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Jessica Schwartz
Will The OR Drought Affect Turf Seed Supply?
The 2021 grass seed crop is going to be very interesting as inventory stocks on many turf, forage, and cover crop seed species are at all-time lows, according to GO Seed of Salem, OR. The current drought in Oregon is affecting the industry. Oregon is the world’s major producer of cool-season turf grass seed on nearly 1,500 grass seed farms. The Willamette Valley alone, collectively produces almost two-thirds of the total production of cool-season grasses in the U.S., according to Oregon State University. The Oregon seed industry will be working diligently to try to get as much seed out as quickly as possible, but there will be issues. Production fields looked rough going into the winter and many fields didn’t look a whole lot better coming out of it. The damage last summer/fall from voles was real and devastating. The current drought in Oregon also offers a dim outlook since growers are at the period when moisture is critical for seed development. Rainfall Deficits Below is a table that shows the precipitation in Salem, OR over the last five crop years. When looking at precipitation there are two critical periods for seed production, fall and spring. The rainfall received between November- February is largely irrelevant as the grass plants are generally in winter dormancy. The Fall period is more important for tall fescue than other grasses, since precipitation is needed to develop new tillers prior to vernalization. (Seed yield from tall fescue can be estimated by the number of new ...
Will The OR Drought Affect Turf Seed Supply?
The 2021 grass seed crop is going to be very interesting as inventory stocks on many turf, forage, and cover crop seed species are at all-time lows, according to GO Seed of Salem, OR. The current drought in Oregon is affecting the industry. Oregon is the world’s major producer of cool-season turf grass seed on nearly 1,500 grass seed farms. The Willamette Valley alone, collectively produces almost two-thirds of the total production of cool-season grasses in the U.S., according to Oregon State University. The Oregon seed industry will be working diligently to try to get as much seed out as quickly as possible, but there will be issues. Production fields looked rough going into the winter and many fields didn’t look a whole lot better coming out of it. The damage last summer/fall from voles was real and devastating. The current drought in Oregon also offers a dim outlook since growers are at the period when moisture is critical for seed development. Rainfall Deficits Below is a table that shows the precipitation in Salem, OR over the last five crop years. When looking at precipitation there are two critical periods for seed production, fall and spring. The rainfall received between November- February is largely irrelevant as the grass plants are generally in winter dormancy. The Fall period is more important for tall fescue than other grasses, since precipitation is needed to develop new tillers prior to vernalization. (Seed yield from tall fescue can be estimated by the number of new ...
