# Alfalfa/timothy seed cost?



## Stitch (Jul 21, 2016)

First, I apologize for all of my stupid questions, im going from doing a few acres as a hobby to doing close to 200 acres for a living, so now seed cost matters! What does everyone pay on average per pound for timothy and alfalfa seed (gmo free)?


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Mean, median, or mode?

From what I gather is that location and many other factors make this site a tough if not impossible question.

What are u feeding? Cutting schedule? Fertility? Soil type? Irrigation? Type of hay package? Is siage an option?

I'm sure I missed many other important factors to consider.


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## Stitch (Jul 21, 2016)

No grazing, no irrigation, ph is 6.5 on average, no grass mixture. I was basically wondering what guys are paying per pound for seed, i know how much seed per acre i need.


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## Farmerbrown2 (Sep 25, 2018)

I haven't bought seed in two years so I can't really answer your question but!

It's not the price per pound but the quality of the seed ,seeds per pound ,coated seed or not amount of trash and percent germination. Not telling you what to do some times cheaper seed will work also you need to think about stand longevity believe me there is a lot of different Timothy out there.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Timothy and alfalfa mix, but no grass mixture? Something doesn't add up....

If you're going from a few acres to 200, I don't think seed cost is going to be your biggest problem. Lots of odd questions around here lately....


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

I have a couple hundred acres of Alfalfa/timothy. 1st cut makes great cow feed, 2nd cut is nearly straight alfalfa. This mix fluffs up well in the swath and drys out after a shower quickly. Helps spread the risk when conditions for cutting are uncertain. Going to seed another 1/4 down next year to the same mix.

Timothy is always cheap, and i heard common alfalfa ( non rr) is down about 40-50 cents a pound from last spring.


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## Stitch (Jul 21, 2016)

This is why people dont ask questions. What doesnt add up stack em up?


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Stitch said:


> This is why people dont ask questions. What doesnt add up stack em up?


What your language pardner, this here's a family friendly website. What doesn't make sense is you said alfalfa/Timothy mix, but then said no grass?

. I pay $169/bag for seed from a local grower, conventional public variety.

Thank you for editing out the vulgarity......


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## Stitch (Jul 21, 2016)

No mix at all. Separate fields, some straight alfalfa, some timothy. We may add orchard grass with the timothy, or we may not. The way you said it doesnt "add up" made it sound like you thought i was lying about something.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

I paid around $1,700 for 250 pounds of Pioneer alfalfa seed last year, I don't remember the cost of the 100# of brome grass seed that I broadcasted (with fertilizer) before double planting (no-til).

The seed is one place that I do not scrimp on. My thought process is if I spend the time and money to get everything else right, why scrimp on seed for a crop that I will be harvesting for more than one year? Or as my dad would say "don't be penny wise and pound foolish".

To stacks point, the seed I bought is a hybrid, with certain traits that I desired for MY area, your desires could be completely different. As an example; there is now a 'branching' alfalfa available (I learned on HT), that I don't think would work in 90% of my soils. Whereas that could be just as important to you as winter hardness is to me.

Larry

PS with the new alfalfa check off, thanks to what I learn here on HT, I probably will not be purchasing anymore Pioneer alfalfa seed.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Stitch said:


> First, I apologize for all of my stupid questions, im going from doing a few acres as a hobby to doing close to 200 acres for a living, so now seed cost matters! What does everyone pay on average per pound for timothy and alfalfa seed (gmo free)?


Cheap and good don't always work esp in forage production where you may keep a stand 4-8 yrs.New improved varieties are way better then the older varieties in yield and disease tolerance.

I have timothy from $2.00 -2.40 lb.Seeded alone 8-10 lbs acre

Alfalfa from $3.35 - 7.20 lb 20 lbs acre + -.I do sell a fair amount of the cheaper stuff to guys that just don't want to spend the money or just keeping it a couple yrs.

http://www.alforexseeds.com/products/products/


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

I seed cheap alfalfa, since I only keep a stand 4 1/2 years. I'd like to try some RR alfalfa, but just not sure it's worth the price.


