Who knew the impact Penncross creeping bentgrass would have on the golf industry when it was first introduced by Penn State University in 1958. Come to find out, the premium variety would revolutionize the turf industry, maintaining relevancy 50 years later. But quality didn’t happen by chance. It was the result of diligent agricultural practices, made possible in part by a core group of farmers.
It wasn’t until about six years after Penncross was first introduced that the Penncross Growers Association formed. At the time, quality control was on everybody’s minds. Because the variety was immediately popular, people tried to mimic the breed and profit from its success. To maintain the variety’s integrity, Penncross growers and university researchers combined efforts to work toward a proactive approach for proper growing and harvesting.
As one of the original Penncross growers and president of the Penncross Growers Association since about 1976, I was part of the original concept to form an association. Back then, 14 farmers put aside our competitive differences and came together on behalf of Penncross. We knew that if we could all adhere to the same strict growing standards, the variety would benefit and Penncross would continue to gain popularity.
With recommendations directly from Penn State, the growers association agreed to incredibly strict growing standards. Even as new Penn bentgrass varieties were developed, we still adhered to the industry’s most rigid set of growing standards, recommended directly from researchers, including the likes of Burton Musser, Ph.D. and Joe Duich, Ph.D.
With our focus on quality control, the growers association has worked closely with Oregon State University to ensure that every Penn bent variety is blue-tag certified. In fact, we’ve helped to draw attention to the importance of blue-tag certification within the industry, elevating its status to a point where every variety must be certified to compete. Ultimately, this benefits superintendents who rely on premium seed varieties to meet the rigorous demands of their course.
Although most Penn varieties meet, and even exceed, the minimum blue-tag requirements, two varieties that stand out are the Penn As and Gs. No other variety in the entire industry has tighter, stricter standards. As a result, these six varieties are virtually weed-free, so nothing else even comes close to matching their quality.
As the industry’s only grower-owned group, the Penncross Growers Association is as unique now as it was when it first formed in the 1960s. While some things change, some things will always stay the same. The concept of quality is still what drives us. Even after all these years, we can still proudly state that we grow some of the highest quality seed in the entire world. GCI
Terry Plagmann is the president of the Penncross Growers Association.
