John Staiger wants good alfalfa. And he usually gets it. Staiger pays close attention to managing alfalfa stands on his farm near Billings, Mo. His philosophy is that if you take care of the forage, the forage, with good yield and high quality, will take care of you.

When it came time to send entries for the World Dairy Expo's "2001 Forage Super Bowl," John Staiger selected a bale from last summer's cutting. The flakes were leafy and green. The 25 pounds of aromatic alfalfa he sent didn't

place first, but he took fourth place in the hay category--from a field of entries that stretched the country and plenty of places that specialize in high-quality alfalfa production.

Staiger says that entering contests is a holdover from the competitive spirit he built through sports during his youth. But he also wants to make a point--excellent quality alfalfa can be grown in southwest Missouri.

Still, more important than satisfying a competitive spirit or proving that Missouri growers can produce good forage, Staiger said that detailed forage management helps the bottom line of his dairy operation.

From the ground up
Like any agronomic endeavor, success or failure begins with the condition of the soil. Staiger said that to establish a good stand, pay close attention to the pH and fertility levels. That calls for a soil test, then lime to adjust pH. Alfalfa performs best in a pH range between 6.5 and 7.5.

Being a legume, alfalfa takes care of most of its own nitrogen needs, but the "queen of forages" likes her potash. To counter potash removal, Staiger topdresses during the growing season, including a fall application of a 7-7-43 mix. He said that a sulfur/ magnesium amendment is important and adds it to the fall topdress.

Paul Tracy, staff agronomist for MFA, said that 1 ton of alfalfa hay removes 12 to 15 pounds of P2O5 and 40 to 60 pounds of K2O.

"To promote forage quality and extend stand life, these nutrients require replacement," he said. "To avoid luxury consumption, I generally recommend applying one half of the P and K fertilizer after the first hay cutting and the other half after the third hay cutting," said Tracy.

"Sulfur is commonly applied to alfalfa, but predicting when a yield response will occur is difficult. Because sulfur is a basic building block of protein, growers who are looking for high quality hay production often add it to phosphorous and potassium fertilizer," added Tracy.

Staiger includes boron in an annual topdress. Tracy said that alfalfa often needs boron, zinc and sulfur.

"Alfalfa, being a perennial taproot plant, is dependent on sugar transport for growth and winter survival. Adequate boron nutrition is usually ensured with 1 or 2 pounds per acre after the first cutting," said Tracy.

No-till's pros and cons
"We used to use a chisel plow to renovate alfalfa stands, but we don't like to pick rocks," said Staiger.

To skip that least favorite of southwest Missouri field tasks, Staiger uses a no-till rotation to beat alfalfa's allelopathic legacy.

When an alfalfa stand gets too old to carry sufficient yield, Staiger kills it with 2 years of no-till corn followed by a crop of no-till wheat.

The time the fields are in row crops gives him time to soil test and make any soil amendments.

"To get soil pH into the proper range and ensure adequate P, K and zinc nutrition, soil tests should be taken every 3 to 4 years, starting with the year before alfalfa establishment. That will give you the best odds of high quality, high yielding and long stand life," said Tracy.

After taking off the straw (which, quipped Staiger, is worth more in southwest Missouri than the grain), he plants the new crop of alfalfa into the wheat stubble in the fall.

"Having the wheat stubble gives you a good option," he said. "You still can go in the next spring and no-till if you need to, and the soil has been covered all winter to save it from erosion. But we typically get an extra cutting that first year if we plant in the fall."

Yet for all the flexibility and soil conservation no-till brings, it also offers inroads for new kinds of problems--such as persistence of winter annuals like chickweed and henbit.

Left alone, these invaders multiply, causing hay quality and yield to suffer. Staiger uses two approaches to control weeds. If the weather allows it, he applies Sencor in the early winter. Its residual activity controls winter annuals as they grow. Or, he applies Gramoxone in spring before the alfalfa begins regrowth.

Another side of no-till, as Staiger pointed out, is that, "No-till fields are a haven for insects.

"When we first got alfalfa weevil, we didn't know what we had. And it ate us up. We responded with a spray program," he said.

"We were Furdan users, but now we get by with Baythroid and Warrior T, usually in a one-spray program."

Staiger likes the pyrethroid insecticides because they are effective both by ingestion and contact.

Older stands are watched closely and usually sprayed first. Staiger said there is some weevil buildup. And traditionally, that sets up the rotation for cutting, too.

"But you've got to watch it," said Staiger. "Young stands are more vigorous and some of the new varieties, like the WL (WL 326) we're using have rapid growback. If your fertility is good and you get the right water, your cutting rotation can change."

Ready to cut, ready to put up
Paying attention to the crop and weather is a simple, common-sense step toward timely harvest. Staiger said the second is being flexible about how the hay is processed.

From the typical four cuttings he takes per year, he is equipped to go with small square bales, haylage or big round bales.

"I try to work with the weather," said Staiger, "and not mow more than I can put up in that 3-day period."

He watches conditions, trying to cut on the backside of weather fronts.

"But if you put it down and it rains, you have the option of wrapping it and making 2-day hay," he said.

Regardless of the final form the hay takes, Staiger said it is important to maintain hay equipment for hay quality reasons, but also because replacement costs are book-breaking.

"Having the rollers in the hay machine properly adjusted can make a big difference how it dries," he said. His 12-foot New Holland proved the point. Its rollers ran wide of proper adjustment and hay wouldn't dry properly--costing time and quality.

"You want them at about the width of a hacksaw blade," he said. "If they're too close, they grind the hay and you lose leaf content."

While Staiger likes to be flexible on how the hay is processed, he's very particular on how it is put away.

In the loft of his barn, there is an increasingly rare sight--a few thousand meticulously stacked small square bales.

He points out that these days it is difficult to find a good hay crew but Staiger's son, Jay, helps out in that department. Staiger figures his sons have helped keep proper hay stacking from becoming a lost art.

"We really don't do things that other people don't know about," said Staiger. "An extension agent once told me that with alfalfa there is something critical to be done every month."