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First ever alfalfa checkoff kicks off January 1st

A new national alfalfa checkoff program goes into effect January 1st.

The program will be coordinated by the National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance (NAFA). President Beth Nelson tells Brownfield the checkoff dollars will fund public research into alfalfa and alfalfa forage systems.

“One of the reasons we worked so hard to get this checkoff program going is we have seen a decline in acres and we attribute some of that to a lack of public research,” Nelson says. “There’s just an immense amount of public research that’s done on corn and beans and wheat. But the public commitment (on alfalfa) at the ARS level or at the land-grant level really pales in comparison to the other crops.”

Nelson points out that alfalfa is the nation’s third most valuable field crop, behind corn and soybeans.

“Wheat is a close fourth, but alfalfa is the third most valuable crop. Many folks don’t realize that since it’s consumed on-farm or on neighboring farms, for the most part.”

The checkoff will be assessed at the rate of one dollar per bag of seed sold by participating seed companies. Nelson says they hope to raise a half million dollars annually. But if they can get more seed brands to participate, she says, that number could double.

Currently 26 seed brands have committed to the program. (For a list of participating brands, click here.)

AUDIO: Beth Nelson