HAPPENINGS
Pratum Co-op Adds Landmark Turf Division to Offerings Te Pratum Co-op board of directors and management have announced that they have purchased the turf division of Landmark Turf & Native Seed. Te acquisition was finalized April 1. Pratum will now market turf and forage grasses under both the Mountain View and Landmark brands. “We believe a two-brand strategy makes a lot of sense for our growing company,” says Pratum Co-op President Troy Kuenzi. Landmark’s seed is sold worldwide with focus on the sod, sports turf, golf, and landscape segments. Pratum will build on the great brands and varieties that Landmark’s customers have come to appreciate. We want the Landmark customer to experience a seamless transition,” said Executive Vice President Aaron Kuenzi. Landmark’s Vice President John Brader said, “Pratum Co-op has an exceptional reputation of integrity, customer service, and innovation. It’s a great fit. Pratum’s resources will fuel the growth of our business and provide opportunity to our turf team and customers.” Pratum Co-op of Salem, Oregon, established in 1946, is an independent and locally owned cooperative delivering agronomy, energy, research, seed processing, and marketing to 400 active members throughout Oregon. Combining the two brands, Pratum will market over 90 million pounds of turf, forage, and cover crop seed worldwide.
Vegas Calls for Ban on “Nonfunctional Turf” According to an AP report, a “… desert city built on a reputation for excess and indulgence wants to become a model for restraint and conservation with a first-in-the-nation policy banning grass that nobody walks on.” Las Vegas-area water officials have spent two decades trying to get people to replace thirsty greenery with desert plants, and now they’re asking the Nevada Legislature to outlaw roughly 40 percent of the turf that’s left. Te Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates there are almost 8 square miles (21 square kilometers) of “nonfunctional turf” in the metro area—grass that no one ever walks on or otherwise uses in street medians, housing developments, and office parks. Tey say this ornamental grass requires four times as much water as drought-tolerant landscaping like cactus and other succulents. By ripping it out, they estimate the region can reduce annual water consumption by roughly 15 percent and save about 14 gallons (53 liters) per person per day. Keep an eye out for more information on this initiative that balances on suppositions rather than the facts on all of the benefits of natural grass and proper natural grass maintenance.
NFL Player Calls for Natural Grass Fields Only In a story posted on the NBC Sports website on February 14, Mike Florio reports that 49ers defensive lineman, Solomon Tomas, calls for “grass only fields” for all NFL teams. While the football season officially ended on February 7, Florio says, “For the 49ers, it unofficially ended 20 weeks earlier. It ended in Week Two, with a stunning rash of leg injuries on the turf at MetLife Stadium.” Florio goes on to say, “One of the players lost for the season in that game against the Jets, defensive lineman Solomon Tomas, wants the NFL to ditch the fake stuff and play only on the real thing.” Tomas told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, “Te NFL needs to do a better job with turf. It should be all grass fields. We should take care of our players. Safety should be number one.” Florio states, “Plenty of players feel that way, and for good reason. Te teams make gigantic financial investments in players. But then the teams don’t protect those investments by putting the players on the best possible fields.” As reported previously in Turf News, “Te NFL Players Association has presented data from 2012 through 2018 showing non-contact knee injuries happened 32 percent more often on artificial surfaces and non-contact foot/ankle injuries happened 69 percent more often on the plastic grass.” Florio says, “While grass may be a challenge in some locations, the Packers have impeccable grass at Lambeau Field. If they can do it in Wisconsin, it can be done anywhere.” He adds, “Of course, some teams don’t do grass well, either. For some teams, that’s because the field is shared with a college team—and because the stadium periodically hosts high-school games. Trow in the profit grab that comes from staging concerts and other events in the venue, and it becomes easier and cheaper to go with plastic grass.” Florio suggests that one solution might be building or renovating stadiums with a grass field that slides in or out of the building as it does in Arizona and Las Vegas, or the renovated Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London. Florio concludes by stating, “Te NFL’s sole product is football. Football is played on a field. Tat field should be covered in high-quality grass with proper footing. It shouldn’t be hard. Either it is, or the people responsible for the sport don’t care enough to make it happen. Te complete article can be found at:
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/02/14/solomon-thomas- calls-on-nfl-to-use-grass-fields-only/
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TPI Turf News May/June 2021
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