As a farmer, you’re constantly adapting, facing challenges day in and day out. One day, that challenge could be excess moisture in your field, another, it could be disease, drought, or even frost. One of the main challenges farms are facing this year is what to plant for the 2024 growing season as commodity prices have fallen.
With margins tightening up for most crops, it’s a good time to consider if forage and turf seed production could be a fit on your farm.
Forage and turf seed crops offer very competitive pricing — without the same market volatility. Production contracts for forage and turf seed often feature a guaranteed minimum price with the opportunity to capture upsides in the market, making seed production a more stable option for growers.
BrettYoung contracts a wide range of forage and turf species, and each offers distinct benefits like improving organic matter, fixing nitrogen, and tolerance to salinity, alkalinity, or acidity. Growing forage and turf species can also help spread out your workload. Many of the crops are perennials with multiple crop years, reducing the planting season work. Many also have early maturity to help spread out the harvest workload.
Perennial Ryegrass (PRG) is one of our largest species that has provided consistent profitability for many long-term growers. Managed as a biennial crop, PRG gets seeded one year and harvested the next, resulting in one year of seed production. The crop is typically underseeded with wheat, oats, or canola during the establishment year.
Charts – Final Price Paid vs Minimum price
Tall Fescue is a growing part of our portfolio at BrettYoung. Managed as a perennial crop, tall fescue is typically harvested for three seasons in a row once established. It’s well adapted to high moisture and poor drainage; however, better seed production will occur on more productive land.
Forage and turf seed crops don’t require specialized equipment so they can be added to your rotation without making an investment. This makes getting started easier.
When you work with BrettYoung, you’ll be partnered with a Seed Production Specialist who will support you throughout the production process — that starts with crop planning and continues through the growing season to delivery and payment.
To learn more about producing seed for BrettYoung, reach out to your local Seed Production Specialist. You can find their contact information here.
