Alfalfa, long known as the queen of forages, is widely used in dairy operations but has been underused in beef cattle systems, especially in the southern U.S. While producers in the region recognize…

The University of Georgia Research Foundation received a $750,024.03 Project Grant from the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Alfalfa Seed and Alfalfa Forage Systems Program (CFDA 10.330), awarded September 15, 2025, with a completion date of September 14, 2028. This research and extension initiative quantifies the performance expectations and economic benefits of using alfalfa baleage as a primary feed source for beef cattle, particularly during backgrounding and heifer development phases in the Southern United States. The project addresses producer concerns regarding adoption barriers—including cost, management challenges, and access to cheaper alternatives—by generating practical performance data and decision-support tools that demonstrate how alfalfa integration can reduce input costs and improve profitability in beef cattle operations.

The award supports three primary deliverables: quantifying animal performance outcomes when growing beef animals utilize alfalfa as a primary feed source; evaluating the economic benefits of alfalfa integration in the region; and expanding educational outreach beyond field technicians to industry point-of-sale contacts to enhance system efficacy and knowledge adoption. Sub-awards to Auburn University (awarded March 24, 2026) and Clemson University (awarded January 6, 2026), both titled "Alfalfa IS for Beef Cattle," extend the research and extension delivery across regional expertise centers, enabling multi-institutional evaluation of alfalfa-based feeding systems and practical recommendations for Southern beef producers.

Alfalfa, long known as the queen of forages, is widely used in dairy operations but has been underused in beef cattle systems, especially in the southern U.S. While producers in the region recognize its value, many have not adopted alfalfa due to concerns about cost, management challenges, and access to cheaper feed alternatives. However, rising fertilizer and feed costs are pushing farmers to explore more sustainable, self-reliant options. Recent extension and research efforts have shown that alfalfa can be successfully grown in the south, and that feeding alfalfa can significantly improve animal performance. Many producers who initially grew alfalfa to sell IT are now feeding IT to their own herds and seeing better financial returns. This project will evaluate the potential of using alfalfa baleage as a primary feed source, especially during backgrounding and heifer development, to help producers reduce input costs, improve cattle performance, and create more profitable operations. Specifically, the research and extension approaches described herein 1) will quantify performance expectations of growing beef animals utilizing alfalfa as a primary feed source, 2) evaluate economic benefits using alfalfa in the region, and 3) expand education efforts of alfalfa integration in the south to enhance system efficacy and forage production and expand knowledge base beyond field technicians to industry point of sale contacts in the region. Ultimately, this work will provide practical recommendations and applicable decisions tools to help more southern beef producers confidently integrate alfalfa in their systems.