Want to keep up with the latest news in lawn care and landscaping? Check back every Thursday for a quick recap of recent happenings in the green industry.
Dixie Chopper Grants Wish To 15-Year-Old Tennessee Boy
Dakota Barker, a 15-year-old from Lexington, Tennessee, is the proud owner of a new Dixie Chopper BlackHawk that he helped build, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Dakota suffers from epilepsy, which, until a recent brain surgery, would cause him to suffer intractable seizures. The seizures complicated Dakota’s efforts to operate his lawn service, which cares for several lawns in his area throughout the summer. Dakota asked the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana if he could visit Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc.’s facility in Coatesville, where Dixie Chopper zero-turn mowers are designed and built. His wish was granted July 31, when he visited the plant and got a firsthand experience in making a Dixie Chopper BlackHawk.
Human Resources Workshop Comes to California in November
The National Association of Landscape Professionals is partnering with the Harvest Group to bring the People Academy Live, a human resources workshop, to Costa Mesa, California, November 14-16. The People Academy Live’s goal is to help landscape and lawn care contractors grow their business, reduce stress, decrease liability and have a work/life balance. The two-day course and facility tour focuses on creating a great company culture and compliance structure and provides strategies to recruit, on board and develop staff.
Specialty Education Coming to LANDSCAPES 2017
The National Association of Landscape Professionals is introducing a day of specialty summits this year at LANDSCAPES 2017, the association’s annual education conference which is held in conjunction with GIE+EXPO on October 18-20, in Louisville. The specialty summits will be held on Wednesday, October 18, at NALP’s headquarters hotel, the Downtown Louisville Marriott. Attendees will choose one of the three day-long summits (lawn care, landscape management, or design/build/installation), which include four education sessions and a networking lunch. Sign up for the specialty summits through the LANDSCAPES registration. Prices for the 9 a.m.-4 p.m. day of education are $189 for NALP members and $289 for non-members. Prices go up on September 18.
Brookside Agra Develops Biomass Digester Program
Brookside Agra has developed a Digester Program that utilizes its natural products H2OExcel and Advanced Bio Pro to return 20-30 percent of valuable biomass nutrients back into the soil, therefore reducing the amount of nutrients needed to apply in the spring. The goal is to break down the biomass to make it easier to handle the following spring, and return as much of its stored nutrients back into the soil in the forms that are stable.
Rotary Announces National Sales Awards
Rotary Corporation recognized several team members for outstanding performance in sales and leadership during the company’s national sales meeting in July at Lake Oconee, Georgia. The Duke Award, named in honor of the company’s late founder, Duke Harvey, was presented to Jason Wiggins. The recipient was applauded for consistently displaying “competitive and positive efforts” to ensure continued growth and success at Rotary during the past year. Clark Baum, Rodney Collins, Gerald Sturgis and Greg Vaughan were the recipients of outstanding sales awards. Each was commended for achieving excellence in sales and dealer support.
NFL Pro Bowler “Jaws” Jaworski to Keynote at Landscapes 2017
The National Association of Landscape Professionals announced that NFL Pro Bowl Quarterback Ron “Jaws” Jaworski will be the keynote speaker at LANDSCAPES 2017, NALP’s annual convention which is held in conjunction with GIE+EXPO, October 18-20 in Louisville. Jaworski, who played in the NFL 17 years, took the Philadelphia Eagles to their first-ever berth in a Super Bowl vs. the Oakland Raiders. Jaworski finished the 1980 season as the No. 1-rated passer in the NFC and was the 1980 NFL MVP. He is now an NFL analyst on ESPN for Monday Night Football as well as many other shows on the network.
Sacramento Passes Permanent Sprinkler Restrictions
The Sacramento City Council voted August 15 to make permanent twice-a-week sprinkler restrictions despite Gov. Jerry Brown lifting a drought state of emergency for California after record-setting winter rainfall. The motion passed 6-3. Sacramento’s twice weekly restrictions from March to November appear to be the most stringent in the region. Across the state, at least a dozen other communities besides Sacramento have watering restrictions in place. Reports filed with the State Water Resources Control Board show outdoor watering restrictions remain in cities such as Long Beach, Milpitas, Delano and Los Banos.
Associa Advantage Partners with Weathermatic
Associa Advantage Inc. is partnering with Weathermatic to bring smart irrigation and water management to Associa communities at a lower cost. This partnership offers an exclusive smart irrigation upgrade program to Associa communities and residents to reduce water usage and deliver enhanced landscape results. “Weathermatic will not only provide greater visibility into our communities’ irrigation systems, but it has proven to generate significant water savings of 30-60 percent,” stated Jennifer Shannon, Associa Advantage president.
Mean Green Welcomes New Dealers in the Southeast
Mean Green Electric Mowers, headquartered in Hamilton, Ohio, welcomes three new service dealers serving Florida and South Carolina: They are: G&J Equipment Rental LLC, Bluffton, South Carolina; Less of Tampa Bay LLC, Clearwater, Florida and Cutters Choice, Bonita Springs, Florida.
Kubota’s New Instagram Feed Showcases Innovation
Kubota Tractor Corporation announced the launch of its official Instagram feed. They can be followed at @kubotausa to see the latest in Kubota innovation across all product lines, from agriculture to turf and construction.
Takeuchi Announces Trenchers Plus as New Dealer
Takeuchi-US announced the addition of Trenchers Plus Inc. to its dealer network. Established in 1988, Trenchers Plus serves the trenching, grading, directional drilling, and landscaping markets through its Burnsville, Minnesota location. Trenchers Plus now offers the full lineup of Takeuchi equipment, which includes excavators, skid steer loaders, track loaders and wheel loaders.
Read last week’s industry news roundup: National Honey Bee Day Approaches, August 19