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Alfalfa industry looks beyond livestock feed for new markets

The U.S. alfalfa industry is exploring market opportunities beyond ruminant animal feed.

National Alfalfa and Forage Alliance president Beth Nelson says research into new uses is happening in Madison, Wisconsin, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Peoria, Illinois.

“At the ARS Functional Food Research Unit, and their mission is to develop bioactive food ingredients providing health benefits beyond basic nutrition and to create value-added food and non-food products.”

During a recent webinar hosted by the Agriculture Utilization Research Institute, she said Congress recently recognized alfalfa as a crop with unique conservation benefits.

“With its deep root structure, it provides even more sustainable benefits than even annual cover crops, which do receive a lot of attention.”

Nelson says alfalfa is the fourth most valuable cash crop behind corn, soybeans, and wheat, but research funding lags significantly in comparison.