Thanks to Mark Keating for sharing these sage words on the ODairy listserv.

“Many people blame science for our surplus of farm products. They say that science taught us how to grow two blades of grass where one grew before. I think the trouble is that is exactly what science did not teach us. Instead, it taught us how to grow something else where two blades of grass grew before.”

“Now we are beginning to see the weaknesses of an agriculture stripped of grass. More and more we are turning in thought and practice toward an agriculture in which grass will act as the great balance wheel and stabilizer to prevent gluts of other crops—to save soil from destruction—to build up a reserve of nutrients and moisture in the soil, ready for any future emergency, to create a more prosperous livestock industry, and finally to contribute to the health of our people through better nutrition.”

Henry A. Wallace, 1941

About Henry Wallace, 33rd Vice President of the U.S. 1941-1945, 11th Secretary of Agriculture.

Much more to come on this vitally important topic, soon…