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KASSON, Minn. — There’s a little-known legume that blooms brilliant pink flowers and brings all sorts of benefits to both the soil it grows in and the animals that graze on it.

It’s called sainfoin, and Mary Hartman is building an industry on it.

“This is going to be the forage of the future,” she said.

Hartman’s business, StableFeed, is doing what many governments and universities have tried and failed to accomplish: create a sustainable market for this novel hay that nourishes animals with high protein without causing bloating and acts as a natural de-wormer to boot.

“If we talk about (Hartman’s) biggest hurdle, it’s going to be trying to keep up with the pace of demand,” said Alan Doering, a senior scientist at Minnesota’s Agricultural U

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