Mark Long, husband of Laura Knoth, asked Chris Teutsch and me about the potential to convert a 50 acre bottom field from a corn/soybean rotation into a permanent alfalfa field. The field had recently been tile drained and the likelihood of flooding had decreased substantially with this operation. We pulled a soil survey for the farm and it appeared that alfalfa production might be possible. However, upon visiting the site and examining the soil, it appeared that the soil, although better than it was prior to tiling, was still marginal at best for alfalfa production. Based on the information provided by the producer and then by Web Soil Survey, one could have made the assumption that alfalfa production would be successful at this location. But the farm visit helped to make the final decision that it was not suitable for alfalfa production. A lot of time and money would have gone into establishing the alfalfa that probably would have resulted in a stand failure. We received the following message from Laura Knoth in response to the visit and help we provided their operation. “Thanks again for working with us.  It’s the kind of connection to the UKREC that have me and my Boards excited about the Grain and Forage Center of Excellence!”