The old days.
At home we always knew that there was money in
grasses. There was this little book, featuring that title. In
the book (1910) my grandfather Joseph Theodore Barenbrug
vividly describes the state of affairs at the beginning of the
20th century. There were three methods of acquiring
grass seeds. Firstly, farmers bought them from schoolchildren,
unemployed people, travelling gypsies and others who needed
extra earnings. They would go out in the fields and gather
seeds in predominant habitats. Secondly, farmers themselves
would sweep their lofts for seeds after using up their hay.
And thirdly, only in rare cases seeds were bought from
traders. They would buy grass seeds on fairs and exchanges in
foreign countries.
At the time my grandfather and a colleague, Mr
Burgers were employed by a trader who spent far too much time
abroad acquiring his merchandise. So they ventured out on
their own and contracted local gatherers and farmers. The
Barenbrug grass seed company was born. The novelty, of course,
was contracting farmers to produce seeds as an accepted,
autonomous product. And, as my grandfather called it, to have
rational methods of selection and processing.
