SportsTurf

September

SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.

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FieldScience State of Seed Supply Report Editor's note:We asked principals from seed companies across the country to answer two questions: What is the state of the supply of your grass seed crop used for sports fields heading into the overseeding and heavy-use football seasons? And, what is the state of supply for sports turf looking like for Spring 2012 growing season? Here are the responses we received: W E ALL KNEWthe pendulum would swing from overages to shortages; it was just a matter of time. That time has come. Seed companies and growers have suffered losses on crops. Due to weak demand and state of the econ- omy, grass seed production fields were plowed. Today inventories are cleaned up. Trying to get seed acres back into production is difficult because there is strong commodity competition from other crops. There are and will be severe shortages in the grass seed market even though consumption is ex- pected to remain relatively flat due to a lagging global economy.-Chris Claypool, General Manager, Jacklin Seed by Simplot Oregon grass seed farmers can finally take ad- vantage of warm temperatures and dry skies as sum- mer has arrived late. The workday is nearly round the clock as the crop is generally ready for harvest. The crop is about 3 weeks late as the cool, wet spring combined with the wet weather in July pushed back harvest. It is the latest harvest in my 25 years of grass seed sales. The first fields have been all over the board, but what we are seeing has been normal yields in turf grass crops. The seed industry's inventories have been re-balancing the past couple of years. 2009 and 2010 carryover seed has been flushed out of the system by now. Today, we are dealing with spot short- ages in distributor warehouses as we move forward with cleaning all turf crops. A light crop may cause some shortages in some varieties. Cool season turf grass prices at farm gate have gone up anywhere from 10 to 25% based on the species. New crop tall fescues are just starting to ship, while perennial ryegrass is a bottleneck to ship awaiting cleaning and testing in August for certi- fied Blue Tag seed. Just a few years ago, grass seed had the second highest production value among all agricul- tural commodities in Oregon. But very few crops have dropped in value the past 6 years as much as grass seed. Its value has declined nearly 50 percent since 2008, from a high of $510 million that year to just $256 million last year. Like the nursery industry, Oregon's top ranked commodity, the recession and the corresponding housing market slump have reduced demand and sales. A surplus of grass seed has also led to a big reduction in acreage planted. In 2008, the number of acres planted in fescue in Oregon was about 195,000. Last year, that dropped to about 136,000 acres. Also in 2008, more than 226,000 acres were planted in ryegrass. Last year, plantings were down to 203,000 acres. During that stretch, many Willamette Valley growers re- placed grass seed crops with wheat. Total acreage in grass seed crops is down again this year. Since its peak in 2005, acreage has dropped about 30%. (Statistics above referenced from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.) We are experiencing heavy demand for all cool season species. Supply is good for fall 2011, and there may be spot shortages of high NTEP ranking varieties in mid spring 2012.-Zenon Lis, Burlingham Seeds Much of the carryover of seed from previous years has been used up. Production acres for 2011 crop of Tall fescue, Perennial ryegrass, and Kentucky bluegrass are reduced from previous years, so there will be less overall supply in fall 2011. Supply of some of the best varieties will be limited until fall 2012 crop arrives. It will be important for sports turf managers to plan ahead and possibly buy early to get the top-rated varieties they require to deliver the best turfgrass stands.-Murray Wingate, Turfgrass Marketing Manager, Lebanon Turf Products Supplies are looking very bright for sports turf grasses from Barenbrug USA. We are produc- ing a generous supply of seed for our distribution partners that supply the sports turf industry. RPR, Regenerating Perennial Ryegrass, named a 2011 Innovative Product by the STMA, has been very successful for sports turf managers. This fall a new variety will be added to the Lolium perenne stoloniferum stable. The new variety is called Bargamma and, as with Baralpha and Barbeta, is has been intensively tested for wear tolerance. Supply for RPR looks very good. Turf Blue Kentucky bluegrass performed well in recent NTEP trials and the supply looks very good. SOS Cool season is our overseeding brand containing Turf type annual ryegrass, which is be- coming more popular for overseeding. Dr. Minner at Iowa State University did a very good study with annual ryegrasses for overseeding during the season. In this study he overseeded and The seed industry went through some rough years with supplies being high and the economy in recession, but as it always happens, production is reduced, supplies are sold and become tight again. This is a 7-10 year cyclical event in the grass seed industry. -Kevin Morris, executive director of the National Turfgrass Federation 22 SportsTurf | September 2011 www.sportsturfonline.com

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