b'A Smaller Industry, a Bigger Challenge in the U.S. with confidence, Miller says. Thats When Miller entered the business, there wereyour insurance policyand its also a yield kick.plenty of places to work on alfalfa. Miller recalls moving growers in Idaho from dor- Advances in fiber In the 1970s to early 2000s, we had seven ormancy threes and fours to a specially developeddigestibility and low eight large proprietary companies breeding alfalfafive that could handle the winters. We topped alllignin content give varieties, he says. On top of that, there werethe yield trials, he says. growers more flexibility about 10 university programs developing germ- to harvest quality hay plasm or even releasing varieties. Breeding for Quality, Not Just Quantityeven when weather That landscape has changed. In the early days, much of alfalfa breeding focuseddelays cutting.Now, what used to be seven to 10 companieson removing yield-robbing factors like disease and breeding alfalfa varieties is down to maybe twoinsect pressure. or three, Miller says. And the remaining compa- We selected for anything that detracted from nies have significantly downsized their breedingyield, Miller says. Now were selecting more programsespecially in semi- and non-dormantdirectly for yield itselfand for quality traits. High leaf-to-stem ratios, classes. Among the most important advances: like in this fresh-cut For seed companies still in the game, Miller seesFiber digestibility: making more of the plantalfalfa, boost crude an opportunity: with fewer players, theres room tousable for livestock nutrition. protein and improve stand out with unique, high-performance genet-Leaf-to-stem ratio: more leaves mean moreforage quality for ics. But it means understanding where the biggestcrude protein. livestock.gains can be made. Low lignin content: improving digestibility without sacrificing stand life.Fall Dormancy and the Push for Yield These are significant gains, Miller says, but One of alfalfa breedings most powerful tools is theRelative Feed Value (RFV) doesnt measure them.fall dormancy scalea 1-to-10 rating that helpsInstead, he advises using Relative ForageSalinity and drought determine whether a variety can survive a givenQuality (RFQ), which picks up improvements instress create harsh climate. Dormancy one is bred for the cold win- digestibility and protein.conditions for alfalfa ters of Canada. Dormancy 10 thrives in southernIf youre marketing on quality, you need theestablishment, pushing California or Mexico. right measuring stick, he says. breeders to develop Historically, growers in colder regions stayedHe says theres also a management benefit.more salt-tolerant with lower dormancy ratings for winter survival,With better fiber digestibility and more protein,varieties.but Miller says yield potential increases as youyou start with higher quality, so you have a wider move up the dormancy scale. harvest window, Miller says. If weather delays you A fall dormancy five generally out-yields aa few days, you can still hit dairy qualitysome-four, and a four out-yields a three, he says. Thatsthing older varieties couldnt do.because of how they respond to day length; theyll grow a little longer into the fall and wake up earlierDisease Resistance: The Arms Racein the spring. No matter how advanced the variety, diseases The problem? Push a higher dormancy varietyadapt.too far north, and it might not make it through theOnce we had Phytophthora controlled, winter. Aphanomyces showed up, Miller says. First race Thats where a second tool, the winter survivalone, then race two, now theyre even talking about rating, comes in. Scored from one (excellent sur- race three.vival) to six (poor survival), it lets breeders identifyHe explains that anthracnose is another exam-which higher dormancy lines can handle colderple, as there are now varieties with resistance to winters. race five. And if growers have had stand problems, If youve got a fall dormancy five with a winterhe says that rating in the national variety list mat-survival rating of two, you can go almost anywhereters.OCTOBER 2025SEEDWORLD.COM /7'