Weather affects alfalfa crop

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

by DAVE PINK

A warm March and a frosty April will delay, and perhaps reduce, the alfalfa crop in some parts of Ontario.

“It really depends on where in the province you’re talking about,” says Joel Bagg, forage specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. He says there was significant frost damage in parts of Lambton and Oxford counties, and some kill off in eastern Ontario, particularly in the Ottawa Valley.

But it’s far too early to call the situation a disaster, says Bagg.

“Those frost-damaged plants can take a lot. These plants will grow, but they’ll have to start over,” he says. “There may be a delay in maturity.
 
“We’ll have to wait and see, but things could turn around quickly,”

Typically, he says, many farmers like to make the first cut of alfalfa in the last week of May. This year, that might have to wait, but he is encouraging farmers to assess the status of their alfalfa on a field by field basis.

“The weather in the next two or three weeks will determine a lot,” he says. “The key is having farmers getting out and taking a look at those fields.” BF