Thomas G. Chastain
One question that is on the minds of seed producers is how much has the cold weather set crops back? Over the 123 years of weather records at Corvallis, there has been only 15 times that the month of March has been colder than we experienced in March 2012. Cold spring weather has been a phenomenon that’s been observed here in the Willamette Valley over the past few years (Fig.1). This cold weather was accompanied by near record wet conditions (Fig. 2).
Thomas G. Chastain
Growing a grass seed crop is all about making the best possible solar energy harvesting system at the lowest cost. However, the direct and indirect costs of energy in the forms of fuel and fertilizer can make achieving this goal a challenge for grass seed producers.
Thomas G. Chastain
There’s no question that grass seed acreage has been down in recent years while wheat acreage in the Willamette Valley has been on the rise. The often asked question is whether the acreage levels of these crops are unprecedented. Historical trends in grass seed crop acreage in the Willamette Valley over the years have been essentially a mirror image of wheat acreage (Fig 1 – click to enlarge). From the mid 1970s through the early 1980s, both crops occupied about 250,000 acres and together accounted for about 1/2 million acres in the valley.
While the weather has been cool and wet for much of the spring, the calendar indicates that we’re just a few weeks away from the start of the grass seed crop harvest season. Seed moisture content is the most reliable indicator of seed maturity and harvest timing in grass seed crops. Harvesting within the correct range of seed moisture contents will maximize harvestable seed yield and minimize losses of seed during harvest.
A recent publication by OSU’s Tom Silberstein and others (EM9012) updates the traditional seed moisture content guidelines for grass seed crops and provides illustrated instructions on conducting a seed moisture test.
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The efficiency of energy use by US farmers has increased dramatically as the energy use per unit of farm output has declined about 44% since the late 1940s. Despite these gains, there is increasing scrutiny regarding the amount and the cost of energy used in agricultural production. Since the prospect for higher energy prices and further limitations on the availability of inexpensive energy is both real and immediate, identification of improved energy efficiencies is essential in order for grass seed production to remain a competitive enterprise for Oregon seed producers. Reducing energy costs is one way that the profitability of grass seed production might be improved.
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