Abstract
In the 1990s western native seed markets expanded beyond traditional mineland reclamation and wildlife habitat customers to fire rehabilitation and nonprofit organization conservation efforts. The USDA Conservation Reserve Program’s emphasis on native plants for agricultural set-aside acreage was also a major contributor to industry growth during this period. In contrast to 13 y ago, government-based demand now dominates the market. Unpredictable government demand resulting from CRP and wildland fires has caused sharp price escalations when demand has exceeded supply. Conversely, overplanting and subsequent multi-year harvests of these perennial crops have resulted in price drops as seed stocks accumulated in the face of weakened demand. But overall, prices quadrupled between 1990 and 2000 before falling back in the 2000 to 2002 period. Furthermore, from 1996 to 2000 native grass seed acreage increased 118% to nearly 6070 ha (15 000 ac). Today, seed crops are much more likely to be produced by growers under contract to seed companies, rather than speculatively by producers/marketers as was typical in 1990.
