By: Cory Mentink

Cory shared this story with me the other day, and I asked if he would be willing to share it as a blog post. I think this is a great example of how we can look to the past for solutions instead of always looking for a “treatment.” This is also a good example of how government incentives can have dire consequences and how their “solutions” to the problems they create can have even more ramifications. Below is the story he wrote.

Many have probably heard that phrase and thought of endless stretches of road ditches and millions of acres of ground covered in a vine that grows at a rate you can almost see as you stand and watch.  How long did it take for this to happen? Years? Decades?  Try about 90 years. Kudzu was introduced to the United States in 1876 at the Worlds Fair in Philadelphia.  It didn’t catch on with farmers until 1935 when the United States Congress along with the Soil Conservation Service, became concerned with erosion happening due to the drought during the dust bowl years.  They offered up to $8 per acre to farmers to plant kudzu.  Rail road and highway developers jumped on the band (money) wagon too, planting kudzu in road ditches and gashes made in the landscape during rail and road construction. Up until the mid 60’s there was little concern with kudzu because it is easily controlled with grazing (farmers were originally skeptical of it because it terminated so easily under grazing). Along with cotton crops failing due in part to the boll weevil, we also began to see a movement of farmers into operating CAFOs, which were easier to manage for the farmer.  Grazing diminished and kudzu began to take over.  Now instead of horses, cows, goats, or sheep (which can make a profit) we try to manage the “weed” with chemicals (with annual total herbicide costs ranging from $1.5 to $6 million)