Will you be able to buy the turf seed variety you want this year at a reasonable price? Like any product, turfgrass seed availability fluctuates from year to year. The number of acres in production, farmer inputs and weather conditions during growth of the crop all affect the amount of seed harvested. If you are planning to purchase seed this year, use the following tips to find the best variety to meet your needs.
WEATHER AFFECTS YIELD. The Pacific Northwest states of Oregon, Idaho and Washington produce the bulk of cool-season turfgrass seed. Production fields of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, bentgrass and other fescues cover more than 1 million acres in the region. Harvest begins in June and by late August the new crop begins to find its way to the consumer. Annually, older fields are plowed after harvest and new fields are planted. Seed production has fluctuated in the last few years going from several years of over-production in 2000 followed by massive plowouts in 2002 and 2003. Production finally stabilized in 2004 although many of the newer varieties ran out last fall.
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New fall plantings were on track and production fields looked good going into winter, but abnormal weather patterns developed across the United States this winter and much of the Pacific Northwest’s precipitation fell further south than usual in California, Nevada and other western states. This resulted in severe flooding in many of these areas, while the Pacific Northwest remained unseasonably warm and dry through spring.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Western Snowpack Conditions and Water Supply Forecasts bulletin estimates that the snowpacks in the Pacific Northwest states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana were 50 percent lower than normal, and in some areas 75 percent lower. As a result, they estimate that the spring and summer streamflows will be 50 to 70 percent of normal (http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/cgibin/westsnowsummary.pl).
Irrigation of fields in Washington’s Columbia River Basin comes from these streamflows. As a result, not all fields will receive as much water as needed. This has had growers and producers worried that the dry conditions could spell disaster. Many growers with access to water began irrigating a month early. Others fear that they will not get their full water allocations as the season progresses. Washington’s Governor Christine Gregoire has already declared a state of emergency and began gearing up the state’s government to help.
Much of the grass seed production is on dry land and, if sufficient rain is not received, dry land production yields will be below normal and could substantially reduce the yields of many species. In late March, rain finally began falling. Steve Rusconi, Simplot Grower Representative in Salem, Ore., was cautiously optimistic saying that “some of the fescues may still be a little hurt, but grass is a forgiving crop and a lot can happen by June. As long as timely rains continue through seed fill crop yields should be back on track for an almost average seed crop.”
Estimates are that an additional 10 to 12 inches of water is needed before harvest for turfgrasses to reach their full seed yield potential. Lesser amounts mean a shorter harvest that will drive prices sharply higher. While it’s possible they will receive enough rainfall, it’s doubtful given the long-range weather forecasts.
ACREAGE & AVAILABILITY ESTIMATES. Oregon’s Willamette Valley is the center of production for ryegrasses, fescues and bentgrasses. Perennial ryegrasses, with over 81,000 acres in production, are on target for a slight increase of 10 percent in production. Prices are expected to soften somewhat by harvest. A new perennial ryegrass trial was planted with the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) last fall and seed production of many entries has commenced, but it will be a year or more before they are available.
The carryover of tall fescues continues to diminish as older turf-type varieties fill the gap in KY-31 availability, which has been off the last couple of years. Tall fescue prices should begin to rise as the year progresses. Enough tall fescue seed should be available to meet demand but some of the more elite varieties, such as Inferno and Quest, may become unavailable until after harvest.
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The carryover of fine fescue from earlier years was finally eliminated last fall and many suppliers are sold out until harvest. New plantings in Oregon of Chewings and red fescue will be harvested this summer but only minimal acreage of hard and sheep fescue are in the ground. The dry spring encouraged many of the fine fescues to flower earlier than usual and their yields are expected to be off even if rains continue through early summer. Prices went up some last fall and should remain higher through next year. Newer varieties will be more highly priced.
The older bentgrass varieties are in a carryover situation and many are available at lower prices. Varieties with data from the new NTEP, like T-1 and Alpha, are beginning to hit the marketplace and will be priced higher as they come into full production.
The proprietary Kentucky bluegrasses are produced predominately on irrigated land in Washington’s Columbia River Basin. Yields of varieties in the Basin were down 20 to 40 percent last summer due to a freak winter freeze and most of the elite varieties, like Impact and Award, are sold out at the wholesale level until harvest. Optimistically there will be about 10 percent more seed produced this summer compared to last year, but once again the more elite varieties can be expected to run out before the year is over. Prices should remain stable possibly inching up a little as the year progresses.
Common Kentucky bluegrass is grown on dry land acreage in Idaho and eastern Washington. Common yields were much lower than targeted last year and many suppliers are virtually out until harvest. Production for 2005 should be adequate to meet demand and prices should remain strong.
The seed outlook for fall is not as favorable as most of us would like, but if the weather brings timely rains to the Northwest most people will be able to find the seed they want.
As we move toward harvest, the more popular varieties and superior seedlots are sold out and many of the remaining seedlots may have weed and off-quality issues. Some suppliers will have to make concessions on which variety or blend to use. My advice is to investigate the performance of the varieties or blend you are considering. Follow that by looking at the seed analysis to insure that the seed purity and germination are what you want and that any weed seed it contains will not be a problem for your site. Some of the weeds commonly found in seed tests are winter annuals like downy brome, bulbous bluegrass and windgrass that cause few problems in seeded lawns. Others may remain to cause problems in the future.
The author is a plant breeder with Jacklin Seed/Simplot, Post Falls, Idaho and can be reached at susan.samudio@simplot.com.