This can become important when considering the ideal Calcium:Phosphorus ratio for horses, which should be about 2:1. Which parts of alfalfa are edible to humans? Thanks. They are ruminant animals. “Now, I know what you are going to say. Alfalfa sprouts can be added to various dishes for garnishing or used in place of salad greens. The long drying periods with high humidity can allow mold to grow on the hay in the field. Cows use those nutrients from the alfalfa hay to make something really useful: milk. “Alfalfa is one of the most important crops in the U.S., and an agricultural mainstay here in the Pacific Northwest.” Worth more than $9 billion annually, alfalfa is the nation’s third-most valuable field crop. Humans cannot digest alfalfa hay like cows can. Like cattle, goats, elk, and deer, sheep have four stomach chambers. Humans also eat alfalfa sprouts in salads and sandwiches. There are two main problems with a grass diet. She was awful quiet over the phone for a minute after her answer. Alfalfa hay. Alfalfa is also a major crop in Minnesota. Alfalfa usually has the highest feeding value of all common hay crops. Most parts of the alfalfa plant are edible, such as the leaves and young shoots. It is a perennial plant, which means it grows in the same place year after year. Does alfalfa have iodine? In poultry diets, dehydrated alfalfa and alfalfa leaf concentrates are used for pigmenting eggs and meat, because of their high content in carotenoids, which are efficient for colouring egg yolk and body lipids. Alfalfa hay is a widely used protein and fiber source for meat rabbits. It is a leafy plant that grows 2-3 feet tall. Alfalfa is widely grown throughout the world as forage for cattle, and is most often harvested as hay, but can also be made into silage, grazed, or fed as greenchop. No, humans cannot eat alfalfa hay. 3. Even though sheep can eat a wide variety of hay, grass, and human food, there are some types of natural and man-made items that consuming can provoke a severe health issue – or even death. But alfalfa in its sprouted form can be eaten by humans in sandwiches and salads. Humans also eat alfalfa sprouts in salads and sandwiches. No, alfalfa grass does not contain gluten. Rain and poor drying weather has caused some hay to be baled wetter than desired. The Calcium in Alfalfa is higher, but the Phosphorus is about the same as grass hay, which could lead to an imbalance in the diet of a given horse. I am feeding too much good feed. “People don’t eat alfalfa, but millions of animals do,” said team leader Steve Norberg, a forage specialist with WSU Extension. You’ve told me and I’ve been to your clinics and I guess I can’t get it through my head not to do that — and I guess you are going to … I'm thinking of growing it next year and I wondered how much of the adult plant I could eat, if any, instead of just sprouting it in a dish. The dry fibrous strands of hay could ball up and cause an obstruction in their bellies, not that they'll eat much of it anyway. With high humidity, normal drying in storage may not occur and hay can retain elevated levels of moisture allowing mold growth. Alfalfa is known throughout the agricultural world as hay, which is fed to livestock such as horses, cows and chickens. What is the pH of alfalfa? I gave mine a few flakes of alfalfa over the winter and they seemed to enjoy it some, but most of it went to waste. Cows eat alfalfa hay as part of their diet. In principle, people can eat grass; it is non-toxic and edible. Does alfalfa contain gluten? The Agricultural Uses of Alfalfa. 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