Stem diseases in alfalfa typically cause loss of vigor and reduction in crop yield and quality. Disease pressure is increased by late, cold and wet spring seasons, and when the crop is kept moist by rainy weather or heavy dews. When nurse crops are present, alfalfa disease can be worse. Tall stubble after cutting and weeds growing around plants also contribute to disease pressure.

Here are the Top 10 most-viewed articles that ran in Progressive Forage Grower or Progressive Forage Grower e-newsletters during the past year.

1. Western alfalfa hay situation and outlook
Dairies in the six western states of California, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah and Arizona produce around 38 percent of the U.S. milk supply. Dairies in these states consume approximately 65 percent of the alfalfa hay produced in the seven western states. In the past 27 months some dairies in the West have only seen six to seven months of profitability, some a few more months depending on their operation.

Proper nutrient levels go a long way in promoting yield, forage quality, disease tolerance and overall crop production. If your alfalfa stand is lacking nutrients, you’re not going to realize optimum yield and quality potential.

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.”

The average stand of alfalfa lasts between five to six years. Once it becomes evident through stand and stem evaluation, or through increased pest population, that the alfalfa stand needs to be replaced, the grower should consider some potential problems with replanting a new crop too quickly. University studies have shown that there should be a minimum of one year before re-establishing alfalfa because of autotoxicity in existing alfalfa.

Interpreting forage analysis reports is a two-part process. You must first understand the basic terminology and meaning of the important components of the report. Then you must evaluate each forage’s ability to produce a desired level of animal performance when it is consume.

Consistently saturated soils from heavy spring rainfall have taken their toll on some of Indiana's forage crops – especially alfalfa grown on soils that are less than moderately well drained. Alfalfa samples that Purdue Extension forage specialist Keith Johnson has seen have suffered from too much moisture. "Alfalfa is the most prone to problems," Johnson said. "The plants are yellowing or showing a pea green color, which means soils have been too water-saturated for nitrogen fixation to occur."

Do you remember the first car that you purchased? It was probably nothing fancy but it was fuel efficient, reliable and at the time, was most likely the biggest purchase you had ever made. Of course, the plan was to keep it on the road for as long as possible. But vehicles age, they get old and tired, and as new cars come on the market that increase fuel efficiency, that original car in the driveway loses gas mileage and shows signs of mechanical problems. At this point, it is time to seriously decide if keeping the car is actually saving you money or if it should be retired for a newer model.