"Golden Buckle of the Dairy Belt"

"Golden Buckle of the Dairy Belt". . "The production of a forage plant so hardy as Grimm Alfalfa is almost without parallel in plant history... It is impossible to compute in dollars and cents what it has meant to the nation." , Everett Edwards, 1938 , U.S. Department of Agriculture, Because of Alfalfa... , In 1857 most American farmers agreed that perennial stands of alfalfa could not be grown north of Kansas. Lucky for Minnesota's dairy industry, no one told that to Wendelin Grimm., Wendelin Grimm was born and raised in Külsheim, Germany, in an agricultural region locally known for its lush alfalfa fields. Years of experience farming in that region taught Wendelin the value of alfalfa as a feed source for cattle. When he moved his family to America in 1857, one of the few possessions he brought with him was a small bag of alfalfa seed taken from his own stock., In the spring of 1858, Wendelin planted this seed on a small field near this spot. Though the plants thrived during the summer months, nearly all of them died during the first harsh Minnesota winter. Undeterred, Grimm collected seeds from the few plants that did survive and replanted his field using only those seeds. He repeated this selection process each spring for the next 20 years., The result was Grimm's development of the first winter-hardy alfalfa known to North America., The plants developed on this farm became the source for nearly all alfalfa seed produced in the Northern U.S. and Canada during the first half of the 20th century. Grimm Alfalfa's value as a feed crop spurred the development of Minnesota's dairy industry, which today ranks fifth in the nation in overall production., Twenty years after his death, Wendelin Grimm's work on this site earned Carver County the nickname, "Golden Buckle of the Dairy Belt.", Wendelin and Juliana Grimm, c. 1860 , Courtesy, Minnesota Historical Society, Alfalfa, (Medicago Sativa) , Courtesy, USDA/ART