Tennessee Turfgrass - August / September 2021

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021

The Official Publication of the Tennessee Turfgrass Association, the Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Association and the Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association

WOMEN IN THE GREEN INDUSTRY:

AN EMERGING LABOR FORCE PLUS

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT ON

BILL MARBET

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Our goal is to produce the highest quality, innovative turfgrass on the market today while providing the best customer service. Our affiliation with several research and development professionals gives us access to some of the best varieties of turf available for difficult applications. We are also a grower of Tennessee Crop Improvement Association Certified Turfgrass.

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The Official Publication of the Tennessee Turfgrass Association, Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Association and the Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association

TABLE OF CONTENTS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021

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Cover Story — Women in the Green Industry: An Emerging Labor Force

FEATURES

22 28 34 46

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Member Spotlight on Bill Marbet Floating Wetland Treatments

Under Promise and Over Deliver Guest Column: What’s with Workers These Days?

DEPARTMENTS From the TTA President

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From the MTGCSA President

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From the MAGCSA President

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Index of Advertisers

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News from TTA

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The Turfgrass Team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

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Find this issue, Podcasts, Events and More: THETURFZONE.COM

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TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021

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31°28’36.5” N x 83°31’33.3” W

Marks the Spot

UGA Tifton, GA

FROM THE TTA PR ESIDENT

Doug Ward

Unique Surprises W

ith this letter, I trust everyone has experienced a productive and hopefully “fun” summer as the fall (football) season has arrived. No doubt, every summer unwinds with its own unique surprises, whether good, bad or somewhat in between.

This year, early season dry weather seemed to challenge many, with late summer flood conditions being quite severe for others across the state. Fall armyworm activity, labor woes and of course the resurfacing of COVID with the Delta variant all seem to have factored into the scene of the 2021 summer.

In spite of all the obstacles thrown our direction, the various TTA committees that help coordinate our conference and trade show have been hard at work putting together what I believe will be a rewarding event for 2022.

At this point, our educational program has been finalized with speakers from all aspects of the turf industry. In addition, we once again will have a professional improvement expert on the docket for one of our morning sessions as well as numerous participants to conduct interactive workshop gatherings.

To top it off, we are excited to have the world-renowned Sports Turf “Guru” George Toma as our Keynote Speaker on Monday morning to inspire our audience as we kick off the conference.

Also of note, our tradeshow has had its footprint reworked to take better advantage of traffic flow and areas of congregation.

Finally, a “Top Golf ” event has been formulated much like we had at our last live event in 2020. This year’s outing however, is being scheduled to begin significantly earlier to encourage everyone’s participation and with transportation being provided for this event, I hope everyone will be able to take advantage of this opportunity to experience this time of fun and fellowship.

With conference info soon to be issued, please take a minute and make plans to be a part of this year’s return to the Embassy Suites and a much-anticipated live production of our turfgrass conference.

Your attendance will not only add to your personal knowledge and exposure but will make a positive impact on getting our association back on track as a true personal gathering for professionals in the Turfgrass industry.

Doug Ward

The Official Publication of the Tennessee Turfgrass Association, the Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Association and the Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association

Tennessee Turfgrass is the official publication of The Tennessee Turfgrass Association 400 Franklin Road Franklin, Tennessee 37069 (615) 928-7001 info@ttaonline.org www.ttaonline.org PUBLISHED BY Leading Edge Communications, LLC 206 Bridge Street Franklin, Tennessee 37064 (615) 790-3718 info@leadingedgecommunications.com EDITOR Dr. James Brosnan TTA OFFICERS President Doug Ward Belle Meade Country Club (615) 292-6752 Vice President Chris Sykes Tellico Village (865) 458-5408 Secretary/Treasurer Ryan Storey Vanderbilt University (615) 343-6694 Past President Jason Pooler Tri-Turf Sod Farms, Inc (731) 642-3092 Executive Director Melissa Martin Tennessee Turfgrass Assn.

(615) 928-7001 TTA 2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

Bill Blackburn Dr. Jim Brosnan Joe Hill Dr. Brandon Horvath Lynn Ray Jeff Rumph, CGCS Dr. Tom Samples Dr. John Sorochan Dr. Wes Totten

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FROM THE MTGCSA PRESIDENT

Justin Browning

A New Season I

hope this finds all of our members healthy and doing very well. I know we have had our share of struggles with Mother Nature over the past few months with some of it being just terrifying. With the finish line of summer upon us and a new season beginning, I hope that we have seen the worst of it. Please do not forget that if you are having any problems or struggles, reach out to us and one another; it is the greatest purpose of this association and I feel what we are all here for.

