Oklahoma Alfalfa
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station

Alfalfa has been in Oklahoma a little more than 90 years. The first was brought into the state by the settlers. It has been in the United States since about 1850. So, from several respects, alfalfa is new.   

Since the crop had just arrived, there were very few pest problems in the early 1900's. And the soil was new -- just a few years earlier, it was virgin prairie.   

As time went on, alfalfa was planted on the same piece of ground, with several years between the old stand of hay and the new one. Settlers had quickly learned that alfalfa did not grow well, if the field had grown alfalfa just a year or two before.   

What was happening? Soil fertility was starting to go down. And a few bugs, bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc. were starting to build up.   

So, back in the good old days, hay producers left a field out of alfalfa about as long as it had been in.   

Now, many of our best fields for growing hay have been used for alfalfa many times. The fertility is getting pretty low. Just think about how many tons of hay has been hauled off over time, and the minerals in the hay had to come from somewhere. They came from the soil. Sure, the soil can make more available to the plants over time, but how fast?   

Many of our best soils just cannot keep up with high production. We need to fertilize. Most fields need to be fertilized every year. And some need to be limed, if we want to keep the alfalfa stands highly productive for a long time.   

Yes, we have a New Miracle crop. It's ALFALFA. We should stop taking it for granted. It will make more money than anything else, if managed right. It's still new, from some respects, but it requires more management skills than it did 100 years ago.