Alfalfa has long been called the Queen of Forages and to this day remains a popular and profitable crop for forage growers. BrettYoung is committed to delivering a high-performance lineup of premium alfalfa varieties. With a commitment to yield, quality, disease resistance and special traits our extensive alfalfa portfolio has varieties that will satisfy any need and exceed expectations.
Future Products
Even though BrettYoung has an outstanding alfalfa lineup, looking to the future is always important. BrettYoung is constantly evaluating improved varieties that offer unique rooting habits, superior winterhardiness, better disease resistance, plus higher yield and quality. Through close relationships with industry leading plant breeders, BrettYoung is able to bring the latest in alfalfa technology to market ensuring a world-class product portfolio.
Winter Hardiness and Fall Dormancy in Alfalfa Variety Selection
Selecting the right alfalfa for your farm starts with understanding the relationship between fall dormancy and winter hardiness of the variety you are considering and how these factors relate to the environmental conditions and stand management practices. Alfalfa varieties vary in how quickly they go dormant in fall and also how well they survive winter. The ratings for fall dormancy are on a 1–9 scale with 1 being the most fall dormant and 9 being non-dormant varieties.
Going into dormancy early tends to reduce regrowth in fall; therefore, a very dormant variety will have a shorter growing season. Less dormant varieties tend to have better regrowth and thus better yields in late-season cuts. The more dormant varieties tend to be suited to 1–2 cut management, while less dormant varieties tend to be suited to multiple cut systems. Many new varieties in the dormancy range of 3–4 have significantly improved ratings for winter hardiness while still providing good fall growth. BrettYoung has carefully selected varieties that have both very good winter hardiness and higher fall dormancy ratings. This results in varieties that maximize productivity while not sacrificing winter survival.
Follow the links to learn more about key features and agronomic characteristics of our Alfalfa portfolio.