Researchers and producers have worked together to develop know how, infrastructure and market opportunities for grass seed production in the High Plains, according to Dan Laursen, chairman of The High Plains Grass Seed Association. The two groups began with a focus on turf grass seed production, developing information on Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue and perennial ryegrass and the ability to produce, clean and market this seed. These grasses, especially Kentucky bluegrass, have shown real promise in the area and contracts are available to increase regional acreage significantly.

“One of the big problems we faced was how to get the crop established, but it looks like canola and brown mustard development could give us a crop to follow and still get our grasses established early enough in the fall to get a good harvest the next summer,” said David Baltensperger, alternative crops specialist with the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center.

Grass seed efforts are now being expanded by using technology from turf grass seed production and applying it to reclamation and forage grass seed production, Baltensperger said. While the market for these grasses is much narrower and each variety probably needs to be limited to a few acres of high level production, there are several species and varieties so producers can find their niche, explained Carl Thomas, producer in Scotts Bluff County.

Thomas and Laursen are both producing varieties of intermediate wheat grass that have recently been released by the ARS-USDA and University of Nebraska for their improved forage quality. Other niche grass produced in the region include thickspike wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, western wheatgrass and crested wheatgrass. Kendall Atkins has been a long-time producer of Thickspike wheatgrass in Kimball county and has been active in sharing ideas with other producers.

“When we started in the early 1990s, we had virtually no data to refer to and no publications on regional production of any of the grasses,” Baltensperger said, “but we now have data on many species and varieties of grasses and literature available on how to optimize seed production.” Baltensperger recommends potential producers start by picking up some of the new University of Nebraska publications on grass seed production in the region including: Irrigated Production of Warm-Season Grass Seed in the High Plains, NebGuide G032-1531, and Kentucky Bluegrass Seed Production, EC03-180. Both publications include the summaries of many producers and researchers over the past ten years.

New opportunities to improve farm income are difficult to find for many medium-sized producers, but this appears to be a real opportunity, said Paul Burgener, economic analyst with the University of Nebraska.

For further information on commercial grass seed production, contact Baltensperger at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center, 308-632-1261.

Source:
CropWatch
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Shari Rosso
Communications and Technology Specialist
Panhandle REC, Scottsbluff