As a researcher, I spend all day, every day working alongside people in the forage industry to develop solutions for farmers to overcome the countless challenges facing their operations. From the team of scientists I work with at Forage Genetics International, to the university experts, agronomists, retailers and nutritionists we partner with, we’re all working constantly to test and validate what works in the field and what doesn’t.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to meet with Dave Ribeiro. He and his sons, Tyler and Cameron, are proud owner-operators of Rib-Arrow Dairy in Tulare, California. The farm was founded when Dave’s grandfather immigrated to the area in 1920. Today, the operation is comprised of 1,500 Holsteins, along with alfalfa, corn, wheat and almond crops.

Dave describes the fields they farm as “rough edges,” where they prioritize cost control over pushing yields. When it comes to feeding their dairy cattle, the Ribeiro family relies heavily on the alfalfa they grow. Their feed rations are primarily a mixture of alfalfa silage and dry hay for the dairy cattle, and they will supplement that with almond hulls for dry cows and youngstock.

“By growing alfalfa, we know exactly what we’re feeding,” says Ribeiro. “Healthwise, alfalfa is great for rumen health, encouraging cud chewing, providing an effective fiber source and delivering a great amino acid profile.”

Not only is alfalfa a great, cost-effective source of nutrition for livestock, but it’s also less filling than grasses, meaning farmers can feed more of it to maximize milk production.

While he can rattle off a list of why alfalfa plays a pivotal role in his dairy rations, Ribeiro is not keen on relying on someone else’s data to drive his decision-making. However, there is a key benefit he admits he can’t necessarily quantify on paper but can see from a production standpoint.

“There are benefits of alfalfa that we don’t really have an analysis to know why it does what it does, but I can tell you alfalfa works great for dairy cows,” says Ribeiro. “I’ve heard it called ‘magic juice’ or ‘moo juice’ that makes alfalfa work so great for dairy cows.”

In general, there are two overarching categories of alfalfa: conventional and traited. Conventional alfalfa uses traditional seed-breeding methods, such as natural selection. This means monitoring the success of various alfalfa varieties and choosing the top performers to breed future generations of seed. This offers alfalfa producers benefits such as salt tolerance or drought tolerance.

The second type of alfalfa, traited, means that the seed has been genetically enhanced to allow farmers to go beyond what’s possible from seed genetics alone to tackle issues such as weed control or delayed harvest. The trait farmers across the board are likely most familiar with is Roundup Ready, which indicates that a plant can withstand a glyphosate herbicide application.

When it comes to the type of alfalfa Ribeiro grows, he has seen tremendous benefits from planting HarvXtra-traited varieties. From cutting flexibility to maintaining healthy stands and ultimately delivering more consistent forage quality, virtually every cutting is utilized in a dairy cow ration.

“I think with buying any seed, don't get hung up on costs of putting it in. Weigh the benefit of what you're going to get out of it and the longevity of it,” says Ribeiro.

Ribeiro has experienced this benefit firsthand, noting he can go longer between cuttings if he needs to. Sometimes they are delayed by weather, but the cows don’t notice. The forage quality stays high, and they can keep milk production consistent.

“It’s pretty hard to screw up,” says Ribeiro. “Even if we have to cut later than our normal schedule, the only thing we’re seeing is the protein might dip a little bit.”

While agronomic indicators of success are important, the ultimate measure of success comes from the cows.

“The rubber meets the road with the cow. A test can say whatever, but the cow is the judge and jury,” says Ribeiro. “No matter what cutting we’re using, we really don’t see any difference in refusals.”

In addition to the benefits of reduced lignin, HarvXtra comes stacked with the Roundup Ready trait as well, so growers can take advantage of superior weed control as they look for ways to implement cost-effective agronomic strategies in their fields.

While there is no lack of sun or heat in the San Joaquin Valley, water can be a limiting factor. On their 70 acres of alfalfa, the Ribeiros use drip tape irrigation. The results? Getting the same production while using half the water of flood irrigation or increasing tonnage by adding more water.

“The drip irrigation has been a heck of a cost savings for us. We don’t get as much weed pressure as flooding, but even if we did, the great thing is our alfalfa is also Roundup Ready,” says Ribeiro. “I think that’s one of the contributing reasons why the longevity of these fields can be much longer.”

Despite the fact that we haven’t quite put our finger on quantifying the effect of alfalfa’s “moo juice” on dairy cattle, there is no denying that growing and feeding alfalfa has benefitted the operation’s success.

Taking advantage of traited alfalfa to maintain high-quality feed, regardless of the cutting window, alongside enhanced weed control, has provided their operation with a continuous feed source they have come to rely on.