Forages are a main source of livestock food, and unlike most other crops they have no direct human use. Alfalfa, clover, vetch - all legumes - and grass make up 70 percent of the diet of beef cattle and 90 percent of sheep intake. Perennial forages protect against erosion because the soil is not tilled each year.

In the 1880s alfalfa was an experimental crop that wouldn'wouldt survive Minnesota winters, though it was the forage of choice for European dairy herds. In 1895 the U"s Agricultural Experiment Station released its first three plant varieties: an oat, a wheat, and "Grimm" alfalfa. The name honors the Carver County farmer who brought 20 pounds of alfalfa seed from Germany in 1857. By collecting seed from surviving plants, he developed a winter-hardy alfalfa that researchers used for extensive management studies and breeding.

Alfalfa is now the mainstay of our dairy industry, which ranks fifth in the country and brings in $1.5 billion to farmers, and adds over $6 billion to processors of milk, cheese, butter, and ice cream. Almost 150 years ago Minnesota dairying led to the establishment of the first farm cooperatives in the country. Now, we are home to two of the world"s largest.

Deep rooting varieties of alfalfa were developed by UM-USDA scientists to extract nitrogen from the soil. The legume"s roots reach below the root systems of cereal crops to keep nitrogen from entering groundwater or tile lines. In the last decade, alternative legumes such as kura clover and native species such as cicer milkvetch have been introduced by the University as options to help diversify Minnesota agriculture.

U of M Forage Legumes