North Carolina and Georgia Issue Sod Producers’ Reports

SOD PRODUCERS’ REPORTS ISSUED

FOR NORTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA

Compiled by Suz Trusty

Two states—Georgia and North Carolina—have again issued Sod Producers’ Reports examining sod inventory and pricing within their state. Information is gathered by survey from the sod producers and the information analyzed and compiled to generate a comprehensive overview of that state’s natural grass sod market. In North Carolina, the report is conducted by North Carolina State University, coordinated by Dr. Grady Miller, professor and extension turfgrass specialist for NCSU. In Georgia, the report is conducted by the Georgia Urban Ag Council, coordinated by Dr. Clint Waltz, professor and extension turfgrass specialist for the University of Georgia. An overview of these reports follows along with links to the complete reports. Turf News and TPI thank Dr. Waltz and Dr. Miller for providing this valuable service to sod producers and the turfgrass industry.

2021 Sod Producers' Report for North Carolina

In March 2021, North Carolina State University conducted the seventh annual survey to examine inventory and pricing of North Carolina sod. The link that follows provides access to the complete report. https://content.ces. ncsu.edu/sod-producers-report-for-north-carolina

North Carolina Report Overview

• Supply of bermudagrass sod is similar to 2020, with most suppliers saying they have adequate supplies for their expected demand in 2021. There still may be some shortages. • Supply of zoysiagrass and St. Augustinegrass are expected to be worse in 2021 compared to 2020, with more than 60 percent of surveyed producers expecting shortages in zoysiagrass and more than 40 percent expecting shortages in St. Augustinegrass. • This was the fourth consecutive year that about one-third of the producers predicted they could have shortages of centipedegrass sod. • No shortages for tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass sod were predicted for 2021. • Only three North Carolina growers reported growing pure stands of Kentucky bluegrass whereas 11 grow tall fescue interseeded with Kentucky bluegrass. • There are expected price changes for all the turfgrass species in 2021 except for bermudagrass (no change).

Zoysiagrass and tall fescue had price reductions of 6 percent and 11 percent, respectively. Of the actual prices reported for early 2021, Kentucky bluegrass had the greatest increases (24 percent). Centipedegrass and

St. Augustinegrass had a 7 percent increase compared to 2020. • There was a 21 percent reduction in growers reporting that they grew proprietary grasses and a 25 percent reduction in certified sod growers. • Production acreage was projected to increase in 2021. • The primary market for North Carolina sod producers continues to be landscape contractors. • There was a 31 percent increase in sales directly to homeowners with a slight decrease in sales to the landscape contractor sector of consumers compared to previous years. The golf course sector replaced sports/ athletic fields as number three in sales. • There was a 24 percent reduction in the average number of full-time employees per producer. • Total sod sales were reported to be 52 percent lower than the previous year.

North Carolina Sod Producers Survey Details

Twenty-five producers representing the following farm sizes completed the anonymous online survey: • less than 200 acres (13 participants) • 201 to 500 acres (six participants) • 501 to 800 acres (two participants) • more than 800 acres (four participants) North Carolina Sod Producers Association (NCSPA) records suggest the number of completed surveys represents about 60 percent of the sod farms in North Carolina. The number of farms for the respective farm sizes suggests that this survey represents an overwhelming majority of the sod production acreage in the state.

Georgia 2021 Sod Producers’ Report

The Georgia Urban Ag Council conducted their twentysixth survey of sod producers. The purpose of the survey was to determine the status of inventory levels and projected price changes for spring 2021. That report was issued on January 27, 2021. For the complete report, visit the link that follows. https://files.constantcontact.com/1bf98167001/b08ca376-e7f84fc7-808b-84f9a5c1dca0.pdf

Georgia Report Survey details

Due to an insufficient sampling size of the industry, there was not a 2020 sod survey. This year’s results will be compared to 2019 responses. In 2021, 20 producers participated in the survey, representing farm sizes which were:

less than 300 acres (7 participants) 300 to 600 acres (7 participants) 601 to 900 acres (2 participants) more than 900 acres (4 participants) Acreage in production

Like 2019, seven producers indicated they planned to add acres into production during 2021. The cumulative total for this year’s increase is approximately 600 acres. Comparing the responses from this survey with the UGA Agribusiness and Economic Development 2018 Farm Gate Value Report (https://caed.uga.edu/publications/ georgiaagricultural-statistics.html#farm-gate) and the past two years Georgia Crop Improvement Association’s “Georgia Certified Turfgrass Buyers Guide”(www. georgiacrop.com/turfgrass) there has been a 3 percent to 4 percent annual increase in production over the past three years. Similarly, the USDA Census of Agriculture had a 4 percent increase in sod production acres from 2014 to 2019 (www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/ Highlights/2020/census-horticulture.pdf).

Table 5. Ranking of industry segments for sale of turfgrass

2021 2019 Industry segments Rank Average* Rank Average* Landscape contractors 1 45.6 1 50.9 Existing developers 2 15.2 6 11.0 Golf courses 3 14.7 2 23.0 Garden centers 4 13.3 7 6.6 Homeowners 5 12.8 4 13.7 Brokers 6 10.6 3 14.4 Sports/athletic fields 7 10.0 5 12.6 Landscape designers 8 4.2 8 0.3

* Average percentage of total sales.

Georgia Markets

The 20 producers that participated in this survey estimated that nearly half the grass sold was to landscape contractors (Table 5). This industry segment continues to be the perennial leader and is consistent with national trends where landscape contractors are the largest marketing channel for horticulture and specialty crops (www.nass. usda.gov/Publications/ Highlights/2020/censushorticulture.pdf). Previously ranked 6 of 8, existing developers took the second position, accounting for 15 percent of sales in 2021. Sod sales to brokers reversed a previous trend of increasing in rank. This may substantiate the strong sod sales of spring 2020 as Georgians sheltered in-place for the coronavirus pandemic, and producers being less reliant on a third party to sell their product.

2021 Georgia Sod Producers Report Summary

2021 will be a year of higher sod prices. With a potential of thin inventories for bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, and centipedegrass it can be speculated that prices will be greater than the increases forecast in this survey. It is hard to predict consumer demand for grass in early spring. But if spring 2021 has strong sod sales, similar to how the coronavirus pandemic affected spring 2020 sales, already low inventories could be pressured further resulting in producers adjusting prices accordingly.

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