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## Farmineer95 (Aug 11, 2014)

$5/# this past spring. Think it was Pioneer or Dekalb, not RR. Mixed in a bit of Timothy think that was $7/#. 
Was a tap root variety.


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

So far we have stopped RR alfalfa up here. Our county and the one north of us may just ban it regardless if it gets provincial approval.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

carcajou said:


> So far we have stopped RR alfalfa up here. Our country and the one north of us may just ban it regardless if it gets provincial approval.


What is the reason for the ban Ray?

Regards, Mike


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I'd like to know as well.....I can understand a few reasons for sure.

Fire away with those questions Stitch......ain't nothing stupid in this business. Sometimes we just can't read well enuf.....


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Alberta is a major alfalfa seed producer, and acres are increasing. Cross contamination is the largest concern. Organic alfalfa seed acres are increasing also. Alberta is ranching country and with over 4.5 million acres in forages it's hard to find much separation between alfalfa fields. Most of what we don't use here goes down to the US for you guys to grow. Also if GMO alfalfa gets into our hay production we will lose overseas markets too. We don't need it, and it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle after.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

carcajou said:


> Alberta is a major alfalfa seed producer, and acres are increasing. Cross contamination is the largest concern. Organic alfalfa seed acres are increasing also. Alberta is ranching country and with over 4.5 million acres in forages it's hard to find much separation between alfalfa fields. Most of what we don't use here goes down to the US for you guys to grow. Also if GMO alfalfa gets into our hay production we will lose overseas markets too. We don't need it, and it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle after.


Gotcha, I figured cross contamination would be the issue.....a couple of things I don't understand. Why wouldn't it be a winnable lawsuit to file against the likes of Monsanto for the CC issue.....it seems turnabout is FairPlay?
What is it about RR alfalfa (and others) that other countries dislike so much?


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Oh i believe Monsanto will eventually pay the piper for their myopic greed. But like the large tobacco companies they will spend billions to survive. They and other GMO seed companies have the BTO farmers by the %#&**s. They can't afford to not grow the highest yielding, disease and pest resistant varieties because they are trapped in an endless cycle of trying to pay the ridiculous rents, land pmts, equipment payments, inputs and soil amendments.

As for a tangent on your second question.

I had the good fortune of growing up on a mixed farm. We raised livestock, forages, and mainly feed grains with a little wheat most years. 1st) We grew what the ground could best produce for us at that time, not what netted the best per acre. That varied from field to field, spring moisture and weather conditions etc. 2nd) We sold what we had produced not what we contracted a year in advance and hoped to grow. 3rd) We did our best to sell what was worth it, and if prices were low on a commodity we had, we held it back from the market if possible. Sometimes for years. 4) WE SAVED OUR OWN SEEDS TO PLANT IN FUTURE YEARS. If a new variety came out that we wanted to try sure we bought some, but we had a backup bin or two of most grains just in case.

Take away a farmers seed and you have effectively castrated him. Created a indentured farmer. Our soil, closely followed by our seeds are our legacy to pass on, not to be infringed on by corporations.

Whether we like to admit it or not most crops have been GMO for decades to some degree, corn hybrids for example. Monsanto and others have just taken it to the next level and i don't want to be dependent on them to plant my fields.. The thought of standing in a line some spring and asking for seed just does not appeal to me. Again just my take on this issue.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Well, here we have been slaves to farming inputs long before Monsanto came along.....I blame traders more than seed companies for the cause and effect relationships in farming input costs. One can still buy conventional seed varieties in ag if you want to(and keep back seed)....they still work great in some situations....and other situations not so great.

It would be almost impossible for me to grow alfalfa without the RR varieties here.....and I sure as heck could not grow "clean" alfalfa without RR. I feel no different about RR alfalfa than I do RR beans or corn. It is just part of doing business in ag.

Regards, Mike


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