Moving on, we have a few events coming up that should have reached your inbox. On September 21st we had a meeting for Equipment Managers. These have been a great success in the past

DAILY REGIONAL DELIVERY

and if you missed this one, I encourage you to send your Equipment Managers to these meetings in the future. Also in your inbox you should have received information on the Scholarship and Research Tournament. I am excited to take our event to Towhee Club on October 21st. Finally, we will close out the year at our traditional Bluegrass Yacht and Country Club location on November 2nd. I hope to see you all there and best of luck to you all moving forward.

Justin Browning MTGCSA President

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TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

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FROM THE MAGCSA PRESIDENT

Andrew Foster

ADVERTISER INDEX A & W Southern Sod Farms.......................................... 39 www.awssod.com

Andersons...................................................................... 27 www.andersonsplantnutrient.com

Buy Sod, Inc................................................................... 33 www.buysod.com

Staff Is

BWI Companies, Inc....................................................... 37 www.bwicompanies.com

Carolina Green Corp....................................................... 45 www.cgcfields.com

Dave’s Sale and Service................................................ 27 www.turfeagle.com

FAMILY

Greenville Turf & Tractor, Inc........................................ 11

ere we go again, now that we have another mask mandate in the Shelby County area it’s time to start being proactive on keeping the courses open and our customers and employees safe. Some of you are on board with social distancing, keeping things clean and wiped down and even wearing a mask when inside with others. There are others who read the first line of this article and turned the page, but hopefully the title has everyone still reading because those are the ones I’m trying to reach.

By now you or someone that you know has contracted covid and that person has four possible outcomes. One: They are asymptomatic and had no idea they had it until they got checked for antibodies. Two: They got sick for a day or two but no worse than the flu. Three: They got sick and had to go to the hospital but finally recovered. Four: That person got sick and did not make it. I understand that most corona deaths occur with another underlying health issue. We can go back and forth debating what’s what with never reaching a conclusion, but I hope that we can all agree that there are at least four outcomes from contracting corona.

I’m saying all of that, in as few words as possible, to tell you about the title. Staff is family whether you like it or not. As much time as we spend at work, we may see our coworkers more than some of our family members. Here at Windyke, we have an age range of workers from 16 to 75. In that age range we have all kinds of race, gender, political stances, faith beliefs, conspiracy beliefs, and believe me I know because they all have their opinions and want everyone to hear it. I love it because it makes us who we are as a team, whether I agree with your stance or not.

My final thought is go get vaccinated or don’t, in my opinion that is your personal decision. Wear a mask or don’t, but respect the owners that say wear a mask. Finally respect your coworkers, you might not know all their medical complications and you probably don’t know their family situation and who they see on a regular basis.

I for one have a one-year-old that is kept by his grandmother, and I don’t want them to get it. I just want everyone to think about someone other than themselves for a minute. It doesn’t hurt anything to just keep your distance and wipe down your most common touch points no matter what you believe!

Kesmac........................................................................... 31

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GrassMasters Sod Farm................................................ 19 grassmastersindiana.com

GURU Scapes................................................................. 44 www.guruscapes.com

Harrell’s LLC.......................................... Inside Back Cover www.harrells.com

Jackson Sand................................................................. 37 www.jacksonsand.com

www.brouwerkesmac.com

Leading Edge Communications...................................... 41 www.LeadingEdgeCommunications.com

McCurdy Sod Farms, LLC................................................. 6 www.mccurdysodfarms.com

Mid Tenn Turf.................................................................. 8 www.midtennturf.com

Mid-Atlantic STIHL........................................................ 17 www.stihldealers.com

Modern Turf, Inc............................................................ 39 www.modernturf.com

North Georgia Turf Company, Inc.................................. 13 www.ngturf.com

Palmers Turf................................................................... 48 www.palmersturf.com

Progressive Turf Equipment Inc..................................... 13 www.progressiveturfequip.com

Pure Green Sports Turf.................................................. 43 www.puregreenllc.com

RD Murphy, LLC............................................................. 45 www.rdmurphy.com

