Start Date
4-6-1982 9:30 AM
Description
Alfalfa seed production in the western United States has become a specialized business, and can no longer be considered as a "catch crop" to be harvested along with a hay production program in historical production areas in the Plains and Rocky Mountain states which produced approximately 80 percent of all of the seed produced in the late 1940's and early 1950's. In 1981 the seven western states of California (47.8 percent), Idaho (12.2 percent), Nevada (8.7 percent), Washington (7.7 percent), Oregon (4.2 percent), Montana (4.5 percent), and Utah (3.2 percent) produced 87.5 percent of the total 1981 production of 117 million pounds on 380,000 acres. The average yield in the leading states of California, Nevada, and Washington was approximately 600 pounds per acre, compared to a yield in Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota of 95, 70, and 55 pounds per acre, respectively. This dramatic yield difference is only one of the many reasons why production has come west where dry summers have made it possible to more securely grow and harvest alfalfa seed than had been possible previously.
Included in
Quality Alfalfa Seed Production in the West
Alfalfa seed production in the western United States has become a specialized business, and can no longer be considered as a "catch crop" to be harvested along with a hay production program in historical production areas in the Plains and Rocky Mountain states which produced approximately 80 percent of all of the seed produced in the late 1940's and early 1950's. In 1981 the seven western states of California (47.8 percent), Idaho (12.2 percent), Nevada (8.7 percent), Washington (7.7 percent), Oregon (4.2 percent), Montana (4.5 percent), and Utah (3.2 percent) produced 87.5 percent of the total 1981 production of 117 million pounds on 380,000 acres. The average yield in the leading states of California, Nevada, and Washington was approximately 600 pounds per acre, compared to a yield in Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota of 95, 70, and 55 pounds per acre, respectively. This dramatic yield difference is only one of the many reasons why production has come west where dry summers have made it possible to more securely grow and harvest alfalfa seed than had been possible previously.