Alfalfa monoculture next year Z4

[Bowsnbucks]

New wrinkle: I read that like clover, it takes very well to a late summer / early fall planting schedule in my area. My experience with fall planted clover has been outstanding so I have to at least consider it.

Further info on fall-planted clover and alfalfa. Our camp has less effort put into our plots than you guys in AG areas. Following advice on this forum from experienced guys, we planted a mixed plot of Supreme brand 2020 alfalfa and Starfire red clover a few years ago. Planted right after Labor Day weekend, with good seed-bed prep. Plot blew up the following spring, and lasted for about 4 years before the alfalfa pooped out and the clover took over. That's our experience with fall-planted clover & alfalfa - FWIW.

I should add that our fall-planted plots, of whatever, seem to do better than our spring-planted ones. Spring - we get so much grass & weed competition all summer for preferred crops to get well-established. YMMV.

 

[bigboreblr]

Further info on fall-planted clover and alfalfa. Our camp has less effort put into our plots than you guys in AG areas. Following advice on this forum from experienced guys, we planted a mixed plot of Supreme brand 2020 alfalfa and Starfire red clover a few years ago. Planted right after Labor Day weekend, with good seed-bed prep. Plot blew up the following spring, and lasted for about 4 years before the alfalfa pooped out and the clover took over. That's our experience with fall-planted clover & alfalfa - FWIW.

I should add that our fall-planted plots, of whatever, seem to do better than our spring-planted ones. Spring - we get so much grass & weed competition all summer for preferred crops to get well-established. YMMV.

Might want top hold a bit longer into early summer to spray things dead. IF doing tillage, do a week or two ahead, then spray young weeds dead, then seed.

 

[Foggy47]

Following. Great thread.

 

[Prairie Acres]

I've been driving past a 20 and 30 acre field of straight alfalfa since spring of last year. An area with very little hunting pressure. Deer have been in these fields all summer, fall and winter. What's kind of surprised me how hard they hit those alfalfa fields in late December and into January. The colder it is and the more snow we have it seems to draw more deer and they spend more time in the fields. This is an area of Wisconsin with a lot of agriculture.

I'm thinking of putting one of my 1/3 acre plots into alfalfa. Hopefully a plot that small the deer will keep the alfalfa clipped. Plant it once and hopefully get 4-5 years of use before planting something else.

I know the pH level of the soil is a big concern for farmers planting alfalfa. They want to get the most tonnage for feeding dairy cows (in my area). From the studies I have read your pH doesn't need to be perfect to grow alfalfa. Low pH means less tonnage, IMO that is fine for feeding deer.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I've been driving past a 20 and 30 acre field of straight alfalfa since spring of last year. An area with very little hunting pressure. Deer have been in these fields all summer, fall and winter. What's kind of surprised me how hard they hit those alfalfa fields in late December and into January. The colder it is and the more snow we have it seems to draw more deer and they spend more time in the fields. This is an area of Wisconsin with a lot of agriculture.

I'm thinking of putting one of my 1/3 acre plots into alfalfa. Hopefully a plot that small the deer will keep the alfalfa clipped. Plant it once and hopefully get 4-5 years of use before planting something else.

I know the pH level of the soil is a big concern for farmers planting alfalfa. They want to get the most tonnage for feeding dairy cows (in my area). From the studies I have read your pH doesn't need to be perfect to grow alfalfa. Low pH means less tonnage, IMO that is fine for feeding deer.

Soil pH being an important consideration isn't just for tonnage, but weed competition too. More weed competition = shorter alfalfa plot life span.
We have one plot that is below an old gravel quarry. The pH is 7.9 and alfalfa does better than even the clover there. Most of our other plots are 6.0-6.4 and the alfalfa tends to get dominated by the clover or weeds and it doesn't persist. Regardless, I am a huge fan of alfalfa and I am still planting it in areas with pH below 6.5.

 

[Prairie Acres]

I've been driving past a 20 and 30 acre field of straight alfalfa since spring of last year. An area with very little hunting pressure. Deer have been in these fields all summer, fall and winter. What's kind of surprised me how hard they hit those alfalfa fields in late December and into January. The colder it is and the more snow we have it seems to draw more deer and they spend more time in the fields. This is an area of Wisconsin with a lot of agriculture.

Yesterday I stopped and talked to the farmer, who I know, about the deer usage in those alfalfa fields. I told him I had not seen as much late season usage in years past. He thought it was because last year (2025) was the first year they cut a 5th crop. He said with cutting it late (very end of September) it didn't get so stemmy going into winter. He also recommended I keep my alfalfa plot cut throughout summer to encourage new tender regrowth.

 

[Bill]

Yesterday I stopped and talked to the farmer, who I know, about the deer usage in those alfalfa fields. I told him I had not seen as much late season usage in years past. He thought it was because last year (2025) was the first year they cut a 5th crop. He said with cutting it late (very end of September) it didn't get so stemmy going into winter. He also recommended I keep my alfalfa plot cut throughout summer to encourage new tender regrowth.

Be careful with the timing of that last cut. When I first bought my place the neighbor was haying some fields. He invested in establishing an alfalfa field. It was beautiful until after the last cut temps plummeted. It winter killed and was gone the next year.

 

[J B]

I would get RR alfalfa and plant it in the spring after the last chance of frost. Get it going this summer and the deer will be on to it before fall. A fall planting will have little to no draw next season. You may have some resistant weeds, but mowing before they seed out gets rid of most of them.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

https://habitat-talk.com/threads/beans-vs-alfalfa.17956/

I stand by alfalfa is the best all around. One day I will get the time and money to do it right on my place.

 

[Foggy47]

I would get RR alfalfa and plant it in the spring after the last chance of frost. Get it going this summer and the deer will be on to it before fall. A fall planting will have little to no draw next season. You may have some resistant weeds, but mowing before they seed out gets rid of most of them.

Where do you buy RR Alfalfa ? ....and how does the price compare to Non-RR Alfalfa?

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Has anyone bailed and covered an alfalfa bail from their plot with the plans of feeding deer after the season? For the larger plots there might be enough to get a bail that could be clutch as a protein source after the season. I would think you would need to harvest it dry and keep it dry, but I don't see what it wouldn't work.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

We have no baling equipment, but dry alfalfa sure ought to draw deer in winter. Maybe buying a big round bale of it from a farmer would work at our camp?