Regal Chemical Company................................................ 3 www.regalchem.com

Sigma Organics, Inc....................................................... 39 www.SigmaTurf.com

Smith Turf & Irrigation..................................................... 7 www.smithturf.com

Sod Solutions................................................................. 23 www.sodsolutions.com

Sur-Line Turf, Inc............................................................ 21 www.surlineturf.com

The Turf Zone................................................................. 43

Andrew Foster MAGCSA President

www.theturfzone.com

The Turfgrass Group.................................................. 5, 25 www.theturfgrassgroup.com

Tri-Turf Sod Farms......................................................... 27 www.triturfsod.com

Turf Mountain Sod, Inc.................................................. 21 www.turfmountain.com

Winstead Turf.......................................Inside Front Cover www.winsteadturffarms.com

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE VALLEY SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

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NEWS FROM TTA / UPCOMING EVENTS

ANNUAL CONFERENCE & TRADESHOW JANUARY 10 – 12, 2022 • EMBASSY SUITES • MURFREESBORO, TN 2022 Conference Returns to an IN-PERSON Event with an exciting new format. Don’t Miss Out! For registration, sponsorship opportunities, schedule and more visit

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TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

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NEWS FROM TTA / UPCOMING EVENTS OCTOBER 13 Registration: 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Scott McNeer Scholarship Tournament WINDYKE COUNTRY CLUB • Memphis, TN

OCTOBER 18 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

MTGCSA Scholarship Tournament TOWHEE CLUB • Spring Hill, TN

NOVEMBER 1 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

31st Annual ETGCSA Scholarship & Research Golf Tournament BLACK CREEK CLUB • Chattanooga, TN

A D IG IT A L L E A R NING S E R IE S FOR 2 0 2 1

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Winter is Coming! Be Prepared for Shoulder Season Foes like Poa annua and Large Patch Presenters: Dr. Jim Brosnan and Dr. Brandon Horvath, University of Tennessee

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FEBRUARY 14 – 17, 2022 Turfgrass Producers International Education Conference

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COVER STORY

WOMEN IN THE

GREEN INDUSTRY: AN EMERGING LABOR FORCE

By Devon Carroll, Plant, Soil, and Environmental Science Ph.D. candidate, The University of Tennessee and Dr. Carrie Stephens, Professor of Leadership in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, The University of Tennessee

WOMEN’S WORK A look at most grounds crews at athletic facilities, golf courses, or landscape operations rarely reveals a woman working to maintain green spaces. Despite women comprising 51% of the U.S. population and 47% of the labor force, women represent far less than half of the labor force in the turfgrass or landscape industries. Given that turfgrass and landscape industries are estimated to support about 1.4 million jobs nation-wide, this labor group represents novel employment opportunities. Although female groundskeepers and landscape professionals have recently gained attention in media, their numbers are few. National turfgrass associations report only 2 to 4% of members who are female (Figure 1). Similarly, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that as of 2019, women comprised only 6.5% of all landscaping and groundskeeping workers.

The low percentage of women working in the turfgrass or landscaping industry classifies such work as a non-traditional job. Nontraditional jobs are classified by the United States Department of Labor as an occupation that is comprised of 25% or less female employment. Other non-traditional labor sectors with similar percentages of female employment to turfgrass and landscaping include welding, construction, plumbing, and electricians (2.2 to 5.3% women). The low engagement of women in the green industry is a problem as labor is of growing concern. In recent years, a decline in the U.S. unemployment rate and immigrant and bluecollar worker availability has affected hiring across many professions.

In the past eighteen months, the labor issue has been exacerbated by the compounding effects of COVID-19. As the industry struggles to fill positions, recognizing the under-utilization of women could be a solution. Can increased recruitment of women to the green industry help close the labor gap?

Imagine if the percentage of women working in landscape related professions rose from 6.5% to 10%. Based on current estimations by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, this relatively small increase would result in an additional 50,000 women seeking employment in the green industry. Now imagine if the percentage changed to 20 or 30% women.

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FIGURE 1. Estimated female membership in national turfgrass associations provided through personal communication in February 2020.

