01. Alfalfa
- Chandler Museum
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Alfalfa became a profitable crop in the Salt River Valley when the cattle industry transitioned from grazing cattle to feeding cattle with alfalfa. On Chandler Ranch, Dr. Chandler grew 3,000 acres of alfalfa, which was enough to support 2,000 head of beef cattle and several thousand sheep. In addition, enough alfalfa was planted to supply seed for the Ferry Seed Company for nationwide sales. The climate in the Salt River Valley allowed farmers to get as many as a dozen harvests from one planting. By 1911, water was available to grow crops that could support large cattle feedlots. In the photo above, laborers cut alfalfa. In the photo below, cut alfalfa has been laid in the field to dry and is being collected and stacked.
Owned by Hal Bogle and Roy Lockhead, the Pecos Valley Alfalfa Mill was established in Chandler in 1928 on what would later be known as Pecos Road. While some alfalfa mills dehydrated alfalfa and processed it into pellets or other feed, the Pecos Valley Alfalfa Mill processed sun-cured alfalfa into hay. The hay from this mill was fed to dairy cows and cattle in the Chandler area.