Alfalfa variety reviews.

New England

Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire + 2

Cool, humid continental climate with cold winters and short to moderate growing seasons. Forage and short-season grain are dominant; row-crop choices are constrained by season length.

Mid-Atlantic North

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania

Humid continental transitioning to humid subtropical at the southern edge. Moderate season length supports a broad range of row crops, vegetables, and forages.

Mid-Atlantic South

Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia

Humid subtropical with mild winters and long, warm summers. Coastal Plain soils are sandy; Piedmont soils are clay-heavy; mountain soils are shallow and stony.

Upper Southeast

North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas

Humid subtropical with hot, humid summers and mild winters. Long growing season supports double-cropping winter wheat into soybeans across most of the region.

Deep South

Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina

Humid subtropical with very long growing seasons, hot summers, and short mild winters. Heat tolerance and disease resistance dominate variety selection.

Gulf Coast / Florida

Florida, Louisiana

Humid subtropical to tropical. Year-round growing season in southern Florida; long warm season elsewhere. Nematode pressure and humidity-driven disease dominate.

Corn Belt North

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota + 1

Humid continental with cold winters, short-to-moderate growing seasons, and high summer temperature swings. RM matching is the dominant variety decision.

Corn Belt Core

Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio

Humid continental with the highest-productivity row-crop soils in the United States. Long-enough season for full-RM corn (108–115) and MG 2.5–3.8 soybeans.

Corn Belt South

Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska

Transition climate from humid East to semi-arid West. Western parts depend on irrigation; eastern parts are dryland. Drought tolerance is a primary variety selection criterion.

Southern Plains

Oklahoma, Texas (Northern High Plains)

Semi-arid to humid subtropical transition. Hot, dry summers; mild winters. Wheat-fallow and grain sorghum systems dominate; irrigated corn in the High Plains.

Texas

Texas (Central, South, East)

Climate spans humid East Texas, semi-arid Central, and arid South Texas. No single variety profile fits the state — sub-region selection is essential.

Northern Rockies

Montana, Idaho, Wyoming

Cold, semi-arid with very short growing seasons in valleys. Spring wheat, malting barley, alfalfa, and dryland small-grain rotations dominate.

Southern Rockies

Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona

Semi-arid to arid with high elevation cooling. Irrigated agriculture dominates; dryland production is limited to short-season grain in moister pockets.

Pacific Northwest

Washington, Oregon

Maritime west of the Cascades; semi-arid east of the Cascades. Soft white wheat dominates the Palouse; specialty crops dominate west-side valleys.

California

California

Mediterranean climate with dry summers and wet winters. Highly diverse — from Central Valley row crops to coastal vegetables and desert irrigated alfalfa.