Are you planning to grow alfalfa in your field? This is a great starting point for new farmers because growing alfalfa or hay doesn’t have much risk or capital involved, providing a consistent cash flow all year long without much hassle.
Harvesting alfalfa would usually happen right before it flowers. But the money question is, how much alfalfa can you expect? More specifically, how many bales of alfalfa per acre?
Read on to find out!
How Many Bales of Alfalfa Per Acre?
Various factors affect how many bales of alfalfa you can get per acre. You’ll need to consider the growing zone you’re in, the rainfall your location receives, the climate, soil fertility, and the quality of care the alfalfa plants get. It even depends on the shape of bales you have, whether you have rectangular or round bales!
But on average, farmers can get up to 500 bales of alfalfa per acre. But this number can go down, again depending on the factors above.
Let’s delve into more detail.
If you’re wondering, ‘how many round bales of alfalfa per acre?’ in general, farmers can get about 5 large, rounded bales per acre. It might seem small, but take note that these bales of hay weigh 1,000 pounds each. Other farmers can get about 100 small, round bales of hay per acre.
For those asking, ‘how man square bales of alfalfa per acre?’ 5 large, rounded bales equate to around 80-100 square bales, so that’s how much you can get.
In lower-productivity fields, some farms can’t produce as much. On average, they may only be able to get as much as 2 large, rounded bales, equivalent to 33 square bales, more or less.
If you’re from Western Oregon, farmers may get less than 100 bales per acre if they grow in low-productivity fields. But they can get as much as 200 if they succeed in a high-quality field.
It’s also important to know how much alfalfa you can get per acre when measured by weight.
The average total alfalfa yield per acre can be about 8-14 tons every year when distributed in 5-6 cuts. The top yields can go as far as getting 16 tons per acre every year, though this is intensive farming!
Wrapping It Up
It’s hard to estimate precisely how many bales of alfalfa one can get in a particular area. It all depends on individual factors, though you can safely expect that you can get a high yield of at least 2-5 large bales yearly with the proper environment. Farmers can only get a more accurate estimate is to wait and see what harvesting season is like!
Hopefully, you learned a bit more about what to expect when growing alfalfa for farming and selling. Make sure you consider the growing conditions of your location and field to ensure you get as much alfalfa yield as possible. Good luck!