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Alfalfa winterkill across Upper Midwest

An extension educator says there are varying levels of winterkill and injury across alfalfa fields in the Upper Midwest.

Jared Goplen with the University of Minnesota tells Brownfield an abnormal winter is likely to blame.

“We did have some warm spells (and) cold spells.  And for the most part, we didn’t have a whole lot of snow cover.  That lack of snow cover left those alfalfa plants fairly exposed.”

He says a lot of the damage occurred in low-lying areas, and encourages growers to dig up some plants to inspect crowns.

“If you have a nice white crown that looks like a potato and feels like a potato, that’s a healthy plant.  And if the (plant) has a brown area in the center, or perhaps are stringy or a little bit mushy, that’s an unhealthy plant and is less likely to survive.”

Goplen says persistent moisture in Minnesota and Wisconsin has also caused problems this spring, since alfalfa does not like “wet feet.”