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Good potential for first cutting alfalfa

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension forage specialist Bruce Anderson says the first cutting of the Midwestern alfalfa crop could be “very good”, in terms of both quantity and quality.

But as is usually the case with first cutting, Anderson says, it all depends on the weather.

“The way this weather pattern has been going, we may not get a lot of real frequent opportunities to get the first cutting put up without weather damage,” Anderson says. “We’ve got to be on top of things and ready to take advantage right now of good breaks in the weather because it’s ready to go in a lot of places.”

Anderson says alfalfa development in eastern Nebraska this spring is running five to seven days ahead of normal.

Alfalfa acres across the Midwest appear to have stabilized after several years of sharp declines, Anderson says.

“At least there’s a trend to maintain alfalfa acres. That certainly is opposite of what the last five or six years have been doing to us with higher grains prices.”

AUDIO: Bruce Anderson