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

IMAGE 1. Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, IN, has found that female high school students like Kaitlyn Dougherty (pictured) are extremely capable grounds crew employees and actively seeks to recruit other women to the team. Photo by Brent Downs

IMAGE 2. Growing up on a farm in Alabama helped prepare Tisa Blackhurst for her current role as assistant sports turf manager for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (S.C.) minor league baseball team. Photo by J.C. Blackhurst

IMAGE 3. Tisa Blackhurst exemplifies women who are vibrant leaders in the turf industry.

As assistant sports turf manager for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Tisa prepares the field ahead of a baseball game.

Photo by J.C. Blackhurst

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE VALLEY SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

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COVER STORY In recent years, the green industry has worked to create space for women by developing programs such as the Women in Landscape Network, Ladies Leading Turf sponsored by Syngenta, Women in Golf sponsored by Bayer Environmental Science, and “Women in Turf ” events held at industry association meetings. Continuing these efforts and refining recruitment methods to attract women to the industry could ease labor concerns and result in a more diverse workforce. Barriers faced uniquely by women may be limiting the number of women entering and remaining in the industry. In other agricultural fields, research has identified challenges and opportunities for women as a means of increasing their recruitment. This information is of value to the turfgrass and landscape industries as a resource for improving recruitment and retention strategies for women and to ease labor concerns.

FEMALE EXPERIENCES IN TURFGRASS Researchers at the University of Tennessee in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications took a scientific approach to determine barriers and opportunities for women in the turfgrass industry by interviewing female leaders to explore their lived experiences. Thirteen female leaders participated in the study and represented diverse backgrounds of 6 to 30+ years of experience working in turfgrass; geographic locations in three countries and comprised of nine U.S. states and three Canadian provinces; and job titles including athletic field manager, assistant athletic field manager, graduate student, golf course superintendent, and assistant golf course superintendent. Five of the women work in sports turf and eight in golf turf. Female leaders participated in 30-to-90-minute interviews conducted remotely via Zoom. Interviews were semi-structured and posed the central research question, “What lived experiences have shaped your career in the turfgrass industry?” Transcriptions of interviews were used to develop themes intended to encompass the experiences and views of all thirteen participating women. Responses from female leaders established themes of leadership styles, mentorship opportunities, and challenges.

IMAGE 4. A vibrant leader in the turfgrass industry, Leah Withrow works as head groundskeeper for the Reno Aces baseball team and prepares the field before a game. Leah is the only female head groundskeeper in all of Triple-A baseball.

Photo courtesy of Leah Withrow

LEADERSHIP, MENTORSHIP, & CHALLENGES Despite their diverse backgrounds, women interviewed in this study had similar childhood upbringings and influences on their career choices. Women described their childhoods as involving time spent outdoors through farming, playing sports, and engaging in other outdoor activities such as hiking, hunting, or fishing. These activities were noted to stimulate choices to work in an outdoor, hands-on environment later in life. Additionally, all of the women placed emphasis on the importance of education in their journeys to leadership. Twelve of the participants hold degrees in turfgrass or closely related fields. These women believed that their education was essential to their ability to garner respect and grow within the industry.

Women also expressed that their leadership styles were key components to successful professional development. The most common self-identified leadership style among participants was open leadership, which empowers employees to find their own way.

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IMAGE 5. Sun Roesslein, stadium manager at the North Area Athletic Complex near Golden, CO, operates a tractor equipped with aeration equipment to maintain surrounding property.

Photo courtesy of Sun Roesslein

Open leadership encompasses hands-on leading with an emphasis on communication, relationship building, and teaching. Women engaging in this leadership approach believe that this leadership style provides an opportunity for employees to understand why tasks are completed and permits employees to learn from failure.

One participant stated, “[I try to] let everybody see what [the job is] really like, because they’re eventually, hopefully, going to take over my position one day.”

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

COVER STORY Women using the open leadership style described the importance of working alongside their crews in order to prove themselves and build connections. Participants in this study believed their leadership styles differed from those common to male counterparts primarily due to their focus on communication and the emotional aspects of leadership such as keeping staff happy. Female leaders engaging in open leadership experienced positive responses from employees and felt this leadership style aided in their leadership success.

Interviewed women also commented on the significance of mentorship in their own journeys to leadership, as well as their desire to mentor others: “If you invest in people, they will start to invest in you.” When asked what makes a mentor relationship good, respondents indicated that successful mentorship takes time to foster. One contributor commented, “I think a good mentor is just somebody that’s there to understand you and to make you the best [version of] you, not make you the best [version of] them.” Similarly, another shared, “I think successful mentorship looks like somebody giving somebody else a chance no matter what.” This desire to build relationships aligns with tenets of open leadership common to women in the industry.

