A grass seed glut.

Byline: The Register-Guard

This year, the Oregon Legislature passed a bill banning most open field burning. Next year, there's likely to be a reduction in the number of acres planted in grass seed. The ban and the reduction are not related, even though grass seed growers have warned that restrictions on field burning would hurt their business.

Grass seed farmers are hurting, but not because they can't burn the stubble remaining after their crops are harvested. The grass seed industry, like many others, has been hit by the slowdown in housing construction. Fewer houses are being built, which means fewer lawns are being planted, which means there's less demand for grass seed. Golf course managers and livestock producers have also curtailed their orders.

As a result, there's a glut of grass seed. The Capital Press, an agriculture-oriented newspaper published in Salem, reported on Nov. 13 that growers have on hand a 14-month inventory of annual ryegrass seed, an 18-month supply of perennial ryegrass seed and enough tall fescue seed to meet demand for 20 months. By next July 1, growers will have enough perennial ryegrass stored in barns to meet half the current year's demand without harvesting a single acre.

Farmers are being advised to withdraw marginal land from grass seed production and perhaps switch to other crops - though growers of other commodities are also suffering. As Matt Herb, director of research at Oregon Seeds in Albany, told The Capital Press, "Losing $50 an acre with wheat is better than losing $300 an acre with tall fescue."

A profit would be better yet. But as the shift occurs, Oregonians should understand that it is economics, not the field burning ban, that is driving grass seed acreage down.