Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK
Oklahoma Alfalfa Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station

GRAZE THE EXTRA FORAGE IN THE FIELD Alfalfa producers ask each fall, "Should we harvest or not?" and "Is it too lush to graze?" These questions are usually followed with, "It is so hard to make hay this time of year."   Our research has shown that late cutting does not hurt alfalfa stands in Oklahoma. Sometimes yield at the first harvest the next year is reduced a little, but by the end of the next harvest season, total yields are the same as stands that were not cut late.   Making hay from low-yielding stands may not be profitable. It can easily cost about the value of a half ton of hay to swath, rake, bale, and haul. If there is less than a half ton of hay there, try to find another way to clean up the field.       GRAZE ALFALFA?    Grazing, instead of making hay, is a good management decision for some alfalfa producers. It may be a very bad idea for others. Grazing is a good way to utilize fall-produced forage without the cost associated with making hay. For sure, fall is not an easy time to make hay -- because of cool temperatures and short days.   The best way to graze alfalfa in the fall is to wait until the alfalfa has stopped growing after the first hard freeze. This greatly reduces the problems of bloat and is good for the alfalfa.   Grazing after a hard freeze helps with alfalfa weevil problems next spring. Grazing removes the stems where the adults lay eggs during the fall and winter. If there are no stems, weevils go somewhere else to lay eggs.   Grazing can also help control certain weeds. Animals eat seedling weeds and they do not regrow. Their hooves actually cut off and kill some small weeds. Generally, removing the fall growth is good for the health of alfalfa plants. Flash grazing is better than leaving animals on the fields for long periods of time. Put enough cattle on a paddock to remove all the foliage in 7 to 10 days, then move them to another paddock.   Grazing alfalfa is not new. Alfalfa has been grazed since before Roman times. It is grazed by cattle, sheep, hogs, horses, camels, goats, ostriches, and other domestic animals as well as deer and many other wild animals.   Most producers are at least somewhat reluctant to graze their alfalfa because of the possibility of loosing animals to bloat. While the possibility of bloat is real when grazing most lush forages, it is particularly troublesome when grazing most forage legumes.   Pasturing alfalfa during the late fall and winter is the safest grazing time when nearly all growth is frozen (brown). The most dangerous time for bloat in Oklahoma is when recent lush growth has been frosted with light freezes.      AVOIDING BLOAT There are many stories about how to avoid bloat, and many of them have some validity (at least under some circumstances). Some of the most widely accepted ways to lessen the problems with bloat follow: (If you have others, please let me know.)   Fill animals with dry grass or hay before grazing alfalfa.   Provide a bloat preventative for several days before grazing alfalfa and continue for at least several more days.   Closely watch cattle several times a day, at first.   Give them a choice of eating dry feed or fairly mature grass when grazing alfalfa.   Some producers use a "chronic bloater" in the herd as an indicator.   Remove all animals from the alfalfa field at the first sign of bloat and watch them closely.   Do not put hungry cattle on lush alfalfa.   Do not begin early in the morning. Fewer problems occur when starting in the afternoon.   Do not turn cattle onto alfalfa wet with dew. Wait until it dries completely.   Do not graze alfalfa that is lightly frosted.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:   Alfalfa Harvest Management Discussion with Cost-Benefit Analysis. OSU Extension Circular E-943.  HTML Format (faster) or PDF Format (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).
John Caddel, Forage Agronomist  Department of Plant and Soil Sciences  Oklahoma State University

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