Although women in leadership roles in turfgrass were generally positive about their professional experiences, study participants also reflected on challenges that they perceived to be unique to women. Most of the issues described involved sexism, difficulty building a family, and inappropriate peer conduct. Women in the turfgrass industry described their frustration about being mistaken on the job as someone’s significant other or a waitress, instead of being recognized as a turfgrass manager at conferences and at work. “I struggled a lot because I was so tired of being mistaken for somebody’s wife. Being asked whose wife I was or whose fiancée I was, girlfriend I was, was a punch to the gut every single time. I’m not here with a man. I’m here because I work here,” said one of the women who volunteered for the study. Women also expressed their discomfort in being pursued romantically at conferences, work, and on social media. Many participants felt women had to work harder on the job to prove themselves: “The second golf course superintendent I worked for sat me down one day, and he said, ‘If you want to get into turf, there are some things that I think you need to accept and not necessarily like going into this field. You’re going to have to do it better, be smarter, be more savvy and be thickerskinned just to get the same respect that the guys get just walking in the door.’” Interviewees were hopeful sharing these experiences would provide comfort to other women in similar situations and bring light to the need for change in the current industry culture.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH Understanding the journeys to leadership of women currently working in turfgrass can inform recruitment efforts seeking to involve women who may have a predisposition to find work in turfgrass interesting and rewarding. Additionally, open and honest discussion about the challenges faced by women in the turfgrass industry has helped to highlight opportunities for growth and identify the need for industry action toward change. Study participants indicated that females working in turfgrass and the industry itself can take steps to improve the experiences of current and future women workers.

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IMAGE 6. Near Golden CO, stadium manager Sun Roesslein paints yard line numbers in preparation for a football game.

Photo courtesy of Sun Roesslein

IMAGE 7. Cassie Reed is now a turfgrass specialist at The Scotts Co. and participates in a company video shoot in which she discusses shade research she carried out for her master’s degree at Ohio State University. Photo by Matthew Koch

Women can build space for themselves in the industry both personally and professionally. Emphasis was placed on the need for women in turfgrass to build comradery with other women to overcome challenges. One woman expressed her desire for support: “I need some kind of camaraderie from my fellow females in this industry. Tell me, how do you move on from challenges? They can’t answer that question for me, but it’d be nice to know, ‘Hey, I was there too before. This happened to me, so you’re not alone.’ Just that feeling.”

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

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COVER STORY

IMAGE 8. Graduate student Deniz Subasi is focusing on zoysiagrass breeding for her master’s degree at Akdeniz University in Antalya, Turkey. Photo courtesy of Deniz Subasi IMAGE 9. Now a student in biomedical engineering at Purdue University, Kaitlyn Dougherty was one of three high school seniors who proved their capabilities as members of the grounds crew at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Ind. Photo by Brent Downs

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Many women noted other women in the industry they met through Women in Turf events serve as their support in tough times: “Right now, because of the women-in-turf events, I’ve had the absolute privilege of meeting a group of amazing women who support each other and are always there to ask questions or bounce ideas off! Between Twitter, texting and WhatsApp, we’ve been able to stay pretty connected!” Similarly, another woman commented, “It’s definitely given us a platform — not saying that we’re special, but sometimes the women just need to talk to other women.” Such relationship-building and networking with other women can foster a stronger community of belonging.

Women were also encouraged to work on maintaining a positive mindset, recognizing and improving strengths and weaknesses, and pursuing opportunities. For example, women can enhance their visibility and leadership skills by serving on local or national association boards. Additionally, attendance at educational and Women in Turf events can offer women networking, mentorship, and professional development experiences.

Interviewed women described that the industry can support women by continuing to fund these events and through encouraging female counterparts to participate. Study participants described such events as essential to fostering a spirit of community and initiating change. Women also discussed change can occur if men in the industry provide and increase support through acceptance, mentorship, and advocacy. Many women relied on male friends and mentors on their journeys to leadership. Women were hopeful more men would fill these roles by speaking out when misconduct is observed, encouraging women to pursue growth, and believing in their abilities.

