How much alfalfa seed does it take to plant an acre?

How much alfalfa seed does it take to plant an acre?

For pure alfalfa stands, 18 to 20 pounds per acre should be planted. For mixed stands with grass, 15 to 16 pounds per acre is recommended. For broadcast seeding, seeding rates need to be increased by 10 to 20 percent. Weed control.

How much does it cost to seed 1 acre of alfalfa?

Alfalfa has to be planted at around 25 pounds per acre if I remember correctly. A 50 pound bag of seed is around $200 last I heard a few years back, so $100 an acre just for seed. Probably $120-150 per acre including tillage costs.

How heavy do you seed alfalfa?

Seed alfalfa between 0.5 lb/acre and 1 lb/acre in 24 inch to 36 inch rows. It can be seeded alone or with a cover crop. Flax or cereal crops are recommended as cover crops. Seed alfalfa no deeper than ½ inch into a firm, fine seedbed.

How many alfalfa seeds are in a pound?

199,000 alfalfa seeds
There are about 199,000 alfalfa seeds per pound. If that one pound was evenly spread over one acre (43,560 ft.

How much is a ton of alfalfa?

The start of 2020 saw the average U.S. price for alfalfa drop $4 per ton from December. The latest USDA Agricultural Prices report pegged alfalfa at $171 per ton, which was $8 per ton lower than one year ago.

How hard is it to grow alfalfa?

Easily grown and propagated, alfalfa adapts well to nearly any garden, tolerating a wide range of growing conditions. It makes a good drought-resistant plant too, as it doesn’t like wet feet. In fact, too much moisture can lead to mold growth. When growing alfalfa, choose an area with plenty of full sun.

How much do alfalfa farmers make per acre?

The average total yield is 20-35 tons per hectare (or 8-14 tons per acre) per year (distributed in 5-6 cuts). Top yields (intensive farming) can exceed 40 tons per hectare or 16 tons per acre per year.

How much is a ton of alfalfa worth?

How much does a bag of alfalfa seed cost?

Alfalfa seed of modern varieties can cost over $4.00 per pound, while older varieties can be purchased for $2.00 per pound or less.

Is alfalfa a good cash crop?

Increased profits from alfalfa—Top dairymen know alfalfa is their most profitable crop. The high yield of high quality forage results in the greatest milk or meat production per acre of any forage. Corn and soybeans risk lower yields without alfalfa in the rotation.

Is growing alfalfa profitable?

Alfalfa is a major profit center on most dairy farms. Annual yield has the largest impact on its profitability because inputs, including harvesting costs, change little as yield increases.

How long does it take to grow alfalfa?

With seeding-year alfalfa, stems are spindly, roots are small and shorter, and growth is a little slower. You can harvest seeding-year alfalfa as early as 40 days after seedlings emerge. It takes plants about 40 days to become able to regrow from the crown after cutting.

How much water does it take to grow alfalfa?

Commonly cited ranges in water requirements for alfalfa are 18 to 36 inches of water per season. Alfalfa is quite tolerant of drought or extended periods without highly available water.

Is there money in alfalfa?

Increased profits from alfalfa—Top dairymen know alfalfa is their most profitable crop. The high yield of high quality forage results in the greatest milk or meat production per acre of any forage. Alfalfa is cost competitive with corn silage on a dry mat- ter basis.

What is the price for alfalfa?

Is alfalfa a cash crop?

In addition to being an important cash crop for growers, alfalfa is good for our soil. The long alfalfa stand life also gives the soil a chance to rest from frequent field crop rotations, helps provide nitrogen for subsequent crops and improves soil tilth. Alfalfa is an insectary.

How do you prepare a field for planting alfalfa?

Here are my five tips for successfully seeding your alfalfa fields.

1. Perform a soil test. It’s important to know your soil’s pH, potassium and phosphorous levels.
2. Control seeding depth. Plant alfalfa seeds three-eighths of an inch below the soil surface.
3. Check herbicide carryover.
4. Control weeds.
5. Try a new variety.

What is the current price of alfalfa?

How much does a bale of alfalfa cost?

Specifically, alfalfa-grade hay bales are priced between $140 and $165 per ton, while grass, midquality hay bales are selling for $125 to $150 per ton.

How many seeds do you need per acre?

The recommendation is to seed between 125,000 and 140,000 seeds per acre, regardless of row spacing, planting date, or seed treatment. However, it is important that you recognize that it will vary from year to year, field to field, and farmer to farmer. Start to reduce your seeding rate on just a few acres this year.

How much fertilizer do I need per acre?

10 pounds of 10-10-10 per 1,000 square feet equals 10 x 43.5 = 435 pounds per acre.

How much grass seed do I need for 1/2 acre?

How much grass seed do I need for 1/2 acre? For example, if the recommended seeding rate for a specific blend of grasses is 6 pounds per 1,000 square feet, multiply 6 by 43.56 to get 261.36. Thus you would need just over 261 pounds of seed for 1 acre.

In addition to being an important cash crop for growers, alfalfa is good for our soil. The long alfalfa stand life also gives the soil a chance to rest from frequent field crop rotations, helps provide nitrogen for subsequent crops and improves soil tilth.

How many bales are in a ton of alfalfa?

20 bales
A ton: 2000# pounds of hay to the ton. A retail three string bale weighs 100 # there are 20 bales in a ton. A “feed store ton” can be 16 bales.

How much alfalfa seed should I drop per acre?

Research strongly suggests that there is little benefit to seeding over 10 pounds of pure live seed per acre in the Midwest and Eastern U.S. regions. In Wisconsin, 12 pounds of pure live seed per acre is recommended in most situations. This equates to dropping 60 seeds per square foot.

Which is the optimum seeding rate for alfalfa?

As alfalfa seed becomes more expensive and transgenic traits come with a technology fee, reducing seeding rates to the agronomic and economic optimum is more easily justified. Further, it’s always better to invest in good alfalfa genetics and seed at an optimum rate than to buy the cheap stuff and seed at a higher rate.

How much alfalfa seed per acre in Wisconsin?

Research strongly suggests that there is little benefit to seeding over 10 pounds of pure live seed per acre in the Midwest and Eastern U.S. regions. In Wisconsin, 12 pounds of pure live seed per acre is recommended in most situations.

Do you need a bag of seed for alfalfa?

By planting acres of Pioneer® brand alfalfa at seeds per square foot, you will need bags of seed compared to bags of the comparison variety. Because you are planting Pioneer® brand alfalfa you will save in seed costs compared to planting the comparison variety on acres.

When to plant alfalfa hay?

Farmers grow alfalfa primarily for hay — as a food source for domestic farm animals. It grows best in well-drained soils where there is no water puddling. Alfalfa is best planted in early spring, as soon as all possibility of frost has passed. Spring plantings will generally yield two cuttings for the season.

How much seed do I need per acre?

Thus you would need just over 261 pounds of seed for 1 acre. Measure or estimate the dimensions of any non-turf areas in the landscape, calculate their areas and add the square footage of all of the non-turf areas together.

How much does alfalfa seed cost?

One option that growers have is to purchase lower cost alfalfa seed. Alfalfa seed of modern varieties can cost over $4.00 per pound, while older varieties can be purchased for $2.00 per pound or less.

How many pounds of seed per acre?

Use a formula to determine the amount of seed needed per acre. To find the recommended rate, multiply the number of pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet by 43.56 to get the pounds of seed per acre. For our example, the formula looks like this: 5 X 43.56 = 217.8 pounds per acre.