Palmetto® St. Augustine continues to be a steady and true St. Augustine for the South. Palmetto has been found to be resistant to Lethal Viral Necrosis (LVN), the result of a combination of viruses devastating lawns in Florida. Palmetto is a time-tested variety with thousands of acres in production throughout the world. Supply is very short this year with many Florida growers completely running out of inventory. It will be mid-summer to the early fall before new fields are ready for harvest.
NorthBridge® Bermuda has surged in use as well. NorthBridge performed exceptionally well this year in areas affected by the major freeze, separating it from other grasses. Demand is high and availability is short. A highlight use has been on the new PGA headquarters golf courses, which are on track to open next summer in Frisco, TX.
Pandemic Impact What a difference a year makes! One year ago, the nation was locked down with major uncertainty regarding Covid-19, with impacts to the economy and general impacts in the United States and throughout the world caused by the worldwide pandemic. Fortunately, turfgrass production and sales were allowed to continue under agriculture exemptions. Although the impacts varied from state to state, many turf farms remained open. Many regions experienced record sales as people were locked down at home and used the opportunity to do landscape projects.
Managed by ClickSod™ technology, Sod Solutions and its partner farms’ e-commerce sales increased substantially during Covid. Demand for Turf Logistics® software also soared during the pandemic. Tere were farms that due to Covid outbreaks had to shut down and work remotely. For growers, it was an eye-opening experience that highlighted their level of readiness to shift to remote work and digital sales. Growers that were prepared with Turf Logistics were able to completely operate their businesses from homes with minimal to no personnel requirements at the farm. Growers without technology struggled to keep basic operations running. One of the revelations of the pandemic has been a reshaping of the office workforce. Employees working in an office environment with traditional 9 am-5 pm hours has potentially changed forever. Companies have learned through the pandemic better ways of getting work done with a mix of time working in the office and time working at home.
Fast forward to today. A booming economy, labor shortages, major trucking issues, unprecedented money infusion by the government, consumer demand beyond expectations, and shortages of basic materials is changing the landscape of the turf industry. Inflation is no longer a theory. Current inflation rates are reported to be over 4 percent. Some recent data show it to be much higher. All these factors contribute to the status of the Turfgrass Seed and Vegetative Stock reports for 2021 and beyond.
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Trends: Many farms are transitioning and adopting a new e-commerce model. Tey are now selling grass, palletized products, and other services online that they previously had not been capable of organizing. Tis is changing the business operations for many growers as the public expects the ease of buying online post-pandemic. Te Turf Logistics team has been extremely busy signing up new farms to sell online through our custom-built ClickSod websites and platform.
Several university research programs that Sod Solutions is involved with will impact new grass production over the next year or two, with multiple new grass introductions taking place. Te best is yet to come, and the future is bright for the natural turfgrass industry.
Future: Sod Solutions is passionate about the natural turfgrass industry. Faith, passion, innovation, commitment, and hard work are critical to success. In my opinion, it all starts with faith and passion. 2020 was a difficult year for many. As we roll through 2021, we want to express our appreciation to everyone who works and serves in this industry. We need to recognize more often those who work tirelessly for our businesses and associations. Te status of the industry is strong and will get stronger with cooperation and looking after each other. Now let’s all make 2021 the best year yet as we leave the pandemic in the rearview mirror!
Sod Solutions’ Latitude 36 Bermudagrass greets players on the golf course at Te Loxahatchee Club in Jupiter, FL.
TPI Turf News July/August 2021
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