Alfalfa is decided earlier: Precision agriculture expert Fernando Scaramuzza explains why the success of the next crop depends on early decisions.

In livestock and mixed farming systems, alfalfa continues to occupy a strategic place. Not only because of the volume of forage it provides, but also because, when well established, it can sustain the productive stability of a crop for several years. However, this potential has a condition that technicians repeatedly emphasize: alfalfa is not defined by the urgency of sowing, but by the decisions made long before. Fernando Scaramuzza, a specialist in precision agriculture and agricultural mechanization, puts it bluntly. “The success of the crop depends largely on the decisions made during the planning and sowing stage; there we define how many plants we will start with,” he explains. According to various technical works cited by the specialist, up to 70% of alfalfa’s productive potential is played out at this initial moment, while what happens afterward will condition its persistence over time. Therefore, when speaking of the alfalfa for the next campaign, the approach does not ...