SEED SHORTAGES LOOM
SOME ALREADY HARD TO FIND
If you've tried to buy your seed this year you already know there are some species hard to find while others are beginning to be in short supply and prices are inching up. Both grasses and wildflowers seem to be affected this year. Currently Switchgrass is next to impossible to find. At best you may be able to find some blends of several varieties or native seed. It seems to me this came on rather suddenly. At this point I can't figure out why the increased demand.
The 15th CRP sign-up is definitely native grass friendly but because of a ranking system and a benefits index, switchgrass doesn't score particularly well. The chaffy species, however, score very high and that is where I expect the demand to be. There is one problem though, new CRP contracts and re-bid CRP contracts won't be excepted until June at the earliest and not eligible for planting until this fall, again at the earliest. Most likely new and re-bid contracts won't be planted until spring '98. The demand for those plantings shouldn't occur until after this year's harvest. I've talked to a couple of the largest native grass seed companies and they are suspicious that someone is buying up seed and speculating on increased prices in the near future. The good news is that they both said they would resist price increases and keep prices lower than they were 10 years ago during the original CPR sign ups. Do expect prices to be higher though.
Big bluestem, indiangrass, little bluestem and sideoats grama are still available but some varieties are in short supply. Quantities are limited of most native grasses. Some companies are imposing purchase limits for some species. Some of the more common wildflowers like Blackeyed Susan and Pale Purple Coneflower are short this year causing their prices to be higher as well. If you still have seed to buy for this year, buy it as soon as possible. If you will be needing seed for next year, I suggest you book it as soon as your supplier will let you. By all means plan to purchase your seed by the end of this year to avoid shortages and or exorbitant prices.
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