots in your field and take an average to get a good idea of the quality of the entire field. For large fields, you will need to take more measurements.

For more information on calculating your own PEAQ RFV or alfalfa scissor cut sampling, check out Extension’s forage resources at extension.umn.edu/forages/forage-harvest-and-storage. If you are interested in viewing the data from this year and previous year’s programs, the Alfalfa Harvest Alert Data Tool is active and contains data going back to the program's start in 1997. This tool allows you to select and sort data by state, year, county, and grower to look back and compare RFV, RFQ, and PEAQ RFV across Minnesota. As the 2025 season progresses, this will be your go-to spot for the most up-to-date data as well as all collected information. To view the tool and access data, go to z.umn.edu/AlfalfaHarvestAlert.

The Alfalfa Harvest Alert Data Tool 2023 and 2024
 season data from all collaborating farms shows the
 decrease in RFV as alfalfa matures.

As well as in the online data tool, the Alfalfa Harvest Alert Project information will be shared similarly from past years. KASM 1150 AM, KTLF 960 AM, WVAL 800 AM, and KRWC 1360 AM are sponsoring radio reports. Check your local paper for news releases as well. Internet users can visit Minnesota Crop News at blog-crop-news.extension.umn.edu for posted hay information. The results can also be directly emailed to you twice a week by going to z.umn.edu/QuadCountySignup and subscribing to the Alfalfa Scissor Cut and Harvest Alert email list.

Thank you to our sponsors for the 2025 program including Nelson Dairy Consultants, Anez Consulting, Paynesville Coop, Sunrise Ag Coop, Gilman Coop. Munson Lakes Nutrition, and Feedstuff Bagging. We appreciate the hard work by all the farm and agribusiness cooperators and sponsors for this project and look forward to a successful sampling season!