Tall Fescue Turfgrass Seed
Seed Estimates Overshoot Production For Tall Fescue Grass Seed
Posted in General by Curtis Williams
As Tall Fescue became the Number 1 grass seed crop in the Pacific Northwest at more than 200 million pounds each year, more and more time has been spent each year trying to estimate the number of acres, the potential yields, and what the market would demand. Quite a bit of consternation over an ancient pasture grass that probably originated in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
Growers, dealers, County and State officials have all been involved in fine tuning the accuracy of these numbers, and re-visiting these projections several times a year. Many believe having the right numbers would equal the right price, and be the best thing for growers and consumers. One could argue that the projections have never been more accurate.
As recently as May of 2017, the Oregon and Missouri crops were estimated to be 40 million pounds more than needed in any year, and that’s how the industry approached the new crop. When the new crop came, it was far off the mark, and that 40 million pound cushion disappeared. The Missouri Kty 31 crop was the lowest in history, and only outpaced the Oregon Kty 31 crop by 4 million pounds SO, yes the prices are real, and the good news is that it won’t be much trouble counting the carryover in June 2018!