"A splendid herd of Dutch belted cattle feeding on a field of alfalfa" reads the caption to this color photograph from a 1915 magazine. According to statistics gathered around 1905, alfalfa offered a low return per acre ($25-$50), but the majority of it was grown for domestic use, often by the dairymen themselves who were able to cut costs by supplying their own feed. One acre of alfalfa was suffienct to feed 15 cows year-round.
