1The Consortium for Alfalfa Improvement was started in 2001, with the following current members: U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, and Forage Genetics International.
*Data summarized from World Forage Analysis Superbowl Contest held at the 2017 World Dairy Expo. Entries for the Dairy Hay (A1), Haylage (A2), Commercial Hay (B1), and Baleage (B2) categories where the alfalfa variety was properly identified are included in the dataset. The assignment of forage quality type into Standard Varieties, Improved Quality, and HarvXtra® Technology was based on variety names (contains letters like “Q”, “HQ”, “Hi-Gest”, etc.) and company information about the forage quality potential of each variety. Forage quality comparison data includes Neutral Detergent Fiber Digestibility (NDFD, 30-hr) and Relative Feed Quality (RFQ). Contest partners include Dairyland Laboratories, Inc., Dairy Business Communications, Hay and Forage Grower, University of Wisconsin, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, and World Dairy Expo.