Nebraskans are familiar with the vivid green colors of lush Kentucky bluegrass spanning parks, golf courses and front yards. What few realize, however, is that Panhandle farmers grow bluegrass seed right here in the Cornhusker state. In July, seed producers harvested 300 acres of Kentucky bluegrass from Panhandle fields that typically raise corn, dry edible beans or wheat. Western Nebraska s climatic and production conditions are ideal for growing and harvesting certified turfgrass seed, said IANR Turfgrass Scientist Bob Shearman. Grass seed is planted one year, harvested the next.
Low humidity is critical.
Grass is swathed, or cut, into windrows and left on the ground to dry seven to 10 days until harvested with a traditional combine equipped with a pickup head, said David Baltensperger, IANR plant breeder at NU s Panhandle Research and Extension Center, Scottsbluff. We need dry weather during maturity, Baltensperger said. Baltensperger and Shearman head NU s turfgrass seed research in variety trials near Scottsbluff, Sidney and Alliance. Turfgrass is a perennial which is an asset to organic matter in the soil and provides conservation against water and wind erosion, Baltensperger said. Our research is part of an NU Center for Grassland Studies emphasis to explore turf seed as a high-value crop fitting into western Nebraska s crop rotations.