Profitable alfalfa from establishment to harvest

OWATONNA, Minn. — In 2026, alfalfa is set to be potentially more profitable per acre than corn and soybeans. Dave Robison, who works for Legacy Seeds, reported this information recently at a seminar on alfalfa profitability.

“Good management can extend (alfalfa) stand life and profitability,” Robison said. “Small mistakes can reduce yield for years. … We’re trying now to eliminate as many mistakes as we can.”

Robison presented Feb. 6 at the Byron Seeds Winter Seminar in Owatonna. His seminar was entitled “Get the Most Profit from Your Alfalfa Acre” and focused on stand establishment, in-season management and winter-hardy harvest practices.

Robison said the No.1 issue for alfalfa stand establishment is soil pH, and the second-most important issue is seedbed preparation.

“When you’re buying seed that’s at least 90% germination, that means if you’re not getting a stand … the issue wasn’t the seed,” Robison said.

Robison said the soil pH “sweet spot” for alfalfa is 6.8-7.2. Low pH can result in almost non-existent alfalfa stands.

“Having the pH in the right zone (also) … gives you better yield, (and) gives you better quality,” Robison said.

Low pH can also result in poor nutrient availability, Robison said.

“You can fertilize all day long with different products, but if it’s not available to the plant because your pH is so low, then you’re throwing money away,” Robison said.

Robison said farmers should test their soil for pH value 18 months before planting and plan to apply lime to amend the pH as needed at least a year before planting.

Having an appropriately firm seedbed is another management area. Robison recommends rolling alfalfa fields or similar practices to create proper seed-to-soil contact.

“Take your basketball out there, and if it just goes thud, you need to work it again,” Robison said. “It’s not going to bounce like a basketball off a hardwood floor. But the point is it needs to be a good, firm seedbed.”

Another test is to walk in the soil. If heels sink about boot heel deep, this is an appropriate level of firmness.

Once the seedbed is prepared, alfalfa seed should be planted 1/4 inch or up to 1/2 inch deep at the most. If alfalfa is planted at 1-inch depth, stand establishment will be very thin. At 2 or 3 inches deep, the stand will be nonexistent according to a University of Kentucky study Robison referenced.

Robison recommends a seeding rate of 18-22 pounds per acre. For organic producers, he said, they might increase this to help with weed control. Higher seeding rates correlate to higher yields and less weed pressure, Robison said.

Another consideration for establishing alfalfa is chemical carryover. Robison said this has become a big issue in the last five or six years. He said farmers should find out what chemicals have been applied to the soil and determine their half-life. Following label directions on all chemicals is important, Robison said.

“There’s a lot of chemistry that’s going to have a window from application time to planting time,” Robison said. “Even if you got away with it one year, there’s no guarantee you’re going to get away with it another year.”

For some alfalfa fields, a companion crop is planted with the alfalfa in the first year. These crops can help with erosion and weed control. Robison said companion crops should be planted at a light seeding rate.

“We just don’t want to have too much companion crop so that it becomes a competition crop,” Robison said.

Robison said he also encourages farmers not to take the companion crop for grain because this can cause issues for the alfalfa coming underneath.

“Whatever we’re doing as a companion crop, realize the goal is, ‘How can I still utilize that to get the best profitability on my alfalfa?’” Robison said. “That’s going to be my profit center. So, if I’m doing something that screws up the next three years, that’s probably not a good option.”

When it comes to in-season management and potato leaf hoppers, Robison recommends cutting immediately if identified, and following with insecticide.

“Get it off as soon as you see a yellow leaf,” Robison said. “Get rid of those leaf hoppers, because they can greatly affect the life of the stand, not only for the next yield, the next cutting, but also for the life of the stand.”

If farming organically and the pests are present again after that initial cutting, Robison said to cut again immediately.

Fungicides are another chemical management area for alfalfa. Robison said fungicide makes the most sense during the first and second cutting time frame on alfalfa. However, he said fungicide does not have consistent results in alfalfa as it does in corn.

“The biggest advantage we’re going to see is we’re going to have leaf retention,” Robison said. “We’re going to be able to … keep our forage quality up with potentially some yield increase.”

Use of herbicides is most important in the year the alfalfa is planted, Robison said. He said herbicides keep stands clean for higher feed quality.

Robison also said he encourages farmers to fertilize alfalfa and to not to leave it to survive on leftover nutrients. Low soil fertility can reduce winter survival. He said farmers should get their manure tested to understand what they are applying.

“We’re looking at the product … that should give us the greatest amount of profitability per acre,” Robison said. “So, we need to fertilize it accordingly.”

Another management practice affecting winter survival is fall cuttings. Robison said to give alfalfa time for 6-8 inches of regrowth before winter.

“I want carbohydrates getting back into my soil,” Robison said. “I (also) want to be able to have stems, so if I get icing, that I can still have respiration in my fields.”

Once the alfalfa stand completes its rotation, the alfalfa provides final value through the nitrogen credit it provides, Robison said.

With slim or negative margins on row crops slated for 2026, Robison said he encourages farmers to think about how alfalfa affects profitability.

“You’re not going to plant the whole farm into alfalfa, but I also want you to say, if you have a choice, ‘What would I want to put in these acres?’” Robison said.