By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press

The robust growth in ryegrass seed exports seen in recent years has likely peaked due to diminished European demand and higher domestic prices, experts say.

“The party is over,” said Steve Tubbs, president of Turf Merchants, Inc., in Tangent, Ore. “In general, there’s not much good news at the export desk now.”

The value and volume of ryegrass seed exports surged in 2011, stayed strong in 2012, and saw a healthy uptick during the first quarter of 2013, according to federal trade data.

Higher sales in early 2013 likely represented the tail end of the upswing in exports, said Tubbs. The dimming prospects for exports are largely due to the market outlook in Europe, a major buyer of perennial ryegrass seed for turf.

Unseasonably low temperatures and adverse weather in Europe have hampered demand for perennial ryegrass seed, said Aaron Kuenzi, vice president and marketing manager at Mountain View Seeds in Salem, Ore.

“Spring business is weather-driven, even more than economy-driven,” he said.

Of course, the economic situation within the European Union continues to be troubled and the dollar has grown stronger against the euro, making U.S. grass seed more expensive in Europe, said Bill Dunn, executive vice president and general manager of Seed Research of Oregon in Corvallis, Ore.

“That may be the real sleeper in the deal,” Dunn said of the currency fluctuation.

Even without the change in currency values, grass seed has risen in price due to limited availability, he said. Growers in Oregon’s Willamette Valley have been planting more wheat and other crops that compete with grass seed.

“It seems like a lot more of everything and a lot less of grass,” Dunn said.

Fortunately, sales of grass seed in the U.S. are strong enough that companies won’t have to rely on exports to clear out inventories, said Tubbs.

“We think the good news is the supply and demand are very much in equilibrium,” he said.

While domestic demand for ryegrass seed appears sufficient, it’s strongest during the fall and spring seasons, said Sam Cable, export and seed position manager at Barenbrug USA in Tangent, Ore.

Exports, on the other hand, provide an outlet for grass seed throughout the year, he said. “It’s critical for cash flow for the entire industry.”

The prognosis for exports isn’t entirely negative, as the demand for annual ryegrass seed — primarily used for livestock forage, rather than turf — is healthy in emerging markets like China that are consuming more meat and dairy, Cable said.

“They get on buying streaks,” he said. “China needs a lot of milk. More milk than they ever thought.”

However, changes in Chinese regulations could cramp exports due to stricter permitting requirements that represent a “major shift in how they buy seed,” said Tubbs.

The fundamentally solid reputation of Oregon grass seed remains unchanged, though, so overseas buyers will continue to rely on the region for at least a decent portion of their supplies, Kuenzi said.

“They know they can count on the quality and consistency,” he said.

Published 6/12/13 in the Capital Press

Please see the You Tube video below that the Pacific Seed Association has produced.  Not only will this one minute commercial be used on social media, but it will also be televised across 13 states within PSA’s Geographic area.

Roger Batt
Pacific Seed Association

http://youtu.be/1mHH6m_DZMA

For those of you in the Alfalfa Seed Industry, attached is a newly approved label for Asulox as an herbicide for Alfalfa Seed grown in Idaho.

Thank you,

Roger Batt
Pacific Seed Association

I attended the Oregon Seed Council meeting last night with Bryan Muntz, and have prepared the following update. If you have any questions about the following, please do not hesitate to call: 503-858-4416.

Updates from the Commissions and the OSC committees were brief, and some had no report to offer at all. A bulk of the conversation revolved around slug control and different associations outside of the seed industry that may have an interest in battling slugs with us. Cattlemen were specifically mentioned as they see a substantial annual loss associated with slugs. This led to a conversation about an endowed professorship at OSU that would focus on entomology.

I updated the Oregon Seed Council on several items: I noted that the new OSA website had gone live; I noticed a few people jotting down the website URL and we did receive positive feedback from those who had already been to look at the new site. I noted that the OSA web link was not on the OSC website and that we would like to have that issue fixed as soon as possible. I noted that we are watching for unfriendly ballot measures being submitted to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office that seek to regulate the seed industry from the citizen level. The Summer Convention was brought up, as well as our effort to put together a summary that demonstrates the economic benefit of the seed industry to Oregon.

I have attached the OSU Update as it is always presented in hard copy.

Ron Pence with the Department of Ag was present. He noted that there is currently one slow pay no pay claim that looks like it is going to the license suspension stage. Pence noted that the seed contracting law that passed in 2011 did have a part to play in giving the Department the authority to fully investigate, work on mitigating the issue between the parties, and ultimately make the decision to seek license suspension. Pence also noted that the department is working on an administrative rule associated with Rathayibacter Toxicus. I have attached the ODA Update he provided on a quarantine proposal to deal with the issue, should it become a problem. There was also a brief conversation about the consistency of seed sampling, which validates the conversations that OSA has had internally about how to develop a more reliable and consistent system of sampling. Pence ended his update by noting that the Department is now working on sending out phyto certificates via email, a process that they have asked OSA to engage in as well.

Hope you are well.

Greg Miller
Executive Director
503-858-4416