[henry]

At least it is news to me. I just recieved my new wholesale seed catalog, and was surprised to see , that roundup ready alfalfa is available. It is not an off brand either, it is available in Americas brand alfalfa,,alfagraze is one variety available in RR. The down side is that the technology charge is $125 per bag on top of the seed price. This means it will have to retail for around $350 per 50# bag. It would almost be worth it though if you compare the cost of gly to poast or arrest. I think it cost me $50 per acre to spray with arrest this spring, and the jury is still out because it has such a slow burn down rate,,,not mention that it is grass specific and gly will even be able to take the broadleafs out of the alfagraze. I may have to put out a $350 dollar test plot in the near future.

:cheers::cheers:

 

[JackJr]

I was expectin' ta hear that Alfalfa had been spotted in a 7-11 in Kalmazoo.:roll2:

Jack

 

[rat]

U2U me.. .I'll be happy to give you the lowdown on rr alfalfa! Good system.

 

[henry]

Originally posted by rat
U2U me.. .I'll be happy to give you the lowdown on rr alfalfa! Good system.

You knew agbout this and did'nt share????? Shame on you:rotfl: This is very expensive,,,but could be a good foodplot alfalfa.

:cheers::cheers:

 

[JackJr]

I know from hunting in NW Kansas, Wyoming and Montana that Alfalfa is a great attraction to deer, both Whitetails and Mule.

Jack

 

[TOBRYAN]

We ordered a bag also...300 plus..I sprayed some poast and buctril 2 weeks ago on my clover, alfalfa and really just doesnt kill the grass that well in my opinion (fescue, orchard).
I ll be ready to spray rr to control all the stuff!!!

 

[rat]

Originally posted by henry

Originally posted by rat
U2U me.. .I'll be happy to give you the lowdown on rr alfalfa! Good system.

You knew agbout this and did'nt share????? Shame on you:rotfl: This is very expensive,,,but could be a good foodplot alfalfa.

:cheers::cheers:

Henry... it was registered in '04 and sales began in '05. I agree, the cost may steer some folks away.

It is targeted mainly for high-end dairy operations that have thousands of acres. Its a good system because it will allow growers to have better stand establishment on spring-seeded alfalfa. Normally, folks establish stands in the fall of the year so that they wont have to fight weeds with less than effective herbicides all through the summer. Being able to spray glyphosate over the top allows for broad spectrum control of weeds throughout the spring AND summer. Many other advantages... there are admittedly some disadvantages as well. I think it'd be a dandy foodplot tool and I wish they would market it in that regard, in addition to high volume hay producers.

If your going to the campout, I'll send some information along for ya. I wont be there, but I know someone who will be!

 

[Hayzer]

Yea, send that stuf along rat. I'd like to be privy to some more info. on this.

Thanks

 

[MUHunter]

Rat,

I know there is some research with this stuff going on around here too, just curious. How are they handling all the tech fees and such with this alfalfa, seems to me it might be a little harder to police than the soybean/corn market. It might be kinda hard to manage where this stuff might get spread.

MU

 

[rat]

Originally posted by MUHunter
Rat,

I know there is some research with this stuff going on around here too, just curious. How are they handling all the tech fees and such with this alfalfa, seems to me it might be a little harder to police than the soybean/corn market. It might be kinda hard to manage where this stuff might get spread.

MU

Very good points. I am not directly connected to the rr alfalfa folks here although I do support them on occasion. I am admittedly shy on forage crop knowledge.

I guess that the tech fees may be a little high in the beginning just cause its new technology AND it is a perrenial crop... the companies only chance to get some of its research dollars back in the form of tech fees on alfalfa is once every 3-5 yrs and not yearly like with beans or corn.

And yes.. it could be a problem managing where it is spread and seed piracy issues. One of the knocks on the technology is that when you remove conventional alfalfa, you use glyphosate. When you renovate a rr alfalfa field, youre gonna have to use 2,4-D or dicamba and you could have volatility problems with adjacent crops, ect. with that treatment. Roadsides right now are using roundup most always to control rouge alfalfa encroachment.. wont be able to do that with rr alfalfa.

I can say that most of the reviews from dairy farmers in the valley and elsware are so far very complimentary of the technology and how it functions.