The standard recommendation for alfalfa is 15 to 20 pounds of seed per acre when planting a pure stand using conventional or no-till methods. That range assumes you’re using raw (uncoated) seed with good germination rates. Your actual number will shift depending on whether the seed is coated, whether you’re mixing alfalfa with grass, and whether your field is irrigated or dryland.
Pure Stand Seeding Rates
For a solid stand of alfalfa with no companion grass, 15 to 20 pounds per acre is the widely cited target across university extension programs. At 15 pounds per acre with good management, you can expect roughly 25 established plants per square foot during the first production year. That density gives you a thick, competitive stand that crowds out weeds and produces well from the first cutting onward.
If your seedbed preparation is excellent, soil moisture is reliable, and you’re planting at the right time, you can lean toward the lower end of that range. If conditions are less than ideal, such as a rough seedbed, heavy weed pressure, or marginal planting dates, bump toward 20 pounds to compensate for lower germination and seedling survival.
Coated Seed Changes the Math
Most alfalfa seed sold today comes with some level of coating, typically containing inoculant, fungicide, or both. A common coating level is 34%, meaning about a third of the weight you’re buying is coating material, not actual seed. If you set your drill to 15 pounds per acre using coated seed, you’re actually putting down fewer live seeds than you would with raw seed at the same weight.
To hit the equivalent of 15 pounds of pure live seed per acre, you need to increase your total seeding rate based on the coating percentage:
- No coating: roughly 16 pounds per acre
- 10% coating: roughly 17.5 pounds per acre
- 34% coating: roughly 24 pounds per acre
These figures assume 95% germination. Check the seed tag on your bag for both the coating percentage and germination rate, then adjust accordingly. Ignoring the coating is one of the most common reasons growers end up with thin stands despite “following the recommended rate.”
Rates for Alfalfa-Grass Mixtures
When you’re seeding alfalfa alongside a forage grass like orchardgrass, timothy, or bromegrass, you reduce the alfalfa rate because the grass fills in part of the stand. A typical alfalfa rate in a mixture is 8 to 15 pounds per acre, with the grass species making up the difference.
Where you land in that range depends on how dominant you want the alfalfa to be. If alfalfa is the primary forage and the grass is there mainly for ground cover or to reduce bloat risk, stay closer to 12 to 15 pounds. If you want a more balanced mix or the grass is meant to be a significant yield component, 8 to 10 pounds of alfalfa is common. Your grass seeding rate gets its own separate recommendation based on the species you choose.
Dryland vs. Irrigated Fields
Moisture availability is one of the biggest factors in choosing a seeding rate. Under irrigated conditions, 12 to 15 pounds per acre is often sufficient because consistent water supports strong germination and seedling establishment. Irrigated fields can sustain denser stands without plants competing too heavily for moisture.
Dryland alfalfa is a different story. In arid regions, growers commonly seed at just 7 to 8 pounds per acre. The logic is straightforward: a thinner stand means each plant has access to more soil moisture, which improves individual plant survival through dry spells. Seeding too heavily on dryland can actually hurt you because too many seedlings competing for limited water leads to a weak stand that thins out unevenly.
Getting the Rate Right at Planting
Knowing the target rate is only half the job. Calibrating your drill or broadcast seeder to deliver that rate accurately makes the difference between a productive stand and one you’re tearing up and replanting. Alfalfa seed is small, roughly 200,000 seeds per pound, so even slight miscalibration puts you significantly over or under.
If you’re drilling, run the seeder over a measured distance on a hard surface and weigh what comes out to verify the rate before you hit the field. For broadcast seeding, increase your rate by 15 to 20 percent compared to drilled seeding, since seed-to-soil contact is less consistent and some seed will end up sitting on the surface.
Depth matters too. Alfalfa seed should go in at a quarter to half an inch deep. Planting deeper than three-quarters of an inch drastically reduces emergence, and no amount of extra seed will fix a depth problem. On heavier soils, stay shallower. On sandy or loose soils, you can go slightly deeper to reach moisture.