Natural Grass Sod Producers, has Natural Grass Sod Producers as members, and has a board of directors comprised of a majority of Natural Grass Sod Producers. Tese boards could be state or regional sod producer groups, which was intentional because our industry currently has both. If states or regions don’t have formal associations, they could certainly create them at any point.


Another request from many in the industry has been that the three states with the highest volume of Natural Grass Sod production, as determined on an annual basis by the Secretary, shall each be given first priority to appoint a member in their respective Region. It makes sense that checkoff boards have members from areas of significant production, so this simply formalizes an idea that would likely happen anyway.


It is worth mentioning that these proposed changes have been discussed with, and submitted to, USDA but have not yet been formally approved. Many other checkoffs have similar language around these ideas, so there is certainly a precedent for them. Each industry is different though, of course, and so too should be the checkoff language.


Another question that often comes up at meetings is what is the current status and when do we expect a vote? We have passed several of the key milestones to this point, and we continue to work through the appropriate steps at USDA.


As it stands now, we are still awaiting final approval to open up the 60-day public comment period. While that could happen as soon as the spring of 2023, we really just don’t know. Once that does happen though, our industry (and anyone else for that matter) will have the opportunity to provide public comment on the proposed checkoff.


Once that public comment period closes, the USDA will then have to review and compile all of the comments and provide responses to each of them. Te next steps will likely be to establish the details and date of the referendum, of which there will be plenty of notification.


For example, the most recent checkoff to come up for vote was the Concrete Masonry Products Research and Promotion Order. Te final version of the proposal along with the referendum procedures were announced on May


TPI Turf News March/April 2023


One of the most important


components of implementing any checkoff program is industry feedback.


3, 2021, the notification of the vote was announced on September 15, 2021, the voting period began on October 15, 2021, and it was open for 30 days until November 15, 2021. Essentially, there was a six-month period between the time the referendum procedures and dates were announced before the voting period closed.


So, it is sufficient to say that the voting period shouldn’t sneak up on anyone, and we will do our best to make sure everyone is fully aware of it as soon as it is announced. Until then though, there are at least a few more steps between now and the vote, so there is still plenty of time.


We will continue to post updates and notification on social media channels and Turf News/Industry Harvest/ websites/e-blasts. We are also working with various state sod associations to raise awareness among their members, and with university faculty so they can share it with sod producers in their states/regions.


Again, this is our industry’s checkoff, not the USDA’s or anyone else’s, and you as sod producers will ultimately decide on it. We are doing everything we can to raise awareness, get feedback, and answer questions about the upcoming referendum.


As always, please feel free to reach out to me anytime if you’d like to discuss the proposed checkoff. Contact me at creynolds@TurfGrassSod.org or 847-737-1846.


Casey Reynolds, PhD, is executive director of Turfgrass Producers International. 29


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