FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) are investigating alternative crops to alfalfa, a particularly thirsty plant.

As droughts become more common and communities shift to water conservation practices, researchers are increasingly interested in crops that use less water. Alfalfa and other grass hays account for 46 percent of all direct water consumption from the Colorado River, which is more than water consumed by all the cities and industries within the Colorado River Basin. Generally, alfalfa requires 20 to 46 inches of water per growing season.

Katie Russell, manager of the Southwestern Colorado Research Center, part of CSU, said that it makes sense why farmers have relied on alfalfa in the Colorado River Basin even though the environment is desert. Alfalfa is a high value crop, ranking among the top three field crops in 26 states. It’s nutritious, its genetics are dialed in, there are good weed control options, and it’s become a very simple crop to grow.

Still, there’s no denying that the crop consumes a lot of water, and researchers across the nation are taking note of its high-water consumption in arid states like California and Arizona. Russell and her colleagues are interested in finding alternatives that not only use less water, but that remain economically viable for farmers and provide the same or similar nutritional components. Three contenders are sainfoin, Kernza, and silflower.

Sainfoin is a legume with a similar feed value to alfalfa and is preferred over alfalfa by cattle, sheep, deer and elk according to USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The perennial plant is well suited to mechanical harvesting. Kernza, a registered trademark, is a perennial grain developed from intermediate wheatgrass by The Land Institute, bred for large seed size and yield.

“You can go to the store and find Kernza cereal, cookies, and beer, so it’s been around for a little bit longer but it’s still very new to our region,” Russell said. “Anytime you can adopt a perennialized crop, it makes a lot of sense for soil heath and when it comes to drought. Perennialized crops have a higher potential to weather the storm versus annual crops – they’re already established and can take on that drought versus an annual crop that never gets established.”

Silflower, also known as silphium, is a perennial plant in the sunflower family. The crop is still in its infancy, with Russell noting that breeding trials are ongoing to understand pest resistance and biomass yields. While the crop can be used as forage, it is also multiuse.

“Silflower is like a perennial sunflower, so it produces a flower just like a sunflower and the grain from the seedhead has uses for its oil,” Russell said. “There is very early interest in squalene from the oil, which has some industrial and cosmetics industry uses.”

Russell said that the alfalfa alternatives use about 50 percent less water than alfalfa crops, although trials are still ongoing. Researchers are interested in understanding how the alternatives handle drought, their nutritional profile, and yield.

The transition from alfalfa to other crops comes with challenges. Every aspect of growing alfalfa is known, including good weed control options. Alternative crops still have unknowns, including best practices for weed management. Additionally, the livestock industry will need to be open to accepting alternative types of forage for their animals. There are also challenges for farmers when it comes to swapping crops, Russell added.

“We have to keep in mind our farmers. They can’t just totally switch crops and change machinery. We have to keep that in mind, as well as the market potential,” she said. “It’s really for us researchers to take the risk at first so that farmers do not have to take on the burden of experimental risk. We want them to be able to go into a new crop with some level of security and know how to do it correctly.”