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Planting the Perfect Lawn

Ioka Team January 30, 2020 Lawn, Planting, Seed

There’s no better way to spruce up your spring landscaping and get ready for that first BBQ of summer than by planting a new lawn. Sometimes this can be an overwhelming task to take on, but with a few tips and a good plan, planting a lawn can be a fun and rewarding project.

The first thing to consider when planting a new lawn is temperature of both the air and soil. Grass seed germinates best when the air temperature is between 60 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. This also allows the soil to warm up and for those brand new roots to thrive. Plan to plant your seed when the air temperature will likely stay in this range for six to eight weeks.

Is It a Hay Ride or a Straw Ride?

Ioka Team January 30, 2020 Hay, Production Agriculture, Straw

In the land of Pinterest and Etsy, “hay” and “straw” are a synonymous crafting and decor medium. In the land of agriculture, “hay” and “straw” are actually very different.

At first glance, they do seem quite similar. Both begin the same way as a field crop and look dry towards the end; they have about 15% moisture or below at this point. Then they are compressed into various sized bales for the end user. Overall, to the untrained eye they look like a bale of dried plant material.

However, look a little closer and you’ll find two very different products.

Our Seed Partners

Ioka Team January 24, 2020 Partners, PGG Seeds

Murray Kelly, PGG Wrightson, Seed Production Research Program Leader, and Doug Duerst, Ioka Farms, VP of Field Crop Production

Since 2003, Ioka Marketing has handled the distribution and promotion of PGG Seeds cultivars in the United States and Canada. In those beginning years, Ioka worked with Pyne Gould Guinness Limited of New Zealand and their contract agronomist and forage and pasture expert, John Snider. A shared vision of business ideals, practices, and standards made the partnership beneficial for both companies. PGG Seeds’ products are backed by years of breeding, on-farm trials, and agronomic support. Ioka saw this as a strategic position to offer premium forage and cover crop seeds to the U.S. market. During this time, Ioka handled the storage and logistics of the product line, coordinating imports and distribution to dealers and end-users.

In 2005, Pyne Gould Guinness was bought by Wrightson Limited and the two companies came together as PGG Wrightson Limited. The PGG Seeds marketing channel was kept post-merger and Ioka continued to increase distribution by partnering and marketing with choice seed companies within the United States.