CHANGING LABOR DYNAMICS Results of this study revealed women in turfgrass are successful leaders. The experiences communicated by interviewed women can be used to shape future female recruitment. Although these findings and recommendations are specific to women working in golf and sports turf, women working across the green industry in roles such as landscaping, sod farming, and nursery production likely face similar challenges and would benefit from changes to workplace dynamics and women-centric recruiting.

While twelve women in this study had turfgrass degrees, ten of the twelve started in careers other than turf. This finding indicates few women are entering the industry immediately after high school.

In order to increase recruitment, women need to be informed of opportunities in the turfgrass industry in middle and early high school to promote turfgrass as an immediate career. Given that all thirteen women in this study described their upbringing as one involving outdoor activities, focusing recruiting efforts on students who play sports or are involved in agriculture will likely yield greater interest in turfgrass. Increasing female visibility on grounds crews and through social media may also foster interest by showing young females that career opportunities in the green industry are possible and rewarding for women.

In order to retain women currently working in turfgrass, the industry should continue to create space for women. Mentorship provided individually or through formal mentoring programs is needed and was found to promote professional development and leadership growth. The development of mentor programs for high

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

school students may increase interest in green industry jobs for young women while offering a form of personal fulfillment for women already in the industry.

All 13 of the women interviewed for this project were passionate about their profession and enthusiastic about encouraging others to take on the challenge. Some women suggested that newcomers considering a career in turf should “expect the challenges” and “be strong, confident and yourself.” When asked to give a piece of advice to other women already in or contemplating entering the industry, the women echoed sentiments similar to “Just do it.” One woman said, “Any woman entering this industry at this time is going to be a trendsetter, right? You are blazing a trail for young women to follow you. And part of the challenge of being a trailblazer is that there are uncomfortable situations. And you have to learn how to navigate those with integrity and dignity.” Women interviewed in this study were hopeful sharing their experiences would provide insight on improving recruitment strategies and industry culture for women.

Recruiting a diverse work force with more women will likely lead to innovation and may ease employment concerns as the labor force grows.

AUTHOR INFORMATION Devon Carroll (dcarro17@vols.utk.edu; Twitter @turfgirl24) is a Ph.D. candidate in Plant, Soil, and Environmental Science concentrated in turfgrass weed science at the University of Tennessee.

Carrie Stephens, Ph.D. (cfritz@utk.edu; Twitter @Carebearsvoice) is a Professor of Leadership in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications in the Herbert College of Agriculture at the University of Tennessee. *This article was modified from stories written by the same authors and previously published in SportsField Management and Golf Course Management.

This article is reprinted with permission from Tennessee GreenTimes, Fall 2021.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT ON

BILL MARBET OWNER OF LINE TO LINE, LLC How did you get involved in this line of work and what was your career path?

Many years ago when my two sons were playing Little League baseball, the dads had to work on the fields, and I owned a tire business here in Columbia. With us dads working on the ball fields, one thing led to another and it became a passion. Other people started to ask us, “Can you come look at our dirt?” or “Can you come look at our mound?”

I had the opportunity to sell my tire business, and I told my wife that we’re going to take a huge leap of faith and chase the passion.

In 1996 we started Southern Athletic Fields and grew that until 2018, when we sold SAF to Profile Products. Since then I’ve done a little for them, but now we’ve branched out and started a couple other companies. We have Game Time Sports Fields, it’s renovation, grading, whatever needs to be done on an athletic field, we try to do it. Then Line to Line is accessory based – netting and painting, bases, drags, all the other things that I enjoy doing.

Bill Marbet

We’re trying to reinvent the wheel and come up with new, and maybe sometimes better, ideas on how to maintain baseball and softball fields.

Have you always primarily worked in baseball and softball, or have you ventured into other sports?

We painted and striped football and soccer fields, we’ve done a lot of topdressing and grading of football and soccer fields. So we’re not just baseball and softball, but I think most people know me as “The Dirt Guy,” so that’s kind of where we’ve had our home.

Do you do a lot of turfgrass maintenance, or do you rely on someone else to work with you while you’re doing dirt work?

We have some partners that do most of the turf part of it. We have tried over the years to specialize in the ballfield dirts, mound clays, and the particular types of infield mixes. We’ve been very fortunate from the Little Leagues to high school to colleges to Major League fields to have our particular type of infield mix.

