Ahem... class is in session (it's Friday right?):

For those taking notes for the test, Kudzu was brought into this country
at the turn of the century, not the 1950s.  It was originally brought in
to the World Fair.  It had immediate potential as a stabilizer of road
cuts, banks, etc AND as a major field crop for livestock feed.  Remember
that this was a time when erosion control was nearly nonexistent.  The
problem is that it worked better than folks anticipated.  Also, the
agrochemical revolution made other crops easier to handle and created
"better" opportunities (in sheer tonage) for other crops.  Rather than
get really windy, the US is the largest buyer of specialty products made
from, you guessed it... Kudzu.  We buy everything from wall coverings to
the finest cooking starch made, but we buy it from Asia.  Anyway, I just
thought I'd provide a modicum of the flip side on the "mile-a-minute"
plant.  US agriculture has a good many environmental threats that cause
more damage and nuisance problems than Kudzu.
<Bio-dork mode off>
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