The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard¹s Dairyman.

The National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance (NAFA) released the 2017 edition of its popular “Alfalfa Variety Ratings - Winter Survival, Fall Dormancy & Pest Resistant Ratings for Alfalfa Varieties” - a useful tool for hay and dairy producers, extension specialists, agri-business personnel or anyone involved in the production of alfalfa.

NAFA’s Alfalfa Variety Ratings is a publication unlike any other in providing an extensive listing of alfalfa varieties and their corresponding ratings for fall dormancy, winter survival, bacterial wilt, aphanomyces, leafhopper, and a host of other pests. The publication also includes other ratings such as grazing tolerance and standability, to provide you the information needed to make educated decisions about the alfalfa varieties which will perform best in your environment. All varieties listed in the Alfalfa Variety Ratings publication can be purchased in the United States for the 2017 production year.

The 2017 edition of NAFA’s Alfalfa Variety Ratings features 173 alfalfa varieties from 21 marketers and has been verified with the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) and the National Alfalfa Variety Review Board (NAVRB).

If you’d prefer an electronic option, try NAFA’s searchable, online Alfalfa Variety Ratings database where you can make the process of narrowing alfalfa varietal choices even easier. Available at http://alfalfa.org/varietyratings.php, NAFA’s searchable database allows you to search for varieties using up to 23 different parameters including variety name, marketer, fall dormancy, winter survival, disease resistance, and insect resistance just to name a few. NAFA has made finding the perfect variety as effortless as possible.

NAFA’s Alfalfa Variety Ratings publication is available in the November issue of Hay & Forage Grower magazine or by visiting NAFA’s website at www.alfalfa.org (low resolution print copies available to download free of charge; hard copies are available for a nominal fee of 50¢).

NAFA’s Alfalfa Variety Ratings is a must-have for anyone involved in the production of alfalfa – be sure to get yours today!