| | Oregon State remains the world’s most prolific producer of grass seed in the world, in particular, the turf grass species perennial ryegrass, annual ryegrass, and tall fescue. In terms of supply, Oregon’s production dominates the turf grass scene worldwide. Therefore, with Oregon’s production and subsequent supply of these turf grasses, comes the question, what’s the demand?
Movement Reports
Oregon’s grass and legume seed is summarized annually by personnel from Oregon State University’s extension service. However, movement of grass seed in Oregon, a sign of demand, is recorded on a quarter year basis, and provides the trade and growers vital information as to the supply/demand situation. Reports provided by the “Oregon Grass Seed Bargaining Association” (OGSBA) reflect seed movement from grower to dealer and do not reflect the actual market movement. However, once seed is in company hands, seed movement is typically imminent. The nature of the seed business has moved to a “hand to mouth” approach, where seed is purchased by end users as needed, and quick delivery expected. These reports are provided at the OGSBA website. http://www.ogsba.com/
Of interest to Canadians are the movement of Creeping red fescue, other fine fescues, and perennial ryegrass seed. Canadian “creeper” is primarily used as a lawn seed filler, mixed with perennial ryegrass, annual ryegrass, and tall fescue, to provide a lawn mixture for end users. Canada is the one of the world’s largest producers of creeping red fescue and most demand for this product originates from usage in the USA. The Canadian grass seed trade and growers can watch what is occurring in the USA, and valuable information can be had from the OGSBA reports. For trade personnel, price assessments reports are also available for tall fescue and fine fescues. The pricing reports provide not only information on seed movement, but also pricing. Purchase prices for each quarter, with average price/lb. are given. Price assessments are not available for perennial ryegrass.
Assessment report for fine fescues
Summary
With Canadian turf grass seed production so reliant on the USA turf seed market, the availability of information, such as seed movement and prices, provides the Canadian grass and legume seed trade and its’ growers, valuable information, not only for now, but also for future planning.
Prepared by David Wong, Market Specialist, Ag-Info Centre, Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development 310-3276
|
|