Crop Talk
As reflected in current market prices, most Oregon grass seed crops were about average in yields. Some areas were better than others, depending on who got rain and when, as evidenced in the perennial ryegrass crop. Generally the south valley yields were good and some north valley yields were light. As mentioned in earlier letters, acreage was up significantly, so supply will be greater than last year and hopefully prices will be stable. Annual ryegrass and orchardgrass were average overall, both with no significant increase in acres. With normal usage, the ryegrass should come close to cleaning up again. Tall fescue acres are up a bit from last year and yields generally were good. In spite of a poor Midwest crop, it appears there is still enough fescue to go around. Fine fescues yields are down, and acreages are less than last year so prices have increased. Still too early to know about the Canadian Creeper crop, while the weather has been contrary in some areas, price has not changed in recent weeks. Clover prices (red and white)remain strong and harvesting is in progress. Early indications are yields will be about normal. Others closer to production areas up north may have a better take, but from what we are hearing, no major yield issues with most bluegrass production, although yields on some elite varieties may be down.
New Website: Titanlimited.com
In response to the fast-growing interest, and for the purpose of helping YOU sell more seed, we have just created a website dedicated exclusively to Titan Ltd. Tall Fescue: www.Titanlimited.com. Although it is still somewhat incomplete, we wanted you to know about it now for a couple specific reasons:
- Information access. Titanlimited.com provides information that you can use, as well as making the information easily accessible to end users. Over the next couple of weeks we will be putting numerous photographs and additional information that will be both practical and easy to understand. There is much to learn about the benefits of rhizomes in tall fescues. We are just learning ourselves. And this is only one of the great characteristics of Titan Ltd.
- Drive consumers to your customers. One unique feature that we have included in Titanlimited.com is a dealer locator tool which allows visitors to find their closest dealer by simply putting in their zip code. The tool will even allow them to print a map of the dealer’s location. In order to make this work, WE NEED YOUR INPUT. Ideally, we would like to list every dealer in the U.S. that carries Titan Ltd. either straight or in mixes. So we need you to send us your dealer listing. If for some reason you don’t want us to have these listings, then we would ask that you let us know if you want your name included. To participated in this program, contact Jonathan at 888-550-2930 or jonathan@smithseed.com and be sure to visit Titanlimited.com.
New Ryegrass: Protocol 3
Protocol 3 hits the market this fall with lots of promise. Protocol 3 takes disease resistance to a new level. Specifically bred for improved stem rust resistance and persistence, user can expect enhanced resistance to other diseases like take-all patch, crown rust, leaf spot, and grey leaf spot. Further selections have also improved its color and turf quality. According to the breeder, Protocol 3 was selected to have better persistence. A great enhancer for your blends and mixes, make sure to include Protocol 3 in your turf line up. This is first year production. Availability is limited.
New Tall Fescue: Covenant
Covenant Tall Fescue (tested as ATF 802) is our latest turf-type tall fescue, and one to plug into your product line. Covenant comes from a breeding selection focused on developing denser tall fescues. If you want a tall fescue that looks like bluegrass (well almost!), has great overall performance and disease resistance, check out Covenant. Another noted feature is off-season color. While many varieties loose their color quickly in the cooler months, data taken on Covenant seems to indicate that it has the ability to maintain great color, even during the cooler months, like December. This is first year production on Covenant, so availability is limited.
