General Production Information

● The most common turfgrasses used in Virginia are tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, bermudagrass, fine fescue, St. Augustinegrass, and zoysiagrass. ● Grasses with niche uses are creeping bentgrass (golf course putting greens and tees, and some fairways) and centipedegrass in low-maintenance lawns in the Tidewater area. ● There were 1,699,100 acres of turfgrass maintained in Virginia in 2004. Maintenance expenses (including labor, contract services, equipment, supplies, new turf establishment, and crop protectants) totaled $2.6 billion. ● The turfgrass industry generates over 424,000 jobs per year with an annual payroll that exceeds $1.62 billion. ● The ten main turfgrass sectors are home lawns (1,048,000 acres), highway roadsides (298,000 acres), general areas such as business lawns (186,600 acres), schools (49,800 acres), parks (42,100 acres), golf courses (36,900 acres), churches (18,900 acres), airports (8,600 acres), cemeteries (5,600), and sod farms (4,600 acres)