As we come into the fall season once again, the days get shorter and the rain becomes more frequent. The increase in precipitation and lower evapotranspiration from less daylight and lack of growing crops typically results in high soil moisture levels in fall.

As the hot days of summer give way to cool fall temperatures, alfalfa growers are encouraged to consider winter injury risk when thinking about fall cutting.

“Growers really need to assess the risk versus the gain when it comes to fall cutting of alfalfa,” said Charles Scovill, Syngenta field agronomist. “While it may be tempting to take a final cutting late in the fall, you could be ultimately risking winter stand injury.”