Alfalfa is undoubtedly the most important forage crop grown in the U.S. It is easy to see why it gets the title “Queen of the Forages,” with hundreds of thousands of acres planted across the country.

Over the past decade, interest in management-intensive grazing (MiG) on irrigated pastures in the western U.S. has been steadily increasing due to the prospects of reduced production costs, increased animal output, land use efficiency and environmental benefits.