Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK

Oklahoma Alfalfa
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station

 
The Value of Improved Alfalfa Varieties 
    
Some producers continue to shop for seed by price, thinking that buying cheap seed will reduce their production costs and result in increased profits. This is frequently a false economy.   Cheap seed may be good, but it is probably not as good as seed of the proven varieties. The true "Oklahoma Commons" generally yield about 10% less than the best varieties for Oklahoma.   

Some seed is sold at a greatly reduced price because its germination or purity is not good and the company wants to unload the seed. Check the tag on all seed purchased -- it should indicate results of a recent germination test and the amount of weed seed and foreign material in the bag.   

Check out the following table with the seed prices that are listed for various sources of seed and other hay prices to see which is the best buy in the long run. 
 

Seed Cost and Gross Income Per Acre Per Year Comparisons for Seed of Proven Varieties and an Unknown Variety with Different Planting Rates to Compensate for Seed Quality.   
   
Seed Lot Proven Variety (10% better *) Proven Variety (10% better *) Unknown Variety
Seed Cost ($/lb)
2.35
4.00
0.95
Sowing Rate (lb/acre)
15
15
20
Seed Cost ($/acre)
35.25
60.00
19.00
Yield (tons/acre/year)
4.5
4.5
4
Price ($/ton)
80
80
80
Income ($/acre/year)
360
360
320
Time to Recuperate Higher Seed Costs
2/5 year or 2 cutting
1 year or 5 cuttings
--
 
* Better than a common seed lot.  

Adapted from Alfalfa Stand Establishment Questions and Answers. Alfalfa Harvest Management Discussion with Cost-Benefit Analysis. OSU Extension Circular E-943. HTML Format (faster) or PDF Format (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader). 
 
Seed Cost and Gross Income Per Acre Per Year Comparisons for Seed of Proven Varieties and an Unknown Variety with the Same Planting Rate.   
 

Seed Lot Seed Cost ($/lb) Sowing Rate (lb/acre)  Seed Cost ($/acre)  Yield (tons/acre/year) Price ($/ton) Income ($/acre/year) Recuperate Seed Costs
Proven Variety (10% better *)   

2.35

   

18

   

42.30

   

4.5

   

80

   

360

   
2/5 year or  2 cuttings
Proven Variety 
(10% better *)		   

4.00

   

18

   

72

   

4.5

   

80

   

360

   
1.4 years or 7 cuttings
Unknown Variety 0.95 18 17.10 4 80 320 --
 
* Better than a common seed lot.  
 
Adapted from Alfalfa Stand Establishment Questions and Answers. Alfalfa Harvest Management Discussion with Cost-Benefit Analysis. OSU Extension Circular E-943.  HTML Format (faster) or PDF Format (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).   
 
Obviously, these comparisons between proven good varieties and common seed do not fit all situations. As disease and insect problems increase during a stand, the difference paid for seed of improved varieties will be paid off sooner. Also, as price per ton of hay increases, the seed cost difference is paid off sooner. (State Department of Agriculture 1997 data indicated $100/ton would be a more reasonable price.)   
 
Higher yields result in shorter recuperation times. Anything improving profits shortens recuperation time.   If yield of both types is drastically reduced because of low soil fertility, it takes longer to recuperate additional seed costs. Lower average hay price would also lead to a slower time to recuperate cost differences.   
   
 Results of Recent Alfalfa Variety Tests
 
John Caddel, Forage Agronomist 
Department of Plant and Soil Sciences 
Oklahoma State University 

  Previous Page