Some people call you the “King of Dirt.”

How did you earn that title?

Well, that was not my idea. I think there’s one reason they call me that, no one else ever wanted to be tagged with that label. We’ve always said, it’s not just dirt. There’s a lot more to it. From the beginning when we’d just find something that was kind of red that would work on a ballfield, and we’d begin to understand what made this particular blend work. So we started getting into the differences between sand, silt and clay. We started looking at the different components of dirt and we started looking at the percentages of sand, the percentages of silt, the percentages of clay.

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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Not all areas are the same, so we got into that and found the proper blend, if you will. We were very fortunate. I’ve driven thousands of miles, and when you see red dirt, you think, “Well, that’s it.” We were fortunate to find an area that it did work and the percentages were there. Early on, that was before people got into what’s called engineered soils, but to have a consistent supply, and that’s what we were looking for long-term, was a consistent infield mix that a school or an organization could get from us and know that from one year to the next that they were dealing with basically the same material. As time has gone on and our customers and our coaches and field managers have understood that there’s different things that go into this besides just going out in the field with a tractor. We’ve learned a lot and we’ve tried to educate our customers to the point now where we can, through our blending process that we have, there’s very few other people that are doing the blending that we have done here when we were Southern Athletic Fields, and we continue to do them now with Line to Line. So year after year after year, we can have exactly the same percentages, we can make sure that the consistency is there for our customers.

they played in Hoover, Alabama. We went down there and met some other buddies and we’re sitting in the stands and the head groundskeeper and his one assistant were trying to change over the field. This is the first year they had it in Hoover. He had obviously a short timeframe to do a whole lot of work, so we hopped the fence to go over and help him. That kind of kickstarted it.

Then I had another friend that went to the commissioner of the SEC and said, “Why don’t you let this guy take over and get a crew of people down here to take care of this?” So Glen Lucas was at Auburn at the time and later came to work for us at SAF and continues to work for us now. He and I started talking about this and said that’s maybe something that we could do. So we got on the phone and got it in gear.

SEC Tournament field under water at 5:00 pm

What do you think has changed over your career about expectations on sports fields?

The key ingredient in anything that we do is the safety and playability for the athletes. If it’s girls or boys, if they’re five years old or a Major League guy that’s 40 years old, it’s about consistency and making sure that every time, they know they’re going to get a proper bounce on their infield mix.

What has been the biggest challenge of the work you do?

The biggest challenge is probably from a financial side, early on, for people to understand, especially when we first started before 2000, that they could get a big truckload of dirt for $100, and back then we may have been charging $300. The educational process, for not only me and our employees here, but the coaches themselves, for them to understand that there is a difference and you can make the field better and in turn you can make your players better. If they feel safe about the surface that they’re on, obviously their mindset is going to be, “Hey, I can make every play with this because I know what I have here.” So that’s been, I don’t know if I’d say a challenge, but I’d say an education for not only us, but our customers.

How did you get started, 23 years ago, being part of the SEC baseball grounds crew?

We started in 1998, the first time I went down, I had a friend of mine that was the head groundskeeper for the Birmingham Barons,

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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Currently, it’s quite a production, the SEC Tournament is a big production period. But for us as groundskeepers, we have at least 24, 25 guys on hand every game. That’s a lot of people, I understand that, but one, we have to have that many for tarp duty.

We never know that week if it’s going to rain, but we have to be prepared, so that’s why we have the numbers that we do. That allows us to really concentrate on specific duties between games.

Typically we’ll have 12 to 15 minutes to turn the field around. We take the chalk up, we drag, we water, we pack the mound, pack the plate, change the logos and fix both bullpens. We do all of that in 12 to 15 minutes. So we have a lot of guys, but we have plenty of things for them to do between games. That’s been a real joy and the staff at the SEC office are great to work with. Those people are tremendously professional, and it’s been a big joy of what we’ve done.

be easy,” or “How does that dirt play like that in their infield mix, it’s not all choppy.” It’s understanding that you did that, that was part of your efforts. It’s very self-satisfying. Sometimes the money’s not exactly what everybody thinks, but I think our world of groundskeeping and turf professionals is getting better and I don’t think it’s going away.

A well-deserved Twitter shout out from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey

Let’s talk about your time as a part of TTA. You’ve served on the board in the past, and it’s great organization with a lot of sports field managers.

