Alfalfa growers in the southeast portion of the province have been given some solid data as to how the crop is progressing.

The Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) has released its first Green Gold Report of the season.

While the first report only pertains to the southeast portion of the province, Extension Support Person John McGregor says they are taking samples from other sites in Manitoba.

He notes winter kill was a big issue in the southeast.

"We've had a lot of fields that have had some winter kill, some of the fields are at 100 per cent, other are seeing varying degrees of damage. But we also have a number of fields that came through the winter in excellent shape."

He notes other areas of the province did not seem to get hit as hard with winter kill.

McGregor explains the purpose of the report is to give growers an early warning as to when the alfalfa crop in their area will start to hit the dairy or beef quality.

He says in the southeast the alfalfa is about 12 to 14 inches tall, with a fairly high relative feed value in between the 140 to 150 range.