Roundup ready alfalfa

[sandbur3]

Ed and others. A friend has promised me a couple pounds of roundup alfalfa. It does not have all the resistance factors of some other alfalfas. I have a piece of ground that was in Imperial Whitetail for 5 years, then late planted RR soybeans last year. I need to check its pH, but think I have maintained it pretty good. I was going to put this back into clover and some chicory. If the pH is good, should I make a blend with the RR alfalfa or just try a small corner of the alfalfa alone? I also have part of this in durana( seeded last fall) to see how hardy it is. This is also adjacent to a 45 acre alfalfa field seeded last spring(land I rent out.)

Ed- Give me any ideas on management of RR alfalfa deer plot?

[JBIV]

I would also like to hear some info on this subject.Anybody........?

[Ed Spin04]

You very seldom hear me or others like Dr. Grant woods pushing alfalfa alone as a food plot.

Alfalfa as you indicated sandbur3 is susceptably to many diseases plus insect infestations. I like alfalfa because deer love the stuff especially after it has been recently mowed. Unmowed alfalfa does not regenerate new leaves. It needs to be shocked by grazing or mowing, with deer grazing not being very effective compared to cattle grazing. Deer are choosy and will eat only the leaves, which will not shock the plant enough, while cattle will bite on the stem and low enough to do the job. If you plant alfalfa for deer you should plan to mow it.

I have seen alfalfa fields that were infested with potato leafhoppers. (small grasshoppers) to the point of 80% of the crop eaten. Diseases from leaf spot, wilt, white mold, anthracnose etc leaves the decision of choosing alfafa to experienced farmers and ranchers.

However deer love the stuff and there is an answer. The answer is to mix alfalfa in a blend of several clovers, chicory and birdsfoot trefoil. I do not know the reason why this blemd works but it does. Perhaps some plants are replusive to certain insects and the desease resisitance of other plant types in the blend are enough to prevent a major infestation.

Keep the alfalfa percentage in this blend no more than 20% and you should not experience the horrors mentioned above.

I have never read anything on this subject. I'm only guessing as to why the blend works.

[Munsterlndr]

There is a fairly extensive article about Alfalfa as a food plot crop in this months Quality Whitetails. Among other things it talks about RR alfalfa. Worth getting a copy if you are considering planting it.

[sandbur3]

Ed or others- I had a tiny grasshopper (potato leaf hopper?) move into my Imperial Whitetail plots. This was not the initial year with the annual clovers in the blend, but later on. My renters had sprayed the alfalfa on my land and had enough left over to spray my clover. Has anyone experienced this?

Also the IMperial compared very favorably with the alfalfa as to deer use. The deer would go back and forth between the alfalfa and Imperial depending on which had just been freshened. I can see both patches from my window. Last summer the Imperial was getting old and thin and the deer preferred the new seeding alfalfa.

[Rusher]

Does anyone know anything about the Roundup ready seed and Monsanto sueing farmers. I was told when you purchase any kind of seed such as these you need to sign a form and pay an additional fee such as royality.

[riverman]

The fee to Monsanto is included in the price of the seed. Your signature on a seed order is all the proof Monsato requires now I believe. Monsanto can only come after you if you save seed from one years crop to plant or sell in the future.

[Rusher]

Riverman,

Thanks for the info.:)

[farmlegend]

I like alfalfa because deer love the stuff especially after it has been recently mowed.

Keep the alfalfa percentage in this blend no more than 20% and you should not experience the horrors mentioned above.

Deer preference for alfalfa is undeniable. Even my fussy deer go for it with gusto.

As to the 20%, I'd guess that's a good number. Here's something I learned from experimenting with alfalfa: its relative abundance within a plot of legumes seems to increase when you get a hot, dry summer, like we had in 2005.
I frost-seeded a legume plot in March '04, and included approx. 17.5% alfalfa in the mix; I used a pre-inoculated variety called "Alfagraze", which is a grazing-variety alfalfa which I purchased from Cooper Seeds (GA) from their website www.cooperseeds.com (FWIW, Kent Kammermeyer serves as an advisor to these guys; I've gotten great product and service from them). "Grazing" alfalfa is supposed to be a little more digestible for deer than "haying" alfalfa, which tends to grow taller.

Anyhow, in 2004, you had to look hard to find alfalfa in this plot; by September of '05, well into the long, hot, dry growing season, the alfalfa was all over the place; it could well have comprised 25% of the legumes in the plot, which surprised me, particularly since it was nearly non-existent there the prior year.

Here's a little of that glorious purple-flowered "queen of forages":

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/539/medium/Alfalfa.jpg

[plugger]

Alfalfa seems to out draw anything else
i have had on the farm. The biggest problem I have is it gets grazed so heavily that stand life is short.

[sandbur3]

Farmlegend- My experience with frost seeding alfalfa has not been to good. I was wondering if the alfalfa needs better soil contact than the clovers. Did you roll your field after frost seeding? Are you on heavier soils? I am on medium to lighter soils. The heavier soils are on the bottom lands and better suited to clover. My renters do grow alfalfa. About 40 acres of new seeding last spring.

Any suggestions in frost seeding alfalfa or a blend would be appreciated.

