How much does it cost to plant alfalfa per acre?
The total cost of planting an acre of alfalfa is around $2430. First, prepping an acre of land will cost $242. Fertilization and planting cost around $900 and $225 respectively. You also have to pay for irrigation which will cost $73.50 and $59. Sampling alfalfa is necessary and costs around $647.50.
How many Guntas are there per acre?
In one acre, a minimum of 18 sites of the size of 30×40 can be constructed. How is Guntha calculated? 1 anna = 7.5624 square yards = 6.3232 square metres. 1 gunta = 120.999 square yards = 101.1714 square metres = 16 annas. 1 guntha (R) = 33 ft (10 m) × 33 ft (10 m) = 1,089 sq ft (101.2 m2) 40 gunthas = 1.0 acre. 4 acre = 1 fg.
How many bales of hay can be harvested per acre?
The total number of bales of hay that can be harvested per acre varies from place to place, although a typical hay farm in western Oregon may produce between 62 and 165 bales per acre. In Florida, the average yield for each cutting ranges from 60 to 80 bales per acre.
How many bales of hay from an acre of alfalfa?
To help you understand better, it can be very easy for a farmer to say that you should be able to get 500 bales of alfalfa hay per acre. ... Specifically, alfalfa-grade hay bales are priced between $140 and $165 per ton, while grass, midquality hay bales are selling for $125 to $150 per ton.
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How much is an acre of alfalfa worth?
In this example, the standing value for the entire alfalfa field could range from $230 to $360/acre for the entire growing season. Keep in mind ownership costs can run $300- 400/acre when the seller considers lost rent, establishment costs and top-dress fertilizer to maintain soil fertility.
What is a good yield for alfalfa?
An alfalfa yield of 5 tons/acre can be typical in non-irrigated regions, while over 15 tons/acre can be obtained in irrigated regions.
Is it profitable to grow alfalfa?
It's a profitable crop these days, with prices for high quality hay frequently reaching $250/ton. But in addition to its over $1 billion value to the state of California, alfalfa provides a host of environmental benefits that are frequently overlooked. What are these benefits? Benefits to the soil.
Is alfalfa more profitable than corn?
As you can see below, using USDA & extension averages along with current market data, alfalfa may be up to $100 more profitable per acre than corn and even more so when compared to soybeans.
How many times do you cut alfalfa a year?
Maximum dry-matter yield of alfalfa and most forages is often obtained by harvesting the first cutting of the season at nearly full bloom and harvesting subsequent cuttings at 40 to 45 day intervals until late August or early September, referred to as a "3 summer-cut system." This system produces forage relatively ...
What is the best grass to mix with alfalfa?
Meadow fescue and orchardgrass This cool-season grass is a viable forage choice for alfalfa-grass mixtures. For lactating cow forage, the mixture of alfalfa with meadow fescue and tall fescue resulted in higher yields and higher-quality forage compared to alfalfa alone.
How many years will alfalfa grow?
Alfalfa can remain productive in stands from four to ten years or more, but as plant population declines renovation eventually becomes necessary.
What do you plant before alfalfa?
First, spray the growing grass sod with a non-selective herbicide. Second, no-till plant an annual forage crop, such as winter wheat or rye, to smother regrowth of any grass sod or break-hard sod. Third, harvest winter annual forage crops. Fourth, spray herbicide before planting alfalfa.
How hard is it to farm alfalfa?
Easily grown and propagated, alfalfa adapts well to nearly any garden, tolerating a wide range of growing conditions. It makes a good drought-resistant plant too, as it doesn't like wet feet. In fact, too much moisture can lead to mold growth.
How much does a bag of alfalfa seed cost?
Alfalfa seed of modern varieties can cost over $4.00 per pound, while older varieties can be purchased for $2.00 per pound or less.
How much does hay profit per acre?
“You are going to get more than three years out of that, but if we use three years, that's about $100 per acre per year,” Brown says. “If you are getting $125 per ton for quality hay, you are going to see a profit of $51 per ton, or $204 per acre. “The potential is there to make some pretty good money on hay.”
Does alfalfa deplete soil?
Alfalfa has long been noted as a soil builder. Its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and improve soil structure is well known. However, as shown in table 1, alfalfa can rapidly deplete the soil of phosphorus, potassium, and other nutri- ents.
How much do alfalfa farmers make per acre?
Over a three-year average, alfalfa returns a profit of $98.82/acre compared to a $44.77/acre return for corn and $39.68/acre for soybeans, Miller estimated using information from Midwestern farms compiled through the FINBIN database.
How many pounds per acre should you plant alfalfa?
Seeding rates should be between 12 and 15 pounds per acre. Prescribed seeding rates are designed to provide several times the seed needed to achieve optimal yield under ideal growing conditions. Seeding rates above 15 pounds per acre have no positive impact on yield (Table 3).
What is the average hay yield per acre?
ALL DRY HAY Maine hay production is estimated at 183 thousand tons, down 22% from 2019. Yield is estimated at 1.76 tons per acre, down 0.39 tons from the previous year.
How many pounds is alfalfa hay per acre?
For mixed stands with grass, 15 to 16 pounds per acre is recommended.
How much does Alfalfa yield?
