{"podcast":{"title":"The EarthWorks Podcast","slug":"the-earthworks-podcast-1242534","podcast_index_feed_id":1242534,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/4387864/episodes/feed","website_url":"http://www.EarthWorksTurf.com","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/4aa8417ff0c7a8c332410722e31debce.jpg","author":"EarthWorks","episode_count":321,"summary":"The EarthWorks Podcast is a series of interviews and conversations hosted by many of the EarthWorks agronomists, featuring friends from the turf industry. Interviews include noted golf course superintendents, industry experts, agronomists and business people. These conversations are designed to inform and entertain. EarthWorks has been a leader in the discussion of Biological Soil Management and has been producing professional grade carbon based fertilizers for over 30 years. Each year over 15,000 soil tests are performed by the companies agronomists and all of this builds the focus of The EarthWorks Podcast. Please enjoy.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-31T06:21:03.495559+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-earthworks-podcast-1242534"},"episode":{"title":"The EW Podcast -Joel Simmons with Marissa McDowell - Vista Seed","slug":"the-ew-podcast-joel-simmons-with-marissa-mcdowell-vista-seed","published_at":"2026-05-14T17:17:37+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-earthworks-podcast-1242534/the-ew-podcast-joel-simmons-with-marissa-mcdowell-vista-seed","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-earthworks-podcast-1242534","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-ew-podcast-joel-simmons-with-marissa-mcdowell-vista-seed--72008073","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72008073/the_ew_podcast_joel_simmons_with_marissa_mcdowell_vista_seed.mp3","summary":"On this week’s EarthWorks Podcast, Joel Simmons sits down with Marissa McDowell, a third-generation seed producer whose family played an important role in the growth of Pickseed, one of the most recognized names in turfgrass seed production. Based in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the center of grass seed production in the United States, Marissa grew up immersed in the seed business before eventually joining the family industry herself. During the conversation, Marissa walks Joel through the entire turfgrass seed production process, from securing farmland and growing seed crops to harvesting, cleaning, packaging, and bringing premium turfgrass varieties to market. She shares insight into the complexity behind producing high-quality bentgrasses, bluegrasses, fescues, and ryegrasses through Vista Seed Partners. Joel and Marissa also discuss the economics of the seed industry and what impacts grass seed pricing from year to year. One major concern highlighted in the discussion is the continued loss of grass seed acreage in Oregon to commodity crops like hazelnuts, which require large amounts of land and can permanently remove valuable turf seed production acreage for decades. If you’ve ever wondered where your grass seed comes from or how much work goes into producing the seed used on golf courses, sports fields, and home lawns, this episode provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the turfgrass seed industry. And one of the most entertaining moments of the episode comes when Marissa discusses one of Vista’s newer turfgrass varieties, “Simmons” red creeping fescue, named after Joel himself. Visit EarthWorks at: https://www.earthworksturf.com Podcasts: https://www.earthworksturf.com/earthworks-podcasts/ EW Turf Talks: https://www.earthworksturf.com/2-minute-turf-talks/","meta_description":"On this week’s EarthWorks Podcast, Joel Simmons sits down with Marissa McDowell, a third-generation seed producer whose family played an important role in…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3879,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-earthworks-podcast-1242534/episodes/the-ew-podcast-joel-simmons-with-marissa-mcdowell-vista-seed/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-earthworks-podcast-1242534/the-ew-podcast-joel-simmons-with-marissa-mcdowell-vista-seed.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}