When we fed the animals in winter, there was hay, and then there was good hay. Hay was straw. Good hay was alfalfa - more substance and nutrition and a green fragrance that alerted the mind like the air before a thunderstorm. The bales when I was a kid were long and squared off. We'd take a few squares to toss to the goats and horse. Most of the bales I see now are cylindrical. Alfalfa is used to make food products for other animals, such as rabbits. This spring, I bought some rabbit food (alfalfa pellets) to help nourish the depleted soil when planting. The tomato vines now are wild and crazy and taller than me, full of blooms and clusters of fruit. Not sure that its the alfalfa, but the alfalfa didn't hurt.

According to the World Dictionary (2009), the word alfalfa comes from the Arabic term al-fasfasah. This means 'the best sort of fodder'.