Volume8.06

June 2008

June 2008

Crop/Market Watch

The Willamette Valley is just about to enter into full-blown grass seed harvesting. This year, initial cutting activity has been delayed due the extended cool weather. Therefore, as of this report, very few fields have been windrowed, although the weekend’s hot weather should now speed up the process. So far, some of the earlier maturing tall fescues, as well as some annual ryegrass fields have been the only crops cut.

Overall, the seed crops look, and we are expecting no less than average yields. Regarding acreage, many of you already know that clover acres are in short supply. Perennial ryegrass acres are down too, although carryover is significant. Annual ryegrass acres about normal. Tall fescue acres are up and orchardgrass acres are about the same.

While the domestic market struggled this spring, export sales have been excellent and expected to continue to be strong for this next crop year. So what will all this mean on the price side of things? When all this is coupled with the above with strong input costs and continued alternative crop options for Willamette growers, it just might mean that the normal pricing models - basic supply and demand pricing may not hold true.

A side of bluegrass, please

A little over a year ago we announced a new product line called TLC Tall Fescue Blend. While it is still very early in the life of a new product, we can say that overall acceptance and interest in TLC has been very good. We are now pleased to announce a companion line called TLC Plus Tall Fescue-Bluegrass Mixture. TLC Plus holds the same high standards of TLC, requiring all mixtures to contain at least 25% of Titan Ltd., while offering the inclusion of compatible Kentucky bluegrass varieties selected to suit each customer’s marketplace and applications.

Increased fertilizer cost, the need to look at lower maintenance grasses, and the overall improved turf quality of today’s tall fescues are some of the factors that continue to generate greater usage of tall fescue and tall fescue dominated mixtures. We expect this trend to continue and will continue to look for ways to support the marketplace. TLC Plus Tall Fescue-Bluegrass Mixture will be available in 25 and 50 lbs polywoven bags. Look for more information later this summer at www.TLCFescue.com.

Varieties Score BIG in Texas Forage Trials

The folks in Texas recently released their annual ryegrass report for the 2007-08 growing season. We were once again very pleased with the results. As you can see from the table below, Smith Seed’s newest varieties, Attain, Big Boss, Verdure and Ed continue to out-yield many other very good varieties. If you are looking to add a proprietary annual into your program, these would be excellent choices. More data from throughout the country is available at SmithSeed.com.

Texas Annual Ryegrass Forage Variety Trials (lbs. DM/A

2004-2008

 OvertonBeaumont 
Variety3-yr Mean3-yr MeanCombined Total
TXR2006-T229365581915184
Tetrapro8968606115029
Attain8997593314930
Big Boss9045559714642
TAMTBO 9375 4882 142579375488214257
Jumbo8935517814113
Prine8798512413922
Verdure8198562013818
Maximus8449533713786
Diamond T8083559513678
Dynagain8379524113620
Ed8798473213530
ME 49158435413512
Tam 908379503713416
ME 948573461913192
Flying A7811507112882
WD-407360527512635
TXR2004-OP8354412812482
Jackson7880457612456
Gulf7920445212372
Shiwasuaoba7343464411987