The most common crop sequences in the Corn Belt region of the U.S. are continuous corn and corn-soybean. In the last two to three decades, forage-based, more diverse crop rotations have transitioned to less diverse annual crop-based rotations.

Many farmers have harvested alfalfa and then found it did not have the expected relative forage quality (RFQ). A new forage analysis, leaf percentage, may help determine the cause of the problem.

If you are reading this, I bet forages are a part of your life. They have been around a long time as well: Genesis 1:11 KJV says, “And God said, let the earth bring forth grass and the herb yielding seed.”

The standard for alfalfa is evolving, and so is the way we evaluate it. At the 2021 World Dairy Expo, David Weakley, director of forage nutrition research for Forage Genetics International, unveiled the new Leaves Enhance Alfalfa Forage (LEAF) test now available to growers.

Alfalfa is a perennial forage legume suited for hay, silage or grazing management systems. The “Queen of Forages’’ is high-yielding and produces excellent-quality forage with high energy and protein for livestock.

Summer alfalfa is different in structure than hardened or winterized alfalfa. Summer alfalfa will freeze and die at 32ºF, while winterized alfalfa can survive temperatures (in the root zone) of as low as 13ºF and even colder air temperatures (Figure 1).