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Alfalfa
Medicago Sativa
Alfalfa is a legume forage plant belonging to the pea family. Leguminosae has been an animal feed longer than any other forage crop. Alfalfa was planted in hot, dry regions of Mesopotamia before recorded history. The seed was taken to South America by Spanish explorers during the 16th century. The first attempts to produce alfalfa in North America were made in Georgia in 1763, but the crop did not become important until it was taken from Chile to California, where it flourished in the favorable climate. Alfalfa is now grown throughout the world under extremely varied climatic conditions. Leading producers of alfalfa in the U.S. include California, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Nebraska.
Alfalfa: The Ideal Dairy Feed
Alfalfa is a perennial (yearly) plant which is grown almost everywhere in the United States. It is a member of the Legume family just like beans and peanuts. Alfalfa is universally recognized as the premier forage species. All types and classes of forage-consuming livestock relish alfalfa and perform well on it. Alfalfa can be harvested many times during the growing season, thus resulting in high yields per acre. And, because it is perennial, the typical alfalfa field will be left in production for four or five years. Premium grades of alfalfa provide very high levels of protein and provide exceptional roughage value making alfalfa the ideal dairy feed.
Alfalfa Uses
Extremely nutritious alfalfa is valuable for feeding all kinds of livestock. It is used for pasture, soil building, dehydration, and as meal or silage. Dehydrated alfalfa is a common ingredient of feedstuffs, supplying vitamins, protein, lipids, and minerals. Approximately 21,000,000 acres of alfalfa is produced in the United States each year with Japan impoting nearly 75 percent of all U.S. exported alfalfa.
