Ryegrass Bargaining Council Reaches Price Consensus
12/15/2004

The Perennial Ryegrass Bargaining Council met Tuesday under the supervision of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The Bargaining Council consists of representatives from the Perennial Ryegrass Bargaining Association (PRBA) and seed dealers who have contracts for Tournament®Quality turf-type perennial ryegrass seed with grower members of the bargaining association.

The active supervision of the Bargaining Council discussions by the Department of Agriculture provides anti-trust protection to the parties for pricing discussions.

"The Bargaining Council process, in my view, has greatly increased the communications between growers and dealers. This is a unique forum that allows focused discussions on pricing levels that benefit the industry," stated Katy Coba, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
Oregon is the premier growing area in the world for cool-season grasses, including perennial ryegrass. Oregon farmers grow nearly 200 million pounds of perennial ryegrass on approximately 180,000 acres, representing over $120 million of farm gate sales.

"The Bargaining Council reached a consensus that the negotiated price for the 2004 perennial ryegrass contracted production between PRBA growers and dealers, which was recommended to the Department of Agriculture for review and approval, is accurately reflecting market movement and supply and demand conditions," reported Brent Searle, Special Assistant to the Director, who represents ODA in supervising the negotiations.

The Bargaining Council recommended to the department that pricing negotiations for the 2005 crop should begin in April 2005. This will enable better information on production conditions and market signals relative to the 2005 perennial ryegrass crop.

"The dialogue that this process enables is really important to the industry as both growers and dealers have a voice in considering all factors that go into pricing the crop," said Coba.

For more information, contact Brent Searle at (503) 986-4558.

Press Release
12/15/04

Dept. of Agriculture Advisory Document on Grass Seed Contracts

Testimony by Dept. of Agriculture on House Bill 3811
(April 25, 2001)

Price Negotiations --Historical Development in Oregon Agriculture

House Bill 3811 -- Relating to Agricultural Cooreratives

Implements Supervised Price Bargaining Process for TournamenT® Quality perennial ryegrass


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