By Kye Chapman, 7 July 2026

 

In 2024, Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District’s Executive Director, Dr. Joe Walsh, had a conversation with local horse breeder, Melissa Grimes. Ms. Grimes breeds Rocky Mountain Horses, a Kentucky breed known for a natural ambling gait most other breeds do not have.

Being a horse breeder, Ms. Grimes cares a lot about the nutrient density she can provide for her animals; like many equestrians, she buys high quality alfalfa hay. While horses love its flavor and its high nutrient density, alfalfa hay is one of the most expensive and resource intensive hays on the market. Alfalfa is also notoriously difficult to grow in Florida as it prefers heavy clay soils and can struggle in humid conditions. There is, however, another legume that is well-suited for Florida.

Arachis glabrata, better known as Rhizomal Perennial Peanut (RPP for short), has been tested as a pasture plant in Florida since the late 1960’s with great success. It is sometimes called “peanut-grass” or “peanut-hay,” but these terms sometimes also refer to feed products made from the closely related edible peanut plant (Arachis hypogaea). RPP has earned the nickname “Florida Alfalfa” by ranchers in North Central Florida and the panhandle. With comparable nutrient value to alfalfa, RPP on average has:

 

•      Crude protein 14-18%

•      Neutral detergent fiber 42%

•      Acid detergent fiber 32%

•      Total digestive nutrients 60%

•      Digestible energy 1.1 Mcal/lb.

 

Furthermore, feeding horses Perennial Peanut hay is not associated with the reduced feeding time or inactivity that is found in some other legume hays. Reduced inactivity results in lower risk for abnormal behaviors like wood chewing, weaving, and cribbing in stabled horses. RPP is also more readily accepted as a forage than Bermudagrass in side-by-side comparisons and is overall well-accepted by horses. Currently, there is no evidence that perennial peanut hay is any more likely to cause bloat or hay belly than alfalfa hay.

One concern brought up to Dr. Walsh is that perennial peanuts have a reputation for not growing well in peninsular Florida. While it is true that many growers and researchers of RPP are based in the panhandle and north-central Florida, there are plenty of sites across central and south-central Florida who have had much success growing RPP. Perennial peanut grows well on sandy soils and are very tolerant of heat, humidity, and drought. RPP also mixes well into grass pastures, and its nitrogen-fixing properties help reduce fertilization needs and promote disease resistance. With the growing threat of Pasture Mealybug in Central Florida, it is important to consider alternative broadleaf forage and hay options to help prevent the spread of this grass-specialist mealybug. Perennial peanut is also a long-lived perennial that can live for decades (compare it to alfalfa, which generally lives two years at longest in the Southeast) and is evergreen unless stressed by frost or extreme drought.

Rhizomal Perennial Peanut is not without a few drawbacks. It does not grow well in shady or wet areas. It is also a slow grower, taking at least one year to fully establish in ideal conditions. Sprigging the rhizomes is the cheapest method for planting as RPP does not readily produce seed. However, planting strips of Perennial Peanut into warm season grasses (like Bermuda or Bahia grasses) can vastly reduce planting cost with great success. These RPP strips can also act as “nurseries” to sprig other pastures or nearby areas. Since RPP is a long-lived perennial with happy pastures living for decades, the upfront costs associated with establishment can be well-worth the benefits RPP provides.

Even if pasture replacement is not on your agenda, buying peanut-hay can still be a more sustainable option than alfalfa. Peanut-hay, whether from RPP or edible peanuts, is typically grown in Florida and surrounding Southeastern states, whereas alfalfa is usually grown in the West and Midwest. Choosing peanut-hay over alfalfa-hay can therefore reduce the environmental harm associated with long-haul transport such as fuel consumption, exhaust pollution, and tire microplastic pollution while also supporting more local growers. Alfalfa also has higher water usage needs than perennial peanut, which again is grown in arid parts of the country. Switching to peanut-hay can help reduce the water consumption your hay needs and protect sensitive water resources in these water-stressed areas.

 

For further reading, please visit these articles, from which this information is derived:

•      Williams, M. J., Newman, Y. C., & Blount, A. (2018, January 9). SS-AGR-349/AG358: Rhizoma Perennial Peanut. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG358

•      Liao, H.-L., & Erhunmwense, A. S. (2024, August 2). SS-AGR-482/AG478: Integrating rhizoma perennial peanut into bahiagrass pastures enhances beneficial soil microbes in Florida. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG478

•      Dubeux, J., Sollenberger, L., Vendramini, J., Wallau, M., Blount, A., Garcia-Jimenez, L., Santos, E., & Jaramillo, D. (2022, February 17). SS-AGR-421/AG421: Strip-planting Rhizoma Peanut into grazing systems. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG421

•      Vasco, C., Dubeux, J., Santos, E., Wickens, C., & Warren, L. (2023, November 9). AN390/AN390: Acceptability of Rhizoma peanut forage by horses and its benefits on feeding behavior. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AN390

•      Wallau, M., Johnson, E. L., Vendramini, J., Wickens, C., & Bainum, C. (2026, April 8). SS-AGR-65/AA216: Pastures and forage crops for horses. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AA216

Munch, D. (n.d.). Alfalfa in the Red: Rising Costs, Falling Returns. American Farm Bureau Federation. https://www.fb.org/market-intel/alfalfa-in-the-red-rising-costs-falling-returns