USA
November 19, 2025

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has invested $3.7 million in five projects as part of the Alfalfa Seed and Alfalfa Forage Systems (ASAFS) grant program. ASAFS supports improving alfalfa forage and seed production systems. Proposals submitted to ASAFS should address one or more of the following priorities: (1) Increasing alfalfa forage and seed yields and forage quality through improved management practices, plant breeding, and other strategies to reduce biotic and abiotic stresses and costs of production; (2) Improving alfalfa forage and seed harvest and storage systems, including automation that reduces labor costs, to optimize economic returns to alfalfa producers as well as end-users including milk producers; (3) Developing methods to estimate alfalfa forage yield and quality to support marketing as a livestock feed and instruments to reduce producer risks; (4) Exploring new uses for alfalfa such as in fish feeds, nutritive supplements, alternative protein sources for human consumption, high-value chemical manufacturing, or other novel uses; and/or (5) Developing improved insect, disease and weed management strategies, including spotted aphid in alfalfa seed production and potential herbicide carry-over issues. 

2025 Awardees: 

• Agricultural Research Service
• Lexington, Kentucky
• University of Georgia (2)
• University of Idaho
• University of Wisconsin. 

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Published: November 20, 2025