At the end of the day, this proposal was born out of the genuine interest
to protect, promote, and advance the industry that we all love.
As with all national checkoffs, it’s producers, and only producers, who get to decide whether or not the program passes. Additionally, if it does pass, producers will be in charge of it.
So, if the voting results are positive, the next step in the process will be to nominate and select sod producers to serve on the U.S. Natural Grass Sod Checkoff program board. It’s hard to say exactly how long that process would take, but using another checkoff which just passed in 2021 as a recent example, it took about 16 months for the board to be seated and for the program to begin.
Inversely, if it fails by a majority vote in the referendum, then it would take a much shorter time to finalize the announcement and wrap up the proposed program. We simply won’t know until we hear the results of the referendum.
If you’ve followed this proposed program at all, particularly the discussion in the month or two after the voting period was announced, it’s no surprise to say that there are opinions on all sides of this proposal. Some producers are strongly for it, some strongly against it, and many in between. At the end of the day, this proposal was born out of the genuine interest to protect, promote, and advance the industry that we all love.
Sod production is a $1.1 billion industry with little or no substantial source of research or marketing funding devoted solely to natural grass. Can our industry continue to move forward with or without a checkoff? Of course it could.
Could or would it be better positioned in the marketplace with substantial research and promotion behind it to promote natural grass lawns and sports fields, fight back against grass bans, and so on? Possibly, and in all likelihood, even probably.
A sod checkoff program could raise millions of dollars annually to fund research devoted solely to protecting and advancing the natural grass industry. Either way, only time will tell as we await the results of the referendum.
We here at TPI will share the results of the referendum as soon as we have them, and regardless of the outcome, we will always do our best to support the industry that we all care about so much. So, please be sure to follow us on our website or on social media for this and other announcements.
If you have any questions about the proposed program, please contact me any time at
CReynolds@TurfgrassSod.org or 847-737-1846, and I’ll be happy to visit with you.
We here at TPI will share the results of the referendum as soon as we have them, and regardless of the
outcome, we will always do our best to support the industry that we all care about so much.
Casey Reynolds, PhD, is executive director of Turfgrass Producers International.
TPI Turf News March/April 2025
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