Grass pods?

When I was working on protecting the willow trees in the middle pasture I came across these.  I don't know what they are, and don't remember ever seeing them before.

This is the grass I found the pods growing on.   I took a photo of them.  I moved on to other things and left / forgot them there.   The next day when I finished protecting the last tree /shrub from the cattle I went back to get the pods.  The cattle had already found them and ate them.   Nothing gets past my cattle.