All Hands On Deck!
Seed movement out of the Willamette Valley is nothing short of intense right now. Throughout Spring 2026, distributors maintained conservative inventory levels. Movement has steadily increased throughout the summer months, with a strong kick the past 30 days. Seed cleaners, shipping warehouses, seed labs, blenders, coaters, bag suppliers, paper pushers, and seed salesmen are all very busy. Tis the season and we are very thankful for the business!
Crop and Market Update
With the majority of harvest behind us, here’s a snapshot of Willamette Valley crops and markets:
Common Forage Fescue - Limited carryover and poor Missouri crop put early pressure on KY-31 cleaners, pushing the price up. Availability has improved, but price remains strong. This has also driven up the price of Fawn.
Improved Forage Fescue - Limited carryover and poor yields. Supplies are tight and price is strong.
Annual Ryegrass - Prices are stable. Movement is good. Somewhat less than average yields.
Crimson Clover - Very good movement. Price is attractive.
Orchardgrass - No carryover. Limited crop. High priced. Will likely stay strong all year.
Turf Fescue - Carryover has aided early shipment and minimized price increases. Yields are less than average.
Perennial Clovers - While not yet cleaned, expectations are for a favorable crop of Dutch white, ladino, and red clovers.
Radish - Old crop has squeaked us to the finish line. We should start seeing new crop in the next couple weeks.
Winter peas - Harvest is underway. Supply is projected to be adequate.
Turnips - Increased acres harvested this summer have kept downward pressure on price.
Lean In and Learn
Our industry is not stagnant. The next generation is learning how to merge the old with the new. Like most of us, your day-to-day cycle is sitting at a desk where not much seems to change. Challenge yourself to get out 3-4 times over the next year: attend a field day, seminar or educational conference and learn something new happening in this amazing industry. Here's some examples gleaned from recent turfgrass field days:
- Drone technology is being explored for turfgrass breeding to collect data on disease, drought tolerance, wear tolerance, and turf quality, allowing breeders and evaluators to take more ratings and improve accuracy.
- Billbugs are now becoming an issue in turf fescues. What might look like drought damage, may actually be caused by billbugs scalping turf.
- Using white clover in lawns reduces crabgrass infestation.
- Mowing more frequently with robotic mowers may provide better nutrient cycling and stress reduction than traditional less frequent mowing.
- Gray leaf spot is very destructive to turf fescue. First-gen varieties provide some protection, but need improvement. Thankfully, hope is on the way.
