Of course, UGA is but one of many universities who invest heavily in turfgrass research which is often funded by external grants from any number of organizations, agencies or foundations. Dr. Paul Raymer, professor plant breeding and ge- nomics, who directs the turfgrass breeding and genetics research pro- gram at the UGA Griffin Campus, has stated that turfgrass breeding programs often work closely with scientists from a range of disci- plines including stress physiology, weed science, plant pathology, ento- mology, and molecular genetics.
Raymer said, “From my perspective, pirating hurts the entire turf industry. The consumer loses because a pirated grass likely does not have all the at- tributes that the breeder spent years working to get into a single cultivar. The licensee loses because although he paid for a license to sell that grass,
someone stole that right from him. Certainly the company/breeder loses vital support necessary to produce the next ‘best ever’ cultivar.”
There are a good number of orga- nizations, associations and gov- ernment agencies in addition to universities that are in the mix, including but certainly not limited to the USGA (United States Golf Association), GCSAA (Golf Course Superintendents Association of America), EPA (Environmental Pro- tection Agency), and USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), along with private companies and countless others who invest heav- ily in developing new grasses and rely on “licensed producers” who are selected in part because of their reputation, product quality and customer service.
In addition to providing their li- censees with reliable products, they also provide educational, market- ing, public relations and advertising support. The investment in time and energy is huge, but such efforts result in developing licensed and certified turfgrasses that provide sports field managers, golf course su- perintendents, landscape architects, contractors and homeowners with a wide assortment of the finest turf- grasses in the marketplace. Products they can rely on and turfgrasses that meet exceptional quality standards.
The cost to undertake such research programs is substantial and the return, if any, through trial and error, can take years if not decades to recover the initial investment. For these many reasons, turfgrass pirates—individuals and companies who misrepresent a product or mislead the buyer, or who market exclusive cultivars without proper authorization, or who pass off less desirable products as licensed brands—aren’t just cheating the indi- viduals and companies who invested
TPI TURF NEWS • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016
in developing the product, they are also misleading and cheating the end-user. They are cheating all of us and the industry we represent.
Tobey Wagner, president of Sod Solutions, has a great deal to say about the subject and is passionate when asked about piracy and its consequences. “Piracy discourages innovation, and it’s innovation that not only drives our industry, it drives all industries. Everyone in the green industry, and especially those who rely on the integrity of prod- ucts that are developed, grown, and beneficial to the end-user, should support companies that strive to be innovative. Piracy on any level or on any degree should not be tolerated. Piracy is stealing, it’s unethical, and it’s important that the turfgrass industry work together to project a professional image and not toler- ate dishonesty in any aspect of our business. It’s important that growers be united with respect to integrity and sustainability of the turfgrass industry and anything we can do to discourage piracy benefits all of us—
from the customers we serve to the industry we represent.”
Christian H. Broucqsault, Sod Solu- tions’ vice president, marketing, expressed his thoughts on the issue of piracy as follows: “As long as there are unscrupulous people out there, piracy will be a problem, and the problems caused by pirates af- fect many people. In a never ending cycle, the parties harmed range from the end-user to the licensed sod farm to the patent and trademark holder to the entire research and development community and back again to the end user. Pirates cause a lose-lose situation for everyone.”
David Doguet of Bladerunner Farms commented, “Piracy is a problem and it will only get worse as more licensed grasses become available.”
43
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68