Alfalfa (Lucerne)
Lucerne is an extremely valuable plant to the fodder industry. It provides highly nutritious stock feed and with the right growth conditions and careful management can be a highly productive and lucrative crop. Lucerne is grown for its perennial habit, adaptability and ability to survive in dry conditions, as well as its responsiveness to rainfall and irrigation and its role in soil improvement. Lucerne seed production can also be a valuable, sideline enterprise. Lucerne’s versatility and resilience allows it to play an important role in the farming systems. Lucerne is mainly grown in the temperate and subtropical regions with average annual rainfall greater than 300 mm. With adequate water and warm temperatures lucerne forage production can be substantial, yielding up to 25 tonnes of hay per hectare.
GOOD REASONS FOR ALFALFA CULTIVATION
Agronomic qualities
1. Alfalfa fixes nitrogen
Alfalfa directly assimilates atmospheric nitrogen. The degradation of its root system at the time of its reversal makes it possible to restore this nitrogen over several years. This is a fundamental factor in large organic farming where the contributions of synthetic nitrogen are prohibited and where the organic contributions remain expensive.
2. Alfalfa promotes soil microbial life
With its deep and powerful root system, alfalfa favors the porosity of the soil and thus the development of the microbial life involved, especially in the processes of degradation of organic matter.
3. Alfalfa smothers weeds
Alfalfa is a dense crop that remains in place for an average of three years in large organic crops. The above-ground biomass of the crop coupled with its exploitation favors the depletion of a large proportion of weeds that are difficult to control in the rest of the rotation. This is especially true for perennials (thistles and rumex).
4. Alfalfa structures the soil
Thanks to its root system and its durability, at least three years, alfalfa limits the risk of erosion by the cover that it forms.
in winter.
5. Alfalfa is an excellent rotating head
The practice of long-term rotation (7 to 8 years) is one of the bases of organic farming. Indeed, long and diversified rotations can limit health risks, reduce the use of nitrogen inputs and facilitate the control of weeds.
By providing part of the nitrogen supply of crops and promoting weed control, alfalfa is a good way to extend the duration of rotation. Alternating legumes and demanding nitrogen crops is essential for managing nitrogen supply. For this, legumes, which fix nitrogen from the air, can represent 40% to 50% of the rotation, proportion in which alfalfa represents half.
6. Economic advantages
Alfalfa is a crop that allows for a secure transition to organic farming
The agronomic qualities of alfalfa and the low yield gap between conventional and organic alfalfa make it an ideal crop for the delicate period of conversion to organic farming. This is especially true when there is a better valuation of alfalfa in the second year of conversion.
Alfalfa is a good transition to organic farming on the basis of a real agronomic and sustainable economic project.
7. Alfalfa, a good previous effect
The graph below shows that the cost of producing a previous wheat alfalfa is often lower than that of other wheat.
This is explained by higher average nitrogen residues as well as a lower number of mechanical weeding.
On the other hand, the yield of alfalfa wheat is generally higher than with another previous one. For all these reasons, alfalfa has a considerable economic benefit in rotation.
8. Alfalfa: a unique source of vegetable protein
In a temperate climate zone, only dehydration today makes it possible to keep alfalfa at its best and thus to store and enhance it. Alfalfa pellets and pellets from these plants are a unique source of vegetable protein for farms, and a source of GMO-free vegetable protein.
9. Organic alfalfa meets growing demand
The added value granted to organic alfalfa by the dehydration plants, due to the increasing demand from buyers, helps to make organic alfalfa cultivation attractive.
10. Alfalfa is an economically interesting crop
The better value of organic alfalfa compared to conventional alfalfa is all the more economically attractive as the difference in yield between these two technical routes remains low.
Lucerne is an extremely valuable plant to the fodder industry. It provides highly nutritious stock feed and with the right growth conditions and careful management can be a highly productive and lucrative crop. Lucerne is grown for its perennial habit, adaptability and ability to survive in dry conditions, as well as its responsiveness to rainfall and irrigation and its role in soil improvement. Lucerne seed production can also be a valuable, sideline enterprise. Lucerne’s versatility and resilience allows it to play an important role in the farming systems. Lucerne is mainly grown in the temperate and subtropical regions with average annual rainfall greater than 300 mm. With adequate water and warm temperatures lucerne forage production can be substantial, yielding up to 25 tonnes of hay per hectare.
GOOD REASONS FOR ALFALFA CULTIVATION
Agronomic qualities
1. Alfalfa fixes nitrogen
Alfalfa directly assimilates atmospheric nitrogen. The degradation of its root system at the time of its reversal makes it possible to restore this nitrogen over several years. This is a fundamental factor in large organic farming where the contributions of synthetic nitrogen are prohibited and where the organic contributions remain expensive.
2. Alfalfa promotes soil microbial life
With its deep and powerful root system, alfalfa favors the porosity of the soil and thus the development of the microbial life involved, especially in the processes of degradation of organic matter.
3. Alfalfa smothers weeds
Alfalfa is a dense crop that remains in place for an average of three years in large organic crops. The above-ground biomass of the crop coupled with its exploitation favors the depletion of a large proportion of weeds that are difficult to control in the rest of the rotation. This is especially true for perennials (thistles and rumex).
4. Alfalfa structures the soil
Thanks to its root system and its durability, at least three years, alfalfa limits the risk of erosion by the cover that it forms.
in winter.
5. Alfalfa is an excellent rotating head
The practice of long-term rotation (7 to 8 years) is one of the bases of organic farming. Indeed, long and diversified rotations can limit health risks, reduce the use of nitrogen inputs and facilitate the control of weeds.
By providing part of the nitrogen supply of crops and promoting weed control, alfalfa is a good way to extend the duration of rotation. Alternating legumes and demanding nitrogen crops is essential for managing nitrogen supply. For this, legumes, which fix nitrogen from the air, can represent 40% to 50% of the rotation, proportion in which alfalfa represents half.
6. Economic advantages
Alfalfa is a crop that allows for a secure transition to organic farming
The agronomic qualities of alfalfa and the low yield gap between conventional and organic alfalfa make it an ideal crop for the delicate period of conversion to organic farming. This is especially true when there is a better valuation of alfalfa in the second year of conversion.
Alfalfa is a good transition to organic farming on the basis of a real agronomic and sustainable economic project.
7. Alfalfa, a good previous effect
The graph below shows that the cost of producing a previous wheat alfalfa is often lower than that of other wheat.
This is explained by higher average nitrogen residues as well as a lower number of mechanical weeding.
On the other hand, the yield of alfalfa wheat is generally higher than with another previous one. For all these reasons, alfalfa has a considerable economic benefit in rotation.
8. Alfalfa: a unique source of vegetable protein
In a temperate climate zone, only dehydration today makes it possible to keep alfalfa at its best and thus to store and enhance it. Alfalfa pellets and pellets from these plants are a unique source of vegetable protein for farms, and a source of GMO-free vegetable protein.
9. Organic alfalfa meets growing demand
The added value granted to organic alfalfa by the dehydration plants, due to the increasing demand from buyers, helps to make organic alfalfa cultivation attractive.
10. Alfalfa is an economically interesting crop
The better value of organic alfalfa compared to conventional alfalfa is all the more economically attractive as the difference in yield between these two technical routes remains low.