UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- If you're one of many still reeling from the long, snowy winter, take solace in the fact that all signs indicate a bumper crop of alfalfa across the commonwealth, according to a crop scientist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Marvin Hall, professor of forage management in the department of crop and soil sciences, says early reports from around the state this spring all point to a great start for alfalfa and other forage crops, which is good news for the state's dairy producers. And it started, he says, with the winter's substantial snow dumps.

"Forage plants are different than people," Hall says. "They like winter weather that stays cold, and heavy snow cover protects them from severe cold. Mild winter weather that freezes, thaws, then refreezes is the most damaging for forage plants -- and alfalfa in particular. Our motto is, 'let it snow, let it snow!' On a scale of one to 10, I'd say this winter was in the 8-to-9 range; I don't expect to see much damage due to winterkill."

He explains that the less-severe winters the state has enjoyed the past few seasons promote a freeze-and-thaw cycle that can expose and tear alfalfa roots. Winterkill is a special problem for alfalfa, which is a perennial. Alfalfa stands can overwinter and bounce back to produce forage for as long as 15 years, with a typical life of three to four years. Alfalfa also is one of the most nutritious forages, with a high energy density that makes it ideal for dairy cattle, which have high energy and nutritional demands. Hall explains that those demands make predicting annual yields important for dairy producers -- often the difference between profitability and debt.

"If alfalfa yields are bad, it really can affect a farmer's profitability, because when they make their own hay it's a pretty cheap feed source," he says. "But buying or importing it from somewhere else makes the cost of feeding each cow higher. So if they're expecting three tons to the acre and they only get two, they can suddenly be 50 tons short of forage, and that has to come from somewhere. But the amount that they're getting in milk revenues isn't changing, so it's more of a cost squeeze on the farmer.

"With a cost squeeze, farmers aren't spending as much money in their local hardware stores and jewelry stores and it affects the whole agricultural community. The consumer wouldn't see it in the prices. But if they owned a business in the community, they'd know it immediately when farmers are having a hard time."

So the forecast for alfalfa is good news for many people, according to Hall. "Since we're through the winter, the bigger problem for alfalfa this year is how much moisture we get," he says. "If we get adequate moisture, I could see tremendous, above-average yields this year. However, the return of the drought would mean low forage yields."

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EDITORS: Contact Marvin Hall by phone at 814-863-1019 or by e-mail at mhh2@psu.edu.

Contact:

Gary Abdullah gxa2@psu.edu 814-863-2708 814-863-9877 fax #149