Alfalfa on Every Farm

Alfalfa on Every Farm
News article written by J. P. Ricketts
first county agent in Owen County, about 1918

   Let Owen County adopt this as her motton and thereby be assured of a bright future with fertile soil, fat livestock, beautiful homes and a prosperous people.

   The Arabian people, who were woldwide famous for the beautiful horse they possessed, grew this plant very extensively and recognized its superior valve as a feed for developing their animals more than two thouse years ago.  They prized it so highly they gave it the name ALFALFA, which when translated into our language, means "The Best Forage."

   When we consider that there are hundreds of varieties of grasses upon which animals feed, that there are thousands of other plants over the world which are relished by horses, sheep, hogs, and cattle, it seems impossible that any certain one of them should stand at the top of the list as the best feed for all kinds of livestock under most all conditions.  But as strange as it may semm, ALFALFA has stood the test of time by living up to its name thru all these ages, and today it reigns supreme in every quarter of the globe, retaining its undisputed title with all that it implies.  And, besides being the best forage, it exvels every other crop in yield per acre, as a drought resister and as a soil enricher.  It increases land values; it is a profitable crop; it's frequent cutting destroys weeds; it balances the corn ration; and it leads to livestock farming.

   Alfalfa is not any longer an experimental crop.  It can be and is being grown in most every climate and on every type of soil.  By heeding the experiences of others, we can be sure we are on the right road to success.

   Make the land sweet with lime and feed it with acid phosphate and barnyard manure.  Carefully prepare the seedbed and sow only the best seed that the market can afford, then be redy to harvest many bountiful crops of the very best hay known to man.

   The joy of farming is not fully known until we have scented the delicate aroma that fills the air, when new mown ALFALFA is curing in the windrow, or sweating in the mow.  It is a suggestion of the elixir of life and the fountain of youth combined.

   Sweet Owen will surely be living up to her name, when every farm produces an abundant supply of ALFALFA.

   Then the mockingbirds will come to cheer the merry children with well filled lunch baskets, on their way from happy homes to well-kept schools.  The unsightly fence rows will vanish away, and the ruts in the roads will be gone never to return.  Traverlers from far will call us great for we will possess the two primary essentials of any great country:  a fertile soil and a thrifty people.