Caldwell County Agline

Most don't give grass a second thought. Maybe we think about it when the lawn needs mowing. There is probably some level of conscientiousness while we enjoy a round of golf, or watch a ball game. But, this is just the icing on the cake. Our civilization would be unrecognizable without the gift of grass.

Grass supplies the human race with 70% of our total daily calories. The major cereal grasses are corn, wheat, and rice. Most of the time these grains are processed into flour for breads, cakes, crackers, breakfast cereal, and pasta. However, we also consume other grasses. Oatmeal is just grass seed smashed between two rollers. Cane sugar and molasses come from the juice of tropical grasses.

So, why am I writing about grass? Because right now it is in full display. Look along any roadside, meadow, or small grain field. Grass is flowering. It does not shout “look at me” with bright gaudy colors. It whispers en masse, with seed heads swaying in the breeze. But, soon these will be gone. The roadsides will be mowed, the meadows swathed, and the wheat fields harvested. We will wait for next year and like always, the grass will flower again, giving us its bounty. Grass is nature's meekest plant, giving us our daily bread and asking little in return.

According to NC Department of Agriculture statistics, Caldwell County grows enough wheat to bake 840,000 loaves of bread, harvests enough hay to make 21,500 large round bales, and combines enough corn to ship 75 fully loaded tractor trailers.