Writer: Robert Burns (903) 834-6191, rd-burns@tamu.edu
Source: Dr. Lloyd Nelson (903) 834-6191,lr-nelson@tamu.edu
OVERTON – Finally there’s something good coming from the drought, though slight. Dry falls the last two years coupled with oversupply means producers should expect to pay less for ryegrass seed this year.
“Prices should be $5 to $10 lower per hundredweight, depending upon the variety,” said Dr. Lloyd Nelson, small grains breeder with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.
Nelson said prices for premium ryegrass seed should be about $35 to $36 per hundredweight this year. Prices for common ryegrass and Gulf, an older ryegrass variety, should be in the neighborhood of $30 or less per hundredweight.
Most ryegrass seed is grown in Oregon, which has been spared from the drought conditions that have racked Texas and parts of the country. With dry falls both last year and this year, agricultural producers have taken a “wait-and-see” strategy, waiting for rain to bring soil moisture levels up high enough to establish a winter forage crop.
Long-range forecasts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predict slightly above normal temperatures and average rainfall for the fall, giving the possibility of a good winter forage crop.
The plentiful ryegrass seed supplies take some pressure off producers. Some years, ryegrass seed has been in short supply, and producers have had to make the choice of buying seed with the possibility that there wouldn’t be enough moisture to start a crop.
If producers want winter forage, ryegrass is planted in October. They may wait, however, until November to plant if they don’t need winter forage but only early spring forage.
If they decide to plant, Nelson recommended that producers spend a few dollars more per acre and buy one of the premium ryegrass seed varieties. Premium varieties include Big Daddy, TAM90 LaFayette, Jackson, Marshall, Stampede, Natchez, Surrey and Ribeye.
“Yields of the premium varieties will typically beat those of the common varieties and Gulf by 10 percent. They are also more winter hardy,” Nelson said.
Producers can obtain information on the establishment of annual ryegrass from their local county Extension office. Alternately, they may view the latest recommendations for establishment and results of 24 ryegrass varieties tested for yield, adaptability and crown root rot resistance on the worldwide web. Go the following URL: http://overton.tamu.edu/news/ryegrass_facts.htm.
Nelson developed TAM90 in a breeding program conducted at the Texas A&M University Agricultural Research Centers at Overton, Beaumont and Angleton.
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