It also means listening to buyers and understanding their wants and needs. Effective marketing of alfalfa begins before production and involves selecting target markets, planning production practices to produce alfalfa for each target market, and considering the timing of marketing efforts. Marketing and pricing information in this extension fact sheet is drawn primarily from research at Oklahoma State University. Importance of Quality Quality of alfalfa is important for several reasons.
Quality affects the target market for alfalfa produced and the price received for alfalfa marketed.
Quality also affects production costs and practices. Producing higher quality alfalfa will reduce the total quantity of alfalfa produced and increase the cost of production. The target market for alfalfa depends on the quality of hay produced. Dairy producers usually want alfalfa with a high feed value that can contribute to milk production. Dairy quality alfalfa typically means leafy alfalfa harvested in the bud stage with few weeds and grasses.