For the most part, spring seedings of alfalfa are made with a small grain companion crop that is either harvested as forage or grain and straw. The advantages of this type of establishment system are well documented and are often cited as follows:

1. Reduced weed competition when compared to no companion crop or herbicide.
2. As forage, companion crop offers additional establishment year yield compared to alfalfa seeded alone.
3. Companion crop offers early season soil erosion control.
4. Companion crop offers the opportunity to harvest grain for feed and straw for bedding while at the same time establishing a stand of alfalfa.
5. On slowly drained soils, the companion crop helps draw excess moisture from the upper soil profile thereby reducing the risk for alfalfa seedling diseases.

The "wild card" in the success of most direct alfalfa seedings is weed pressure. Where maximum forage quality is desired, the use of a herbicide is a necessity. Few good options have been available in the past. Where grasses are a primary concern, Eptam, Balan, or Treflan applied pre-plant incorporated will control annual grasses and give fair control for many broadleaves. Another approach is to use Poast Plus or Select herbicide applied post-emergence for grass control. Either can also be used to kill an oat companion crop that was initially seeded for soil erosion control. Both Butyrac (2,4D-B) and Buctril are offered as post-emerge broadleaf options but have application or harvest limitations that limit their practicality.

Currently, the best broad spectrum post-emerge herbicide available for direct alfalfa seedings is Pursuit. Pursuit offers good control of foxtail and most annual broadleaves with the exception of common lambsquarters. Producers who have used this program the past several years have achieved excellent results. Now for the one more good reason to look at direct seeded alfalfa in 1999…….the price of Pursuit has been significantly reduced. Depending on rate, herbicide and adjuvant costs should be in the $10.50 to $14.50 per acre range. This is approximately $10.00 per acre less than past years. Another broad spectrum post emergence herbicide, Raptor, is not yet labeled for alfalfa but has looked very good in University of Wisconsin research plots.

Let's first address when direct seedings may not hold an economic or agronomic advantage. Highly erodible fields and/or slowly drained fields are not good candidates for direct seedings. Although alfalfa has been successfully established on heavier soil types with direct seedings, the odds usually favor a companion crop. In years where a severe forage shortage exists, companion crop seedings offer the opportunity to harvest more total forage per acre in the establishment year. Thus, it may be beneficial to use the companion crop and capture the additional forage for the short-term

Two trends on area dairy farms may contribute to the increased use of direct-seeded alfalfa in the spring. First, many producers now bed livestock with materials other than straw. Another trend is that some producers do not have the storage capacity or need for the "average" quality small grain silage harvested at the initial cutting. With direct seedings, all forage harvested is alfalfa and typically two to three cuttings can be obtained per year. Although more total forage can be harvested per year with a companion crop, most comparison studies give the advantage to direct seedings in terms of total alfalfa forage harvested and overall higher quality forage.

As demonstrated in the past, average total alfalfa yield plays a major role in determining the profitability of an alfalfa enterprise. A major factor reducing average alfalfa yields on most farms is the low tonnage obtained during the seeding year. Thus, anything a producer can do to increase alfalfa yield during the establishment year without compromising the stand will contribute to higher average yields over the life of that stand and reduce cost of production on a per ton basis. This economic advantage is why direct seedings may merit a closer look by producers.