Inclusion of Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa L.) in Crop Rotations in the Eastern Corn Belt

This article examines the inclusion of alfalfa in crop rotations on farms with high and low productivity soils in the Eastern Corn Belt. For each soil type, five cases (government program, market prices, planting one-fourth of farm to alfalfa, and hay yield and price sensitivity) were analyzed with a linear programming model and input use was estimated. Net farm income was largest with the government program on both soils. Compared to the government program, planting one-fourth of the farm to alfalfa on the high and low productivity soils reduced commercial nitrogen fertilizer and herbicide use, and potential environmental degradation. However, planting alfalfa also reduced net farm income.