for them through contract arrangements following the proprietary processes. They have partnerships with growers and ware- house operators that handle the clean- ing, custom blending, packaging and physical shipping for them, all according to precise specifications.
Six co-founders started Grassland Or- egon in 2000 and were partners in its ownership. Three are actively involved in the company’s day-to-day operations, incorporating their expertise garnered from their previous roles within the
industry. Duane says, “They’re a joy to work with. We’re all like-minded, but we process things differently and we view things from our different per- spectives. That gives us a much better handle on the big picture.” Duane reports a typical winter morning starts gathered around, drinking coffee in an inter-company brainstorming session. Typical of Duane; it plays on a back- ground track that never stops running in his mind.
About 95 percent of Duane’s custom- ers are in the U.S. and Canada. He says, “I do work with some overseas clients, mainly in Europe. I have to get comfortable with the agronomics of a region before branching into it to make sure what I do works effectively for them. We trust our industry part- ners to look out for our best interests as well as theirs—and that’s how we treat our customers. We also like to have fun and we want our customers to have fun with us. If you’re not enjoy- ing what you’re doing, you’re not as effective—and maybe not as good at it.”
Duane adds, “Another thing I really enjoy about GO is that we kind of act like siblings around here. If I was in trouble, no one would hesitate to come to my aid—and I so appreciate that.”
THE ROAD TO SEED
DEVELOPMENT While co-founder Jerry Hall is director of research for GO, Duane notes all get the opportunity to contribute to it. “The direction of the research projects here is to focus on turf and forage species that are not widely developed for market yet. We’ve introduced two really good clover products that have more cold-tolerance. We’re looking at the cover crop, forage and turfgrass species and trying to find the attri- butes that will work within at least two and preferably all three of those markets—the integrated relationship in various iterations.
“I’ve always laughed because what we want in a turfgrass is found in forage grasses—establishes well, is drought resistant, low maintenance and has strong survivability on its own—which, when you think about it, is like a pas- ture grass. Those grasses are the ones that survive with animals not only putting heavy traffic on them, but also eating them down to the crown. If we can take the strong and deep rooting structure of a pasture grass and com- bine it with the aesthetic attributes of turfgrass, we’ll have a great product.”
Duane adds, “Sustainability is a big part of today’s research focus. We’re all looking for options that are both eco- nomically and environmentally sound. Obviously, drought tolerance is a prior- ity, as is promoting soil health and for- tifying its ecosystems, and sustaining natural pollinators. As an industry, we need to be more active in promoting turfgrasses as tools to alleviate damage to our natural resources. TPI and TLI have been doing a great job of spread- ing this positive message.”
Seed development is a long and arduous path. Duane notes it typically takes from seven to ten years to develop a grass on the research farm. Then, it takes a year to develop breeder seed, another year to produce foundation seed from that crop, and a third year to grow enough seed to supply the sod farmers. Any stage of those three planting-to-harvest cycles could be negatively impacted by weather conditions, pests or other unexpected challenges. Duane adds, “Sometimes a great-looking grass won’t produce enough seed to be economically-feasible to take to market.
Seed developers work with numerous universities and other cooperators, often internationally. Duane adds, “Sometimes the hardest part is taking the seed back out for testing in these trial situations.”
As Duane notes, the National Turf- grass Evaluation Program (NTEP)
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