Raymond Zehr Joins Smith Seed Services
We are pleased to announce that Raymond Zehr has joined our Sales Team. Raymond is very familiar with the seed business, having both grown up around it and working several years for Smith Seed Services in various positions, including trucking, warehousing, packaging and invoicing. Prior to returning to Smith Seed, Raymond owned and operated a construction/ excavation business. Raymond is Paul Zehr’s son. He will be focusing on domestic sales.
You can reach Raymond at raymond@smithseed.com or (800) 826-6327.
Crop Update
Willamette Valley grass seed growers have watched it rain, and rain, and rain. Such prolonged spring rains and wet fields make it challenging for farmers to spray and fertilize. While some prefer to apply fertilizer in two applications, years like this force some growers to apply it all in one application. Fortunately, the weeks of May 6 and 13 brought us a stretch of dry weather; dry enough that the return of rain this week was welcomed.
Overall, grass crops look good at this time. We expect a decent crop, assuming normal conditions from here on. Harvest begins in about 6 weeks. Carryover inventory levels are light for tall fescues, ryegrasses, orchardgrass, and white clover. We expect prices to be steady on these items.
Tagging Sell-By Date
There are now thirty one (31) states which require sell-by dates to be listed on seed tags. Unfortunately, not all 31 states share the same sell-by dates. Unless otherwise specified, when we ship seed we tag appropriate ONLY to the state of destination. However, many of our customers sell to multiple surrounding states. In order for us to properly tag your seed, we need to know which states you want us to use for sell-by labeling information.
If you need us to be tagging your seed for additional states, please send an e-mail to Dale (dale@smithseed.com). Title the e-mail “Tag information for [your company name], and include state information in the body.
Current Sell-By Dates
| 7 months | FL |
|---|---|
| 12 months | MT, NE, SD, WI, WY |
| 15 months | AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, ID, IL, IN, MD, MN, NC, ND, NH, NJ, NV, OH, OR, PA, UT, VA, VT, WA, DC |
Out With The Old
The next time you are heading to Halsey and want to stop by, don’t look for the iconic 100-foot elevator as a guidepost to Smith Seed Services. It’s gone. It served us well but has outlived it’s usefulness, as it was rather old and tired. In order to improve plant flow and make better use of space, the old building behind it is also being replaced.
So don’t look for the elevator, but DO come see us soon!
