WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH NATURAL GRASS PROMOTIONS?
Compiled by Suz Trusty
It’s no secret that natural grass has taken a beating. Attacks in the mainstream press and on social media by misguided environmental activists and the artificial turf conglomerate have labeled real grass as the bad guy. Te so-called heroes of these efforts are “alternatives” such as fake grass, billed as water-saving and more environmentally friendly. Te good news is that multiple proponents of the real hero— natural grass—are aggressively countering this barrage of misinformation. Check out what’s happening in this ongoing counteroffensive and pick up ideas you can use to join the battle in your market.
Banding Together to Fight Back As reported in the “What to Know” section of TPI News on page 6 of this issue, “Grass Bans Abound.” Turfgrass Producers International (TPI) is working with members in Utah and Colorado on three new grass bans that would limit grass on public property and incentivize homebuilders to NOT use grass in newly constructed homes. TPI Executive Director, Dr. Casey Reynolds, will report more on this in the next issue of Turf News.
Te proposed U.S. Sod Checkoff is envisioned as a means to bring together funding from all U.S. sod producers to conduct research, promote the many benefits of natural grass and, through marketing outreach, increase the demand for sod. Te Sod Checkoff crossed a key milestone in the fall of 2023 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced the opening of the 60-day public comment period. Tat period was closed on December 15, 2023. In February of 2024, the USDA announced that they anticipate a summary of the public comment period in April of 2024. As of the writing of this article in early April, the turfgrass industry was still awaiting that announcement. To learn more about the proposed U.S. Checkoff, see the article on page 50 of this issue of Turf News or visit the website
www.sodcheckoff.org.
Another industry-wide initiative is the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program. NTEP has been trialing major turfgrass species cultivars and experimental selections in nationwide tests in conjunction with its university partners for 40-plus years. NTEP also has designed trial programs to provide more data on specific traits of turfgrasses such as water use, traffic tolerance, and sod strength. Data collected and summarized from these trials can be obtained directly from the NTEP website (www.ntep. org). In addition, NTEP has developed Turfgrass Trial Explorer, a search tool that allows a user to efficiently
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locate the information provided by that summarized data to make smart and timely decisions on their turfgrass selections. An introduction to the tool can be found on the NTEP website at this link (
www.ntep.org/database.htm) or by going directly to the tool at the link that follows. https://
maps.umn.edu/ntep/. Watch for more information on this resource and the introduction of a new NTEP website in an upcoming issue of Turf News.
A-LIST, the Alliance for Low Input Sustainable Turf, is a non-profit organization that evaluates and promotes high turf quality while benefiting the environment through turfgrass varieties that require less water, fertilizer, chemicals, and pesticides. Tis is accomplished by creating industry trial guidelines and evaluation protocols. A-LIST members are working together for low-input solutions and spreading the word about the benefits of natural grass. Tese TPI supplier members are part of that group: Barenbrug, DLF, Landmark Seed Company, Lebanon Turf, and Mountain View Seeds.
TWCA, Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance, is a non- profit organization that evaluates and certifies turfgrasses that use less water. As stated in a recent press release, “From trialing to advocacy, TWCA is moving in high gear!” TWCA supplier members include Turf Merchants, Inc. (TMI), Pure Seed, BrettYoung, and Vista Seed Partners, LLC.
Proactive Outreach April is… National Lawn Care Month. Once again, TPI and Te Lawn Institute (TLI) have partnered with the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), the Irrigation Association (IA), and the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) to promote natural grass. Ready-to-use resources are available to members of these partnering associations for their websites and social media platforms. From #GRASSFACTS, such as the one on page 9 of this issue, to videos and infographics, many of these resources are designed to spread the word year-round.
A key initiative for TWCA is incentivizing drought- tolerant turfgrass. So far, TWCA has enjoyed international success with communities adopting different models for cooperation. From rebates to direct sales, there is a model to meet your needs. As part of this initiative, in March, TWCA partners advanced bill CA AB2947 in the California Assembly based on the TWCA Turf Trade program. Pioneered by Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities Conservation Manager Stephanie Duer, Turf Trade replaces conventional turfgrass with TWCA
TPI Turf News May/June 2024
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