[farmlegend]

Farmlegend- My experience with frost seeding alfalfa has not been to good. I was wondering if the alfalfa needs better soil contact than the clovers. Did you roll your field after frost seeding? Are you on heavier soils?

This particular plot is very heavy soil, known as "Pewamo Silt Loam". I just broadcast the stuff, and that was it.

FWIW, I had prepped the site by spraying with glyphosate/ammonium sulfate three times the previous year.

[Hamilton Reef]

Farmers, Others Sue USDA over Monsanto GMO Alfalfa

http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=9901

February 17, 2006 — By Carey Gillam, Reuters

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A coalition of farmers, consumers and environmental activists Thursday sued the U.S. government over its approval of a biotech alfalfa that critics say will spell havoc for farmers and the environment."

Opening another front in the battle over genetically modified crops, the lawsuit contends that the U.S. Department of Agriculture improperly is allowing Monsanto Co. to sell an herbicide-resistant alfalfa seed while failing to analyze the public health, environmental, and economic consequences of that action.

"The USDA failed to do a full environmental review when they deregulated this genetically engineered alfalfa," said Will Rastov, an attorney for Center for Food Safety, one of the plaintiffs. "They're going to wreak untold dangers into the environment."

The lawsuit asks the federal court in San Francisco to rescind the USDA's decision until a full environmental review has been completed.

The suit asserts that the genetically modified alfalfa will probably contaminate conventionally grown alfalfa at a fast pace, ultimately forcing farmers to pay for Monsanto's patented gene technology whether they want the technology or not.

The group says biotech alfalfa would also hurt production of organic dairy and beef products as alfalfa is a key cattle feed. And the suit claims farmers could lose export business, valued at an estimated $480 million per year, because buyers in Japan and South Korea, major importers of U.S. alfalfa, have indicated they would avoid buying U.S. alfalfa once the genetically engineered variety is released.

Plaintiffs also said Monsanto is marketing the herbicide-tolerant crop in a way that encourages far greater applications of chemicals than alfalfa typically requires.

Alfalfa is the fourth most widely grown crop in the United States, behind corn, soybeans, and wheat.

South Dakota alfalfa farmer Pat Trask, one of the plaintiffs, said Monsanto's biotech alfalfa would ruin his conventional alfalfa seed business because it was certain his 9,000 acres would be contaminated by the biotech genes.

Alfalfa is very easily cross-pollinated by bees and by wind. The plant is also perennial, meaning GMO plants could live on for years.

"The way this spreads so far and wide, it will eliminate the conventional alfalfa industry," said Trask. "Monsanto will own the entire alfalfa industry."

Monsanto has a policy of filing lawsuits or taking other legal actions against farmers who harvest crops that show the presence of the company's patented gene technology. It has sued farmers even when they have tried to keep their own fields free from contamination by biotech plants on neighboring farms.

"It's the desire of Monsanto to pursue global control and total control over the American alfalfa seed industry," said Trask.

Monsanto spokeswoman Mica DeLong said the company had no comment on the issue and referred inquires to USDA. Monsanto received regulatory clearance to begin selling the biotech alfalfa last summer.

The suit names Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service Administrator Ron Dehaven and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Steve Johnson as defendants.

APHIS spokeswoman Karen Eggert said the agency had no immediate comment. EPA also declined to comment and a spokeswoman for USDA could not be reached immediately.

In addition to the Center for Food Safety and the Trask family, the plaintiffs include the National Family Farm Coalition, Sierra Club, Dakota Resources Council, and other farm, environmental and consumer groups.

[JBIV]

There is a alfalfa growing conference at MSU on March 9th, with a program on Round up Ready alfalfa.

FYI.

[bhntr]

Seen a plot of the RR alfalfa when on a Farmer seed tour with Trelay Seed company in Wisconsin last year. The price was around $325 a bag.

[Hamilton Reef]

I called Trelay Seed Co 8/5/06. 50# RR alfalfa is $331.00, plus shipping.
They recommend 15-18 lbs/acre but only sell the 50# bag, not partial bags.
50# should equal 3-acres. Three people could split the cost and each do a 1-acre plot.

[bjmad]

I've done some research on the legality issue as well. One farmer, from Canada I believe, planted rr soybeans. The following year he planted regular soybeans but some of the beans survived. Somehow they cross polinated or something. Anyway, his soys had a small genetic makeup of the rr and he got sued. They ended up settling out of court with Monsato. This is ridiculous. Makes me not even want to plant this stuff again. Now, I only plant an acre of corn/soys but still. The farmers are planting 1000s of acres. There is so much to this story it's amazing. I believe the concept is good and Monsato needs to make money as well. Inevitably, when you harvest your crops, some seeds are going to mix with the soil an grow. There should be a line drawn somewhere.

[sandbur3]

Two of my farmer friends planted Roundup alfalfa side by side this spring. The varieties on the market were not insect resistant. The early planted plot did well. The other farmer planted two weeks later, and could never get ahead of the bugs, even with numerous sprayings. He felt they should have sprayed the neighboring fields at once. They did not work together and the bugs just moved between fields and wiped out the later planted field. In different weather conditions, the results could have been different.

If you are in an area where aphids and hoppers hit the alfalfa, I would suggest waiting for the insect resistant varieties to come out.