Most of us would probably like to forget 2020 and all that it brought us. In the golf course maintenance world, grass seed was one of the hottest commodities around, and getting your hands on enough seed was difficult and expensive. As a result, many courses have stockpiled seed in the past few years to protect themselves from any future shortages. But how long will that stored seed last? I posed this question to a few grass seed professionals and here’s what they said.
Most varieties of grass seed will maintain a high level of germinability for around 3 years, and some varieties of bentgrass can last 8-10 years when the seed is stored in a cool, dry and preferably dark space. If seed is stored in an area that experiences large fluctuations in temperature, moisture and light, the degradation process will be accelerated. Once you reach that 3-year-old seed's birthday party, germination rates begin to decrease. A 5%-20% reduction per year after that is reasonable to expect for most varieties. Bentgrasses start this process after year 10. These are not hard-and-fast rules, but they are good guidelines for managing your seed inventory.
During my conversations with seed company representatives, I also asked what 2024 looks like for seed availability and price. They all seem to agree that the outlook for grass seed availability and cost is good heading into 2024. Despite a recent global reduction in production acreage, seed supplies to start the year are robust and demand has softened from its peak in 2020-21. During that time, unfavorable weather and the global pandemic caused prices to skyrocket. As prices increased, growers were understandably keen to put more acres into production, boosting supplies to meet a demand that has since faded to pre-pandemic levels over the past two years. Many growers reacted to this swing in the market and reduced their production accordingly. However, seed supply is still higher than the expected demand for 2024.
So, what does this mean for superintendents? Simply put, your budgeted seed dollars should go just as far, if not farther, this year compared to last year. This is good news for turf managers. It’s not very often in this day and age when prices stay the same or go down. Enjoy it while it lasts.
West Region Agronomists:
Brian Whitlark, regional director – bwhitlark@usga.org
Cory Isom, agronomist – cisom@usga.org