All my life I had heard about the auto toxic effect of alfalfa. Every summer we have a summer drought, like now. The alfalfa grows to 8" maybe a foot, stops and goes to seed. In the good old days we would combine the seed. This made more money than a reasonably good hay crop. Now seed quality is changing so fast plus most seed is protected, it does not pay to combine brown bag seed.

Maybe 20 years ago, in a thining stand, I noticed a solid cover of alfalfa seedlings around the middle of October. Just for the fun of it I treated that field like a seedling stand and wonders of wonders I had a strong solid stand the next spring. This does not always work but most years it does, here.

Because, here, hay crops pay better than row crops I only plant hay crops. Again because of our summer drought, plus the need for surface drainage improvement, plus to smooth the ground, plus store some deep moisture, for years and years I have fallowed a field from July of one year to September the next. During this time I also put down all the fertilizer I think the next stand will need, for the life of that stand.

Emphases is on the here.

I have heard from few growers of irrigated alfalfa who tell me they plant back into alfalfa the same year a stand is terminated. I have also had Eastern Researchers insist there is an auto toxicity problem with alfalfa. I can not say as here is the only place I have done any farming. That is half way between Waco & Austin TX & in the Little River river bottom.