Come together

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America joined forces with the National Golf Course Owners Association in February to host the first Golf Industry Show in Orlando, Fla. Combining forces is becoming a trend.

Jim Hornung Sr.

With that in mind, the New York State Turfgrass Association has pooled its resources and will host the Empire State Green Industry Show with three other associations Nov. 15 through 17 in Rochester. Joining NYSTA will be the New York State Nursery/Landscape Association, New York State Arborists – ISA Chapter and New York Flower Industries. This replaces NYSTA’s Turf & Grounds Exposition.

"We wanted to reach out to other industry leaders who have expressed an interest in a united green industry show in New York State,” says James Diermeier, president of NYSTA. “We believe associations would benefit by having one comprehensive show held in one place at one time. This would also decrease the number of shows vendors must attend each year while increasing traffic to their booths. Attendees would gain by having multi-association educational programs to choose from and the opportunity to network with their peers in a related industry. All around it’s a win-win proposition.”

Jim Hornung Sr., a past president of NYSTA, says a golf course superintendent’s job crosses many lines.

“No. 1, the industry is diversified, but the bottom line is there are a lot of contractors who not only manage turf, but plant flowers and plan hardscapes,” Hornung Sr. says. “There isn’t a golf course in the world that doesn’t have the ambiance of flowers and trees.”

It was an April 2004 letter from Hornung to others in the New York green industry that got the ball rolling, stating that a consolidated effort would benefit all associations, vendors and attendees.

David Green, president of NYSFI, an association made up of flower growers in New York State, says the consolidated effort makes financial sense.

“Over the past years, each of the associations has been working hard to gain attention for their individual shows,” Green says. “This has been difficult because of cutbacks and the current financial climate. This trade show will include 340 vendor booths and is the largest in the state. Everyone will also benefit from the superb lineup of educational seminars. NYSFI is proud to be a part of this.”

Jim Baird

The common thread that runs through the green industry attracted Gary Carbocci, president of NYSA, to the Empire State Green Industry Show.

“By making a concerted attempt to reach out to other green industry organizations, we have come to realize that we have a lot in common,” Carbocci says. “It is obvious that people who maintain turf, design and install landscapes, or grow nursery plants, are not necessarily trained as arborists. This show will give us the opportunity to combine our areas of expertise and broaden the outreach of NYSA.”

Jim Baird, an agronomist with the USGA Green Section will be presenting the USGA year in review, “The good, the bad and the ugly,” at this year’s show. Baird sees superintendents dealing with a variety of issues and likes the new format.

“Golf course superintendents deal with tree issues and flowers,” he says. “I hope there’s enough time for people to get out and attend another session other than their own. This will allow everyone to come together and see what other industries are doing.”

Time to do it all is a concern of Hornung’s as well.

“This is a one-stop shop,” he says. “The hardest part, I hope, for attendees, is where to go first. There’s a lot of information, and you can’t get to everything. That’s a good thing.”

Hornung says shows today are a tough sell because people don’t have a lot of extra time and merging the shows is critical.

For Bob Smith, president of NYSN/LA, connections in the past allow the future to look bright with this show as the path.

“Our industries have worked together in many other matters, and it was sensible to integrate our education and trade show under one roof,” Smith says. “Combined, there is no limit to what we can achieve.”

The New York State Recreation and Park Society, New York Golf Course Owners Association and the New York State Association for Superintendents of School Buildings and Grounds also endorse the Empire State Green Industry Show.

For more information, call the show office at 800-873-8873 or visit the Web site at www.nysta.org.

Green Industry Show topics

· Early Bird: Turfgrass ShortCutts: Using Information to Solve Pest Problems; Frank Rossi, Ph.D., Cornell University · Regulatory Update: New Regulations and Commonly Occurring Violations; Ed Hanbach, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation · General Session: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Update and Invasive Species Task Force; Lynette Stark, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation · Early Bird: Cornell Turfgrass Research Update - Weeding Them Out: Developing Fine Fescues That Reduce Weed Invasions; Cecile Bertin, Ph.D., Cornell University · Golf Turf: USGA Year in Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; James Baird, Ph.D., United States Golf Association Green Section · Golf Turf: Do’s and Don’ts of Bunker Renovation; David Oatis, United States Golf Association Green Section · Golf Turf: When is it Time to Replace the Irrigation System?; Jim Barrett, James Barrett Associates · Golf Turf: Building the Perfect Tee; James Skorulski, United States Golf Association Green Section · Golf Turf: Innovative Drainage Techniques; Paul Latshaw, MSM, CGCS, Muirfield Village Golf Club · Golf Turf: Options for Species Conversion of Tees and Fairways & Selecting the Proper Species for Rough; Paul Vermeulen, United States Golf Association Green Section · Golf Turf: Advances in Bentgrass Breeding; Stacy Bonos, Ph.D., Rutgers University · Golf Turf: Innovative Feeding - The pros and Cons of Dormant Feeding; Marty Petrovic, Ph.D., Cornell University · Golf Turf: Innovative Feeding - Understanding Mychorhizae Performance for Turfgrass Nutrition; Eric Nelson, Ph.D., Cornell University · Golf Turf: Innovative Feeding - Does Foliar Uptake of Fertilizer Matter?; Frank Rossi, Ph.D., Cornell University · Golf Turf: Pest Management - Who Are the Nematodes and What Do They Want?; Nathaniel Mitkowski, Ph.D., University of Rhode Island · Golf Turf: Pest Management - Can We Really Control Annual and Roughstalk Bluegrass; Stephen Hart, Ph.D., Rutgers University · Golf Turf: Pest Management - The European Crane Fly Takes New York; Daniel C. Peck, Ph.D. NYSAES, Cornell University · Golf Turf: Pest Management - Can We Help the Performance of Pesticide Alternatives?; Frank Rossi, Ph.D., Cornell University · School IPM: Managing Wildlife - Management of Geese and Gulls; Richard Chipman, USDA/APHIS Wildlife Services · School IPM: Managing Wildlife - Management of Burrowing Animals: Critters That Tear Up Your Turf; Lynn Braband, NYS IPM Program, Cornell University · Aquatics: Aquatic Issues - Managing Aquatic Plant Growth; Identifying Types of Aquatic Plants: Important Old and New Invasives on the Move; Land Use Issues Impacting Aquatic Plant Life and Water Quality; Robert Johnson, Cornell University · Aquatics: Aquatic Issues - Best Management Practices that Minimize Environmental Impact of Lawn Fertilizing; Marty Petrovic, Ph.D., Cornell University · Entomology: Focus on Insect Management-Insects on Turf and Ornamentals: Identification, Common Pests, Natural Enemies, and Host Plants; David Shetlar, Ph.D., The Ohio State University · NYS Nursery/Landscape Association: Digital Graphics, Rendering and Imaging for Landscape Design; Dwight Andrews, CNP, Dwight Andrews Landscape Design · NYS Nursery/Landscape Association: Color in the Landscape-Ground covers; Leslie A. Weston, Ph.D., Cornell University · NYS Nursery/Landscape Association: Pruning; Richard Weir, III, Horticultural Solutions · NYS Arborists - ISA Chapter: Cornell Update and Pruning - Cornell Research Update; George Good, Ph.D., George Hudler, Ph.D., and Nina Bassuk, Ph.D., Cornell University · NYS Arborists - ISA Chapter: Young Tree Pruning; Thomas Smiley, Ph.D., Bartlett Tree Research Lab · NYS Arborists - ISA Chapter: Soil Compaction - Soil Compaction and its Impact on the Health of Trees; Rex Bastian, Ph.D., The Care of Trees.