A DAY ON THE HILL By Casey Reynolds, PhD
Representatives from the National Turfgrass Federation (NTF) made a trip to Washington, D.C. in early May to discuss the impacts and importance of the natural turfgrass industry on the United States economy, environmental health, and urban well-being. Te timing of this trip came during the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate negotiations for the 2019 U.S. Farm Bill, which is the primary legislative tool that affects U.S. agriculture and food policy.
Te objectives of this visit were to introduce the natural turfgrass industry to policy-makers and express the importance of federal support, in the form of the Farm Bill language and appropriations, for facing current and future challenges including water use, drought, pests, public perception, etc.
Estimates place turfgrass as potentially the fourth largest crop in the U.S. at over 60 million acres and, unlike many agricultural crops, it is present in every city, county, district and state in America. Turfgrass maintenance alone is estimated to be a $60 billion industry nationwide, yet federal funding for turfgrass science and research lags far behind other major agricultural crops. Currently, with less than $750,000 of dedicated annual federal support through the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), turfgrass scientists receive approximately 0.00125 percent of the industry’s economic impact in maintenance alone.
Unlike many agricultural crops, turfgrass is present in every city, county, district and state in America.
TPI Turf News July/August 2018
Over the course of the visit, NTF visited with congressional republicans and democrats from Georgia, Utah, Arizona, Kansas and Maryland, and with representatives from the USDA. Te message delivered was that university scientists have great success in returning value on each dollar of privately- or publicly- funded grants. However, there are currently few grant opportunities at the federal level large enough to support large-scale projects in turfgrass genomics; developing hardier varieties that tolerate heat, drought, salt, etc.; and understanding the ecosystem services of the natural turfgrass industry on a national scale. In order to explore these areas, it’s important for policy-makers to understand that turfgrass science is an integral part of the agricultural industry and should be recognized as such. It collaborates with other sectors of science and is one of the most dynamic crops in agriculture.
TPI Executive Director Dr. Casey Reynolds makes a key point during the NTF meeting with USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Dr. Brian Schwartz, assistant professor of turfgrass
breeding and management at
the University of Georgia, the home state of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, highlighted the value that new varieties bring to turfgrass producers and the industry as a whole. Dr. Reynolds pointed out that even though many people think of natural turfgrass as present in urban and suburban communities, the turfgrass producers who grow and harvest this crop are farmers that face many of the same challenges as the farmers of any other agricultural crop.
Federal recognition in the Farm Bill and support of turfgrass research to produce new varieties that meet the needs of homeowners, landscapers, athletic field managers, and golf course superintendents will not only bring added value to turfgrass producers, but also to all end users who have a demand for newer, lower input turfgrasses. As Secretary Perdue convincingly stated in response to NTF, “You don’t have to convince me of the value that farmers bring to society.”
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