Keeping living roots in the ground year-round can improve water management, soil protection, and nutrient scavenging.
Growing forages in Minnesota
Find guidance on how to choose the right forage legumes, grasses and mixes for your farm, as well as distinguish among various species.
You can better manage your farm’s forages by understanding how they grow and adopting proven strategies to handle weather damage and pests.
Guides and resources for growing forages in Minnesota
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Legume life cycles and characteristics: Forage legumes vary in their life cycles, the amount of nitrogen they can fix, their adaptability to challenging conditions, and their susceptibility to insect damage and diseases.
Identifying and selecting forages
Emergency forages
Variety trials
: Several forage crops have been included in past Minnesota Field Crop Trials. Examples include legumes such as birdsfoot trefoil and clovers, and forage grasses such as bromegrass, orchardgrass, and timothy.
: The Minnesota Hybrid Corn Silage Evaluation Program evaluates the silage potential of corn hybrids in Minnesota. The program provides unbiased information on forage yield and quality for educational and marketing purposes.
Alfalfa production spans several years, so it’s important to start with the most productive stands possible. With successful planting, you can avoid stand losses and maximize yield.
Strategies for establishing optimal alfalfa in Minnesota
Reducing autotoxicity in alfalfa – How much time to allow between termination of an old stand and reseeding; research on autotoxicity treatments in Minnesota.
– Planting guidance: Timing, preparation, depth, rate, equipment. Guidance on managing harvest, fertilizers, and pests.
Strategies for establishing alfalfa-grass mixtures in Minnesota – What to look for in alfalfa and grass varieties. Recommended seeding rates and cutting height at harvest.
field-crop variety trials – The yield potential of alfalfa varieties is continually evaluated in research trials at the University of Minnesota. The trials use recommended soil fertility and pest control practices to optimize alfalfa yield and persistence.
Reduced-lignin alfalfa varieties
Crop and weather damage
Alfalfa during drought – Water use, drought tolerance, and drought effects on establishment and existing stands.
Alfalfa winter injury – Factors affecting alfalfa's overwintering ability; management practices that reduce the risk of winter injury; winter injury risk calculator.
Diseases
- Anthracnose stem and crown rot
- Brown root rot of alfalfa
- Seedling diseases: Phytophthora root rot (PRR), Aphanomyces root rot (ARR) and rotting
Insect pests
- Alfalfa insects: What to look for, and how and when to scout for them
- Armyworm
- Grasshopper management in Minnesota crops
Video
- Stem sampling for alfalfa weevil (2015; 02:24)
Harvesting alfalfa
Stem and plant density as predictors of alfalfa yield – Stem and plant density measurements can help determine establishment success, yield potential after winter injury, and when to terminate the stand.
- Seeding year harvest management for alfalfa
- Using growing degree days (GDD) to plan early-season alfalfa harvests
- Hay rake type impacts ash content in hay
- How does tedding affect alfalfa silage production?
Assessing alfalfa quality in the field
- How to estimate alfalfa quality in the field using PEAQ
- Alfalfa scissor cut sampling procedure
- In-field alfalfa assessments: Current tools and future directions
Maintaining hay quality
Alternative uses and forages
Resources
Nutrient management
Find crop-specific nutrient needs for Minnesota, including guidelines for nitrogen, phosphate, potash and other fertilizers, and strategies for ensuring crops get the nutrients they need.
Soil and water
Soil health, irrigation and agricultural drainage resources for Minnesota.
Tools to help you manage forages
Alfalfa scissor cut and harvest alert results – Data includes every county and farm that has participated in the Alfalfa Scissor Cut and Harvest Alert Program since 1977.
Digital Crop Doc – The UMN Extension crops team wants to help you with disease diagnosis. Tell us more about your field situation, and submit photos. One of our team members will contact you.
– Get help determining which perennial forages to plant based on soil type, purpose, management style, and livestock species.
Learn more about crop production
The University of Minnesota Extension crops team helps producers take control of their decisions to increase profitability and reduce economic and environmental risks. Our researchers and educators work in pest management, agricultural drainage and water management, soil management and health, climate and weather, and pesticide safety.
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