Has that been helpful to you as you’ve grown the business and started doing different things, having that network of professionals in the TTA? When someone says that you’re successful, I guess that’s a relative term. But if I’ve been successful in anything, it’s the relationships that I’ve had with people in the turfgrass industry. From the young guys that, when we go into colleges or high schools and see a young man in a high school that says, “I’d really like to do that.” Well, why don’t you go to one of the SEC schools, for instance, and get a turf degree and go into turf management? We’re fortunate that there’s been several that have become the head turf guys at their schools and they’ve come through what little knowledge that I may have had, that at least it inspired them to make this a career. So that’s been tremendously gratifying, the relationships, and that’s something that’s missed tremendously now with technology that you get away from the relationships and the one-on-ones. If there’s anything that I think I may have done halfway right, it’s that I cherish, tremendously, the relationships that I’ve been able to have in this profession.

How would you advise young people, either just coming into the athletic field or sports turf industry, or who are considering that as a career path?

The biggest thing to me is that most of the time you can see immediate results, and if you work hard and you understand and you have a passion for what you do, you’re going to see those results and you’re going to get the “Wow Factor.” To have that ability to do something like that is very special and the average person, the average fan says, “I know if that’s real grass, that can’t

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To hear the full interview, check out Tennessee Turfgrass on The Turf Zone. You can subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also visit us at THETURFZONE.COM.

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FEATURE

CLEANER WATER THROUGH SITE-SPECIFIC FLOATING TREATMENT WETLANDS

By Michael Ross, SITES AP, ASLA, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Sciences + School of Landscape Architecture, University of Tennessee and Mia Roark, graduate student, School of Landscape Architecture, University of Tennessee

I

saw its tail move first. The Guadalupe Bass, Micropterus treculii, was hiding under the mass of willow roots rippling in the current.

The undercut bank and riparian vegetation, particularly the exposed willow roots, provided a great ambush spot for Texas’s state fish, which is closely related to the smallmouth bass. The guad, as we lovingly refer to them, is a sucker for crayfish patterns. With my friend on the oars and a moderately accurate cast, scarcely had the fly hit the water and began to sink than the predator rushed out from cover and inhaled it. Experiences like this one on the San Marcos River in Central Texas shaped my view of urban creeks, streams, and rivers and particularly the biodiversity possible when water and habitat quality are high. These types of habitat conditions have been key to many great fishing experiences as well as being essential to my early development as a budding herpetologist as copious numbers of turtles, salamanders, and snakes can be found in root curtains and shady bank overhangs.

As I have moved around the country and traveled, I have seen the impact of urbanization on watersheds and waterways. Water quality issues and lack of good habitat have impacted streams, creeks, and rivers globally and it is particularly impactful in our state as Tennessee is known for the diversity of its aquatic organisms. But there is hope.

Floating Treatment Wetlands: An Opportunity for Cleaner Water Maintaining effective interplay of aesthetics and function is one of the on-going balancing acts of contemporary landscape design, especially design based on ecological principles. Traditional approaches to landscape design often have embraced a Eurocentric approach to aesthetics that largely ignores ecological assemblages, species interactions, and habitat complexity. Given the environmental challenges facing our communities, the landscape industries are uniquely positioned to intercede.

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One of the issues that arises with ever greater frequency is water quality. As our land development patterns continue to sprawl, impervious surfaces increase, as does the associated runoff pollution, volume, and velocity. As private land owners, municipalities, communities, and commercial entities begin to see their role in mitigating these by-products of growth, new tools that allow for tailored site-specific approaches gain in popularity. One such approach is the application of floating treatment wetlands (FTWs).

These floating islands utilize regenerative systems inherent in plant growth to mitigate pollutants in the water, provide biodiversity and habitat, as well as aesthetic opportunities with seasonal flowering times and colors.

How FTWs Work Floating treatment wetlands work by floating at or slightly above the surface of the water. Plants that have evolved to grow in saturated, moist, or emergent conditions are placed in planting pockets with a small amount of soil (Image 1). These planting pockets or moisture levels can be tailored to meet the design goals based on what conditions the individual plants prefer. In time the plants send roots out through the island and into the water. These roots represent the primary mechanism for phytoremediation. The roots pull in water, extract excess nutrients, and develop biofilm