Record rainfall and flooding this growing season has resulted in a disastrous year for alfalfa production in South Dakota. Amy Freeburg with Freeburg Hay in Gayville says 2019 was the worst year they’ve ever experienced in their alfalfa business. They lost many of their meadows this spring due to excessive water and even some over the winter due to winterkill and this is the second year that’s happened.
She says they replanted patches in some alfalfa fields that did survive. However, they couldn’t replant alfalfa in the stands they seeded in 2018 because many were in the first year of production and develop toxicity. So, they had to plant row crops on those acres.
Freeburg says they’ve continued to serve their long-standing clients by buying hay from other areas of the country, especially west, but that is not preferred.
She says they don’t fall seed, but instead will be replanting next spring. Freeburg says they hope they get the row crops harvested in time to do fall tillage because that’s a key part of preparing the seedbeds for spring seeding.
