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Alfalfa researchers were the beneficiaries of the National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance’s (NAFA) second round of research funding through the U.S. Alfalfa Farmer Research Initiative (USAFRI), a farmer-funded investment in alfalfa-related research better known as the Alfalfa Checkoff.

“We are extremely pleased with the response to our second request for proposals and the continued results of our checkoff funding,” said Beth Nelson, NAFA President. “Our Review Committee focused checkoff funding on those projects it believed to have the greatest potential for positively impacting alfalfa farmers’ future.”
NAFA’s USAFRI request for proposals generated 15 research projects from a broad geographic area, stretching from Georgia to Washington to Arizona, demonstrating the continued demand among researchers for alfalfa-related research funding. Proposals addressed a wide range of topics intended to drive innovation and profitability in the alfalfa industry - from integrated pest management and pollinator protection to improving alfalfa silage fermentation. Research projects in Arkansas, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Mexico were funded. They include:

• Use of Alfalfa in Crop Rotations to Control Herbicide-Resistant Pigweed
  - John Jennings, University of Arkansas
• Do FAE-Producing Microbial Inoculants Improve Fermentation and Improve Digestibility of Stored Alfalfa Forage?
  - Dennis Hancock, University of Georgia
• Developing a Soil Bioassay for Alfalfa Autotoxicity
  - Kim Cassida, Michigan State University
• There’s an App for That! Validating Real-Time Assessment of Alfalfa Nutritive Value
  - Krishona Martinson, Craig Sheaffer, University of Minnesota
• Evaluation of the Efficacy of Herbicide Tank-Mixes and Sequential Applications for the Control of Plantain (Plantago ssp.) in Alfalfa
  - Leslie Beck, New Mexico State University

Project objectives can be viewed on the NAFA website (alfalfa.org).