It is important to remember that the top yields in the Green-Gold program always exceeded 7 tons/acre and often approached 10 tons per acre. High yields are achievable with proper management. What did these farmers do different to get the high yields?
How to maximize yield on alfalfa?
The fourth area farmers should consider to maximize yield is to minimize wheel traffic on the field and select wheel traffic tolerant varieties. We all intuitively known that driving over a plant damages it and compacts the soil, further reducing growth but we have not applied this to consider the associated yield losses to alfalfa. A certain amount of driving over alfalfa is obviously necessary to harvest it. However, we should remember that every trip over the field does some damage and reduces yield.
Why is alfalfa important to farmers?
Those farmers who get high yields with alfalfa recognize its importance in the profitability of their farm and treat it well in a timely manner rather than managing and harvesting only when time from other crops and activities permits. I recommend the following seven areas that all farmers should consider if they want high alfalfa yields.
How much potash is needed for Alfalfa?
Potash is particularly required in large amounts relative to other crops. Alfalfa requires 58 lbs. of potash per ton of forage produced. Lesser amounts of applied or soil potash will reduce yield. We must also manage levels of boron and sulfur.
What is the most important factor in alfalfa profitability?
The single factor most affecting profitability of alfalfa is yield. This can be seen in the graph at the right which depicts economic data from the Green-Gold program (a third party verified measured yield and quality program) the Wisconsin Forage council used to run. These data clearly show that profitability was strongly related to yield.
How much yield is lost when cutting alfalfa?
Recent data would indicate that approximately 0.5 t/a yield is lost for each inch higher the stand is cut.
Is driving over alfalfa necessary?
A certain amount of driving over alfalfa is obviously necessary to harvest it. However, we should remember that every trip over the field does some damage and reduces yield. To minimize yield losses due to wheel traffic we recommend the following: Mowing and conditioning in a single operation.
What are the factors that affect alfalfa production?
These factors are: Temperature of the irrigation water. Salinity (salt level) of the irrigation water. Salt builds up in the soil. Air temperature and growth stage of the alfalfa.
How to grow alfalfa in the early season?
A good strategy for most irrigators is to begin the growing season with a soil profile , which is holding as much water as possible. A full profile at the beginning of the growing season will allow the crop to take full advantage of available water and put on rapid, early season growth, when soil and water temperatures are not likely to be so high as to stress the crop and limit production. Harvest management studies indicate that alfalfa produces anywhere from 30 to 60% of its total yield for the year during the first harvest, depending on harvest strategy. Consequently, the ability of the crop to get off to a good start can have a significant effect on the annual yield.
How does flooding affect alfalfa?
It is common in irrigated graded or dead level basins or in graded panels or border dikes for the alfalfa in some parts of the field to be under water for an extended period of time during and after irrigation. Alfalfa stand longevity can be shortened considerably by prolonged flooding. Alfalfa is very sensitive to excess soil water. In addition, air temperature and temperature of the irrigation water appear to significantly affect alfalfa stand longevity.
Why should Irrigators avoid flooding of irrigated alfalfa?
Irrigators should avoid prolonged flooding of irrigated alfalfa, when the temperature of the irrigation water is high. There are two reasons for this. First, colder water will hold more dissolved oxygen and the cool air temperatures will keep the alfalfa demand for oxygen relatively low. Secondly, the colder water will usually contain less dissolved salt.
Why is alfalfa yielding so low?
These reduced yields are the result of direct interference with normal plant physiological processes.
Why does alfalfa need cold water?
First, colder water will hold more dissolved oxygen and the cool air temperatures will keep the alfalfa demand for oxygen relatively low. Secondly, the colder water will usually contain less dissolved salt.
Does alfalfa need irrigation?
Alfalfa is very sensitive to excess soil water. In addition, air temperature and temperature of the irrigation water appear to significantly affect alfalfa stand longevity. Several studies have compared the growth of roots and forage of alfalfa flood irrigated for various lengths of time and at different temperatures.
How many acres per colony of canola?
I think that the ratio is 5 acres per colony for alfalfa and 3 acres per colony for canola!
What is soybean hay?
Soy bean hay is normally grown cut and replanted with soybeans for seed crop. I was told that doing this keeps the microbes the soybeans need in the soil while giving a boost of nitrogen to the next crop. Several years ago it was real common and was even done with corn being the second crop. I know a dairy farmer that still does this every year. He round bales the soybean hay and places it in the barn. He has an unroler and mill to make his own feed. All alfalfa around here is square baled and to expensive for this purpose.
Is alfalfa cut late?
Where I live we have lot of "part time" farmers. (40 hr job also) Therefore the alfalfa is often cut late. Some times when the alfalfa is in full bloom there are lot of bees and buterflies there. Other times none. I don't know why. The bees are kind of hard to find but the buterflies can be seen when going along the field. If the buterflies are there so are the honeybees.
Does Alfalfa have a trip mechanism?
Ian you're right. Alfalfa uses a trip mechanism to deposit the pollen. Honeybees learn to avoid this so don't make great pollinators of Alfalfa - if you are raising it for seed you have to boost the density of hives to make up for this learned behaviour.
Is soybean a honey crop?
I think some years soybeans are my main honey crop. Depends on if the neighbors alfalfa blooms or not.
