Oregon Public Broadcasting

If you tune in to the Olympic Games in Beijing later this week, chances are you’ll see a little piece of home.

Almost 100% of the grass in China’s largest city -- whether on playing fields or in local parks -- has been imported from Oregon.  Katie Arrants reports.

Oregon is the world’s number one producer of grass seed.  And recently, China edged out Japan to become the state’s biggest customer. 

The country buys more grass from Oregon than from anywhere else in the world. 

Tom Chastain is a professor of crop and soil science at Oregon State University.

He says it’s no surprise that China is choosing to get its grass from Oregon.

Tom Chastain: “Oregon is known worldwide for its high-quality turf grass seed, and it’s pretty obvious that the Chinese want the very best, given that the Olympics is the showplace and way for China to be shown to the world in general this year.”

Oregon’s turf grasses are known to resist weeds and diseases, which makes them an especially good choice for athletic playing fields.

The grasses serve another important purpose for athletes competing in Beijing -- they improve air quality by reducing dust pollution.