One good whiff is all it takes to send Paloma into a giddy gallop for the barn, where her human pals are loading bunks with luscious, leafy alfalfa hay.
The nutrition-rich forage is like cake to the 14-year-old Palomino mare and her gelded partner, Raven, 10.
“It has a sweet taste, like clover,” said Duane Scoville of Solomon, Kansas, pictured above. “They like that as much as grain, or better. We feed it as more of a treat, or a supplement.”
The longtime cowboy spent a career on horseback, herding, driving and rounding up cattle and prepping horses for trail rides in the Rocky Mountains.
Animals like the crop
Many animals in these parts are partial to the perennial crop. Alfalfa plays a role in feed rations for livestock, such as swine and cow-calf operations, and the dairy industry is a major customer.
Holsteins and other breeds of cows in the United States produce milk or dairy products for much of the nation and world. Domestic dairies accounted for nearly 227 billion pounds of milk last year.
Quality alfalfa hay is important, especially for horses and dairy cattle. “Good average protein on horse quality alfalfa is 17 to 19%,” according to hay.net.
Achieving that level or higher requires some know-how, said Mark Wilson of Warren Wilson Hay Inc., headquartered near Abilene. He manages the family farm’s alfalfa production in partnership with his brother, Greg Wilson.
Protein is packed in the alfalfa leaves, which need enough moisture to stay attached to plant stems when it’s baled.
Multi-step process
Achieving that end result is a multi-step process, starting with swathing the alfalfa into a windrow and raking it once or twice to dry out the plant matter.
Then comes the critical baling step, said John Kalmer of Highland, Illinois, the Wilsons’ hay broker for the past 30 years. He markets alfalfa within a 60- to 80-mile radius of his home.
The alfalfa must be dry to prevent it from souring in the bale, but “dew on the windrow” is a must for putting up good hay, he said.
It also takes working some late nights and a lot of dedication. “There’s guys who sleep in their pickup truck in the field,” Kalmer said. “They check (the windrows) every hour. Maybe that dew doesn’t come until 2 in the morning. Some guys are really conscientious about baling the perfect hay. The good stuff, like protein, is in the leaves.”
Mark Wilson can relate.
“I did it plenty in my day,” he said, but predicting the right conditions for baling eventually comes with experience, he said.
Quality critical
Kalmer can attest to the Wilsons’ alfalfa hay quality.
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“They’ve always baled, and I’ve always gotten good hay from them,” he said.
Laboratory testing is used to determine the relative feed value of hay. Technology suggests a score of 190 is good, Kalmer said, and some folks say it’s 140.
But old-school traditions still rule.
“We let the cows decide if it’s good hay or not,” he said. “You can send one sample off to three different labs and get three different numbers. Dairy farmers say if it looks good and they eat it, it’s good hay, and if they make milk with it, it’s good hay. I brought hay to a dairy once, and it tested 137. They said ‘No, keep bringing it. They’re eating it and milking off of it. It’s good hay.’ ”
Appearance is also important.“Most people will agree if it’s green, it has to be good,” Kalmer said.
How it feels is another key indicator.
“If it’s soft and palatable, if you can squeeze in your hands and it’s not woody,” Kalmer said the hay is good. “The leaves have to hang on.”
Alfalfa is not a huge crop in Kansas—relative to wheat and grain sorghum—but the legume’s production in the state often ranks in the top 10 nationwide. Western states are primarily the U.S. alfalfa kings, with Idaho, Nebraska, California and Colorado often among the leaders.
Ideal conditions
The Wilsons count on alfalfa for one-fourth of their farm production, primarily in a pocket of north-central Kansas where conditions for alfalfa can be ideal.
The family has raised the crop for more than a century. The brothers named their alfalfa hay division Warren Wilson Hay, Inc., after their late father.
They farm in Dickinson, Ottawa and Saline counties in Kansas and near Akron, Colorado.
Success in the hay game is hitched to the right conditions. It takes enough rain to produce the volume that is either swathed into windrows or chopped and sold to the Bert & Wetta dehydrating plant in Abilene. The plant produces meal and pellets for animal feed. Fewer than one-fourth of the Wilsons’ hay acres are chopped for the plant.
The rest of their alfalfa ends up as huge rectangular bales that are trucked to east Texas for cattle feed or to southern Illinois.
“There are still quite a few dairies in that area,” Mark Wilson said.
Annual alfalfa hay yield at the Wilson farm has ranged from 5 1/2 tons an acre down to three-fourths of a ton per acre, over four to five cuttings in a growing season.
“Most years a ton and a half is what we get on the up ground, but we’ll make up for it on the river bottom ground,” Mark Wilson said.
The amount of moisture tends to dictate the level of success.
Alfalfa’s price per ton has been exceptional over the past few years, rising to $300 a ton, he said, but the market has dropped now to $120 to $150.
“If it doesn’t rain, that’s gonna change,” Greg Wilson said.
Nearby dehydration plant
Having a nearby dehydration plant near Abilene is conducive to raising alfalfa.
“A big reason we raise hay is Bert & Wetta,” Greg Wilson said.
Mark Wilson’s son-in-law, Chad McAfee, is the plant manager.
While livestock love the lush characteristics of alfalfa, feeding too much of it can cause cattle to bloat, which can be deadly, according to benallavetclinic.com. A large needle or a stomach tube can release gas buildup, if needed. Bloat Guard is the only Food and Drug Administration-approved medicant for prevention of frothy bloat in cattle, according to stockadebrands.com.
Today, Scoville keeps horses for pets. On days when he saddles up, alfalfa isn’t fed until after the ride.
“It makes them too spirited, too ramped up,” he said. “Some people feed horses alfalfa all the time, but they shouldn’t. It gives them too much energy, and it can be hard on their joints; makes them develop arthritis. It’s just too rich.”
Tim Unruh can be reached at [email protected].
Alfalfa facts
• An average-size dairy cow consumes 20 to 30 pounds of alfalfa hay each day. Source: davidwoodshay.com
• Alfalfa’s economic value in the U.S. is $9 billion annually, making it the third most valuable crop, behind corn and soybeans. Source: alfalfa.org
• Cattle ranches use large round bales, typically 4 to 6 feet in diameter and weighing from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds. Large rectangular bales are also used in the cattle business weighing roughly 1,500 pounds each. Five large hay bales will feed approximately 30 cows per week. Source: hayusa.net
Alfalfa plant boosts hay biz in Dickinson County
The Bert & Wetta alfalfa dehydration plant on the east side of Abilene employs 11 people full-time and up to 22 during the hay season from May through August, operating around the clock.
The crew chops alfalfa hay off of 3,950 acres within 12 miles of the plant, all within Dickinson County, said Chad McAfee, plant manager.
The hay chop is turned into hay pellets that are sold to pet food makers in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Georgia.
Bert & Wetta also buys alfalfa hay from farmers in Dickinson, Geary and Saline counties.
The hay mill opened in Abilene in 1968.
“It’s played a vital role in the hay business,” McAfee said.
The alfalfa is chopped on a 26 to 28-day cycle, through four to five cuttings a season.
FACTOID:
As a side gig, Duane Scoville has appeared as a background actor—extra—for western films, TV shows and TV commercials. He grew up in Smolan, Kansas. Duane and Stephanie Scoville co-own and operate Idlewild Ranch and Resort west of Colorado Springs.
