La Paz County growers currently farm about 65,000 acres of alfalfa, including a 40-mile long swath about five miles wide through the scenic Parker Valley on Mohave Road - also called Indian Route 1 - from Parker to Ehrenburg.

The flat low desert farming mecca also includes desert durum wheat, cotton, and dehydrator onions.

Arizona top yielder

Tickes says Arizona alfalfa yields average 8.4 tons per acre – the highest yield in the nation. This compares to 6.5 tons in 2014 in neighboring California. The National Agricultural Statistics Service pegs last year’s average price for Arizona alfalfa hay at $161 per ton, compared to $248 per ton in the Golden State (2014).

In its ‘hay day’ before the current four-year drought, Golden State alfalfa acreage was about 1.1 million acres. Today, the state’s acreage is about 835,000 acres.

Water use

Turning to water use in Arizona alfalfa, UA Extension Agronomist Mike Ottman said timely irrigation is critical to alfalfa quality and yields. Cutting off irrigation to the forage crop does not pencil out at current water costs and hay prices.

When a grower shuts off the water, it’s sometimes to prevent scalding plants, though Ottman says laser leveling has helped reduced scalding. Other reasons to cut off water include weed control, a water shortage, a water transfer to municipalities, and to reduce production costs.

Alfalfa is a drought tolerant plant so turning the water off is an option for growers, Ottman said, since the plant better tolerates water stress, it’s a perennial crop with multiple harvests per year, and alfalfa is not a high value crop.