GRAZING ALFALFA
IN PENNSYLVANIA
Penn State
Agronomy Facts 42
Alfalfa grazing is not new.
Alfalfa has been grazed alone or in
mixtures with grasses and other
legumes since its introduction into the
United States. Compared with other
management systems, however, graz
ing alfalfa has never been a widespread
practice in this country.
While alfalfa has been used exten
sively as a grazing crop in other coun
tries, grazing of alfalfa in this country
traditionally has been relegated to a
cleanup operation in the fall.
Grazing systems to optimize alfal
fa’s grazing potential requires a higher
level of management than do some
grazing systems. In spite of this, inter
est in grazing alfalfa has been
increasing.
Establishing Alfalfa
For Grazing
Establish alfalfa for grazing just as
you would if it were to be used for hay
or silage by following these guidelines
(refer to the Penn State Agronomy
Guide for more information on alfalfa
establishment);
• Plant on a well-drained soil.
• Use a soil test as a guide for rates
of lime, phosphorus and potash.
• Select an adapted, high-yielding,
disease and insect-resistant variety.
Use certified seed to ensure seed qual
ity and purity.
• Inoculate the seed with fresh alfal
fa inoculant just before seeding. Make
sure the word “alfalfa” appears on the
inoculant container. For pre-
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inoculated seed, check the date the
seed was inoculated.
• Sow into a firm seedbed. Alfalfa
can successfully be sown with a
cultipacker-seeder, with a seeding
attachment on a cultipacker, by broad
casting or with a drill, followed by roll
ing. Plant no deeper than V* inch in
heavy soil or 'A inch in light soil.
• Add lime, phosphorus, and potas
sium as soil tests indicate. A good time
to lime and fertilize for stand mainte
nance is at the end of one growing sea
son and before growth starts the next
season.
Rotational grazing is a “must” for
optimum returns in an alfalfa or
alfalfa-grass grazing system. Rotation
al grazing is more labor intensive than
continuous grazing because of the
need to provide and maintain electric
fencing and to move animals from one
paddock to another on a carefully
planned and executed schedule.
Care also must be given to avoid
damaging the alfalfa stand, because
comparatively high numbers of ani
mals graze on a relatively small area of
alfalfa. However, the rewards can
offset the extra effort.
There is no set rule on number of
paddocks required or on paddock size.
Most recommendations call for fields
to be divided into a minimum of six to
eight paddocks for most effective man
agement. Paddock size depends on the
number and size of animals being
grazed. However, there should be
enough animals in a paddock to
harvest the available forage in less than
four days.
As an example of a rotational graz-
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Alfalfa Grazing
Management
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ing practice, a recent demonstration
successfully grazing 24-beef cattle on
a four-acre alfalfa plot. The field was
subdivided into eight half-acre pad
docks. After four days grazing on each
paddock, the cattle were rotated. After
all eight paddocks had been grazed,
cattle were returned to the first pad
dock, which had recovered and was
ready for another round of grazing.
Determining the number of animals
that each acre of alfalfa will support in
a grazing system is a difficult process.
The number of animals per acre can be
increased as alfalfa becomes more pro
ductive beyond the first year of stand
life and as the management skills of the
farm operator improve. A conservative
suggested is two to three dairy cows or
three to five stockers per acre during
the early part of the grazing season.
The number of animals per acre is
normally reduced when alfalfa produc
tion declines, such as during the typical
mid-summer slump period. It is very
important to closely monitor grazing to
prevent overgrazing. Overgrazing can
force animals to consume more sup
plement, if one is supplied, increasing
production costs. Overgrazing also
may force animals to eat the basal
stems which are not very nutritious,
thus limiting animal gain. Severe over
grazing also could damage the crowns
of the alfalfa plants.
Undergrazing, on the other hand,
can lead to uneven grazing. When
unevenly grazed, the remaining plants
become larger and less palatable.
When the field is grazed again, the ani
mals once more will favor the young
tender plants. This in effect reduces the
productive acreage unless the older,
larger plants are clipped periodically.
One or more “sacrifice” paddocks
also enhance a grazing program where
alfalfa is the main forage. A sacrifice
paddock is an area, preferably with
grass sod, that can be used to hold ani
mals during wet weather or to allow
adequate regrowth of the alfalfa pad
docks. Hay may be fed in sacrifice pad
docks to keep pasture growing at an
optimum rate.
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Alfalfa
Grazing Period
Alfalfa or alfalfa-grass mixtures can
be grazed -throughout the growing sea
son in most areas, or can be used for
grazing during only selected seasons.
Spring grazing:
* Grazing alfalfa for several weeks
in the very early spring delays hay
making until weather is better. Begin
grazing when alfalfa is about six
inches tall, managing the animals so
that the plants are not overgrazed and
maintain some leaf area. As the alfalfa
growth begins to exceed animal con
sumption (usually during May), per
iodically reduce the size of pasture
area being grazed. This decreases the
amount of forage available to the ani
mals and reduces waste. In addition, it
establishes staggered pasture heights
for rotational grazing throughout the
rest of the season. Harvest the excess,
ungrazed alfalfa as hay or silage.
Summer grazing:
• Alfalfa can be difficult to harvest
for hay during July and August if top
growth has been slowed by drought.
Grazing may be an attractive alterna
tive to alfalfa hay harvesting during
this period.
Rotational grazing during the sum
mer will seldom harm the stand. Graz
ing alfalfa during times of moisture
stress does not have the adverse effects
to the degree it does when grazing
under normal or wet conditions. Graz
ing is an excellent way to use alfalfa
and provide high quality forage during
the dry summer months in what nor
mally would be considered the “sum
mer slump" period.
Fall grazing:
• Fall alfalfa growth usually is
slowed or stopped by a series of light
frosts, rather than by one single heavy
killing freeze. Forage quality of fall
growth is excellent. Weather condi
tions normally make alfalfa hay diffi
cult to cure at this time, so grazing
becomes an alternative method of
harvesting. Removing this fall growth
also may reduce the severity of the
alfalfa weevil the following spring.
However, it is important not to graze
too hard within five to six weeks of the
first killing frost While the stubble
height or cutting height is not of great
significance during the summer, it
becomes an important factor when fall
grazing. Leave some stubble on the
field to support any growth that may
occur before a killing frost and to hold
snow to protect alfalfa from heaving.
Leave at least a 4-inch stubble!
Season-long grazing:
• Grazing has a reputation for shor
tening the life of an alfalfa stand, com
pared to harvesting for hay. However,
this is largely a misconception because
there are management techniques that
can take advantage of the benefits of
grazing alfalfa, while reducing some of
the potentially harmful effects. Follow
the suggestions for spring grazing, out
line above, to initiate season-long
alfalfa grazing. Alfalfa should be
allowed to recover for about 28 to 35
days between grazings. Rotational
grazing for short grazing periods of 1
to 2 days with the long recovery period
of approximately 35 days is the major
key to season-long grazing, while still
maintaining stands. Avoid grazing
during wet weather when alfalfa is par
ticularly susceptible to soil compac
tion and crown damage.
Managing Against
Bloat When
Grazing Alfalfa
Bloat can be a problem when ani
mals are grazed on young, lush alfalfa.
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