Crop Watch
March saw a significant improvement in the weather patterns that had been holding back critical moisture from the Pacific Northwest. The rains came! While crops look good, the Pacific Northwest is far from being out of the woods. State officials feel that there is no realistic way to make up the lost moisture until later this fall. For now, grass seed farmers are grateful for what they got and hopeful for a few more timely rains between now and harvest.
Market Watch
For those of you receiving this report that live outside of the Pacific Northwest, those who have been waiting for Spring to come, it seems like it actually might be here - finally! But not without some typical woes, like 3-10” of rain this weekend for some along the East Coast, as well as snow for others in the Midwest! The EXPECTATION is that the consumers are ready to get out in their yards and the contractors have plenty of dirt to turn. So we hope to see lots of seed moving out of distributor warehouses and store shelves this month. We recognize that this next 45-60 days is pretty critical for many of you. With that in mind, we will do our best to support you with fast and accurate shipments. A couple of shipping notes:
- Right now, there are some delays on the preferred, or cheaper rail containers.
- It appears that railroads are making a push away from piggy backs altogether. Expect this option to continue to diminish.
- At present, over the road trucks seem readily available.
Solutions!
Spring is far from over - make sure you are selling solutions, not problems. It’s that time of year where people learn how resistant their ryegrass lawns were to snow mold. Whether your are got hit this year or not as you know, is just the luck of the draw. Well, this year offer your customers better resistant varieties. Choose from Renaissance, Nexus, or Paradigm, or take a blend of all three, because according the the latest NTEP trials they all have very good snow mold resistance. Your customer will also be getting turfgrasses that have better resistance to dollar spot, crabgrass, winter kill, and other nasty turfgrass problems. Learn more about these varieties at www.smithseed.com, or just give us a call to get some rolling your way!
Disease Resistance
| Variety | Snow Mold | Dollar Spot | Crabgrass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renaissance | 6.2 | 6.6 | 5.7 |
| Barlennium | 6.2 | 5.9 | 6.3 |
| Nexus | 6.0 | 6.6 | 6.7 |
| Stellar | 5.8 | 6.9 | 6.0 |
| Paradigm | 5.7 | 6.6 | 7.0 |
| Radiant | 5.7 | 5.0 | 5.8 |
| lsd | 0.8 | 1.6 | 1.8 |
Innovative!
Titan Ltd. was recently recognized by Grounds Maintenance Magazine as part of their 2004 Innovate Product Awards! For more information, visit www.TitanLimited.com and click on the Grounds Maintenance Award logo.
