🎧 Episode 111 of the Hay Kings Podcast
📲 Listen anywhere you get your podcasts
Jon Paul Driver sits down with Dr. Carson Roberts, assistant research professor and state Extension specialist in forage agronomy at the University of Missouri, to examine whether companion crops help—or hurt—a new alfalfa stand.
Dr. Roberts draws on research comparing solo-seeded alfalfa, oat companion crops, herbicide programs and different irrigation levels.
They cover:
🌱 What an acceptable new alfalfa stand looks like—and why the first year affects the life of the stand
💧 How rainfall distribution and soil moisture shape establishment decisions
🚜 Fall field preparation, stale seedbeds, no-till planting and conserving spring moisture
📏 Why seeding depth, seed-to-soil contact and available moisture matter more than the tillage system
🌾 How oat companion crops can increase first-year tonnage while reducing alfalfa density and forage quality
☀️ Why companion crops are especially risky under dryland conditions
💰 Comparing yield, quality and gross returns on a dollars-per-acre basis
📈 Why companion crops performed differently during wet, low-price and dry, high-price hay markets
Carson’s research shows that companion crops are not automatically good or bad. Under dryland conditions, competition for limited water can jeopardize the alfalfa stand. With adequate irrigation, the additional tonnage may pay—but only after accounting for forage quality, market prices and the long-term value of the stand.
Hosted by Jon Paul Driver
Sponsored by Krone – Dedicated to Hay and Forage Producers
