I was asked to come to a field in early April many years ago by a young producer. The producer and the seedsman that sold the alfalfa to the producer met me at the field. The cause of concern was that there was an expectation of green alfalfa growing after breaking winter dormancy in Mid-March. Instead, what was seen at my height of 5’ 10” was light brown soil; not a trace of green from anything was seen. I dropped to my knees and got my eyes within 12 inches of the soil surface. What I saw was what had been an outstanding stand of alfalfa seedlings, at least 24 dead alfalfa seedlings per square foot, no more than 1-inch in height that were the same color of the soil. I asked the producer when he seeded the field. He replied, “October 7”. The “Best Management Practice” would have been[Read More…]