Crop Talk
We are in the thick of harvest! Here are our latest observations:
- While the 2016 harvest got off to an early and fast start, a few periods of cooler temperatures, and unseasonable rain have slowed down windrowing and combining activities.
- This unique weather has been one of the contributing factors in causing annual ryegrass farmers to be reluctant to price their crop. Buying activity at the farmer level has been quite challenging. Yields appear to be down slightly, but better than 2015.
- Major agreements and legal resolutions have allowed radish growers to establish pricing. This is just in time, as the majority of this seed will move to the marketplace within the next 30 days. Prices have dropped a bit, but appear stable.
- Forage tall fescue seems to be leveling off with more growers willing to sell. Yields appear to be down 15-20%.
- Turf-type tall fescue is starting to go through the cleaners. It is too early to estimate any yields, however we have heard that they appear to be down slightly.
- Increased acres of winter field peas has caused the pricing of new crop peas to drop from last year.
- With no carryover, new crop orchardgrass is a welcome sight. Pricing is down from last year, but still strong.
Fall Booking - Its Time!
It is time to make some decisions about what you are going to offer your customers this fall. As you go through that process, here is a list of some things we think you ought to consider, categorized by use:
Turf
- This summer’s hot weather will bring about damage to cool season turf and good opportunities for fall overseeding. We will be promoting our Titan tall fescue line aggressively through various media. Make sure you have your seed in your warehouse early enough.
- Signet turf ryegrass is our newest grey leaf spot resistant ryegrass. More on this next month.
Forage
- Thankfully, our Persist orchardgrass production is up and we expect to be able to satisfy demand. Persist is available both raw and with our Nitro-NP™ seed enhancement.
- We have a small amount of Renovation white clover still available. This along with Cajun II tall fescue and Persist are valuable solutions/alternatives to toxic endophyte tall fescue. Market promotion of all three of these products should drive additional business to our participating distributors and their dealers.
- Meroa Italian ryegrass has been very impressive in this year’s trials. Supplies are limited (for both fall and spring). Make sure you get your seed booked early on this one.
- Bestfor Plus intermediate ryegrass is back after a short production hiatus. Availability is good, but historic demand has been great for this high performing forage. Get your booking in soon.
Cover Crop/Wildlife
- “Do you sell Lynx?” That’s what we expect lots of folks to be asking for over the next 60 days. We’ve launched an aggressive marketing campaign emphasizing Lynx Winter Pea’s superior cold tolerance and tannin-free sweetness. New crop seed will be ready sometime around mid-August. In order to expedite shipping, you will want to get your order in now.
- Fixation Balansa clover is ready to ship. Data continues to show this one is worth having in your lineup and the promotion efforts are creating good name recognition