Published: August 09, 2008 11:53 pm         

Johnston Seed’s Bermuda grass hits the field in Beijing

Johnston Seed & Grain Co. has taken its popular Riviera Bermuda grass from American professional and collegiate sporting venues to international golf courses and horse tracks to the Olympic baseball field in Beijing, all in the span of four years.

How’s that for globalization?

Johnston Seed is the sole American producer of the seeds for Riviera Bermuda grass, and it distributes them to clients across the United States and around the world. Gene McVey, president of Johnston Seed, will be watching closely as Olympic baseball teams compete Aug. 13-23 at Wukesong Sports Center Baseball Field in Beijing.

“It’s always a pleasure to be associated with the Olympics,” said McVey. “Coming from nothing to being on that kind of venue makes me very proud, not only for our product, but also for our employees.”

McVey said Johnston Seed tried to get involved in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, but the company didn’t have the “connections” and the product still was relatively new.

This time around, McVey hooked up with Major League Baseball adviser Murray Cook, and the deal has put Riviera Bermuda grass on its biggest stage yet.

But it wasn’t easy getting the seeds to their destination.

McVey said most of the Riviera Bermuda grass seeds his company produces are exported, but Chinese customs made this international project especially difficult. The seeds were shipped in March and didn’t clear customs until July.

Needless to say, “it has been a hurry-up job” for the workers putting down the field, McVey said.

However, an Aug. 1 blog entry by Cook on groundskeeper.mlbblogs.com indicates the field is drawing top-notch reviews, which likely bodes well for Johnston Seed as it continues to build its domestic and international client bases.

“It’s always fun for me to see (the product) on television,” said McVey. “Just a few weeks ago I was watching a golf tournament and saw Riviera. ... We’re always trying to get the product out where people can see it.”

Riviera Bermuda grass was developed by the Oklahoma State University Turfgrass Develop-ment team, and McVey estimated Johnston Seed has been distributing the product since 2004.

Typically, Bermuda grass is grown in areas of southern California and Arizona, but grass grown there usually dies in the winter because it isn’t subjected to extreme cold temperatures. When OSU developed the grass, its developers intended for it to survive all seasons. Since its seeds are developed in Oklahoma, where they are subjected to extreme temperature ranges, Riviera Bermuda grass can survive both blistering hot summers and brutally cold winters.

But Beijing’s climate is a different animal, and many have wondered how the city’s high pollution levels are going to affect the athletes and the playing surfaces they compete on. McVey, however, said pollution shouldn’t be a problem, and he likened Beijing’s climate to that of northwest Oklahoma.

McVey said the product’s seasonal durability has gained it notoriety among critics, and that has allowed his company to supply Riviera Bermuda grass to popular sporting venues across the globe. The National Football League’s Washington Redskins compete on Riviera Bermuda grass, and the University of Oklahoma football team practices on it. Blair Atholl, a South African golf course designed by former golf legend Gary Player, had Riviera Bermuda grass planted, and McVey said many American golf courses are making the switch to the new product. McVey also said horse racing tracks in East Asia are planting Riviera Bermuda grass.

The first athletic field to have Riviera Bermuda grass planted was Chisholm High School’s baseball field.