New York Farm Viability Institute Website Press Releases 

PRESS RELEASE: August 14, 2006
Contacts:
Cornell University: A. Martin Petrovic, 607-255-1796; Joann Gruttadaurio, 607-255-1792
New York Farm Viability Institute, Inc., R. David Smith, 315-453-3823

Faster-Growing Grass Equals Lower Costs, Higher Profitability for NY Sod Growers; NYFVI Funds Accelerated Sod Production Project

With funding from the New York Farm Viability Institute, Cornell University researchers and New York turf producers are evaluating ways to speed up the production and sales of sod. Cornell University Turfgrass Science Professor A. Martin Petrovic and Senior Extension Associate Joann Gruttadaurio are working with growers Leonard DeBuck in Orange County and John and Ed Braddell in Western New York to evaluate the speed, efficiency and costs of various production systems. Results will be shared with sod growers throughout the state.

Leonard DeBuck of DeBuck’s Sod Farm, Pine Island, NY, says, “This is the first opportunity sod growers have had to have university research scientists verify some of the trial and error success that we have had at the practical, farm level. We are always trying new growing methods, but with the university professors behind us we believe we can produce results more quickly for the entire sod industry.”

“This project is groundbreaking in that it may be the first time that research has been directly focused at the sod growers’ needs. In the past, we have been oriented to what end users – the sports fields, golf courses, landscapers, and landowners – need. Our goal with this New York Farm Viability grant project is to provide growers with a tool that will help them decide which grass varieties and which production methods have the greatest potential for economic return for their farm businesses,” Petrovic says.

A hallmark of New York Farm Viability Institute-funded projects is responding to grower-identified needs and opportunities. A green industry barriers panel of sod producers convened by the Institute in Spring 2006 identified labor and energy costs and enhanced use of land resources as priority areas. Reducing operating costs was identified in the 2003 New York Turfgrass Survey as a significant future issue for sod farms.

New York State Turfgrass Association (NYSTA) Executive Director Elizabeth Seme says, “It’s all about positive economic and environmental outcomes. To stay competitive, sod growers require continual improvements to enhance production methods and I believe that research is the key. Having the ability to provide quality sod to the consumer at an accelerated rate is a win-win situation. NYSTA supports this vital research because it will have a positive economic impact on the sod industry in New York State.”

Growers Say Saving Time Saves Money, Produces Gain
DeBuck estimates that speeding up the sod harvest by even six months could produce a forty percent gain in crop value. Reducing the time to harvest will reduce operational costs by requiring less irrigation, pest control, fertilizer and mowing – much of which is tied to rising fuel costs. A shorter production cycle also requires less labor.

Field grown sod takes anywhere from nine to 24 months to grow, depending upon soil type, turf species, climatic factors and management practices. The NYFVI project’s growers and researchers will be evaluating different production practices and applying various nutrients, bio-stimulants and fertilizers as factors for reducing production time.

To determine the grass selection for the trials, the research team asked growers what varieties they favor and why. The team assessed more than 60 varieties of Kentucky bluegrass grown at Cornell University and collected pure grass samples from Rutgers University’s breeding program. Kentucky bluegrass accounts for 88 percent of the sod produced either as a single grass sod or as part of a bluegrass mixture in New York State.

At Lakeside Sod in Clarence Center, NY, John and Ed Braddell hope to celebrate their 40th anniversary as sod growers with a crop of well-rooted, lush-topped sod harvested in Spring 2007. John says, “The soils on our main farm will provide a true test of how well the varieties being evaluated by this project will grow. Sod in these fields typically takes eighteen to twenty-four months to grow. My fellow growers are interested to see what happens because if I can grow the varieties we are testing here they will be able to as well.”

John says the project will evaluate several factors of interest to growers including the different varieties, root strength, speed of establishing strong roots and plant growth, and seeding and fertilizer rates.

“If we can produce a crop and save six months or a year’s worth of time, we move toward sales and profitability that much faster. If we can use less fertilizer, we cut our direct costs and save money. There are different ways to reach profitability,” John says.

Gruttadaurio, leader of Cornell University’s turfgrass and landscape professionals education program, says, “Having the analysis of a range of production enhancement options – from using intensive management to as simple a change as growing a different variety of grass – will allow every New York sod producer the opportunity to adopt one or more methods to reduce production time and costs and to increase efficiency and profitability.”

The NYFVI is a farmer-led, farmer-driven, independent not-for-profit corporation that funds research, extension and innovative technologies for New York agricultural and horticultural producers. The Institute grants funds for projects that directly benefit producers at the enterprise level across farms of all sizes and all commodity areas. For more information, contact the New York Farm Viability Institute, 159 Dwight Park Circle, Suite 104, Syracuse, NY 13209, 315-453-3823, www.nyfarmviability.org. For more information on the accelerated sod project, contact Joann Gruttadaurio, Cornell University Horticulture Department, 607-255-1792. # # #

Turfgrass Statistics from NYS Turfgrass Survey (2003)
• New York has 14 sod farms, growing an average of 582 acres of sod.
• The cost of establishing new turf is $1,221 per acre.
• Turfgrass covers 3.43 million acres in NY with 93% on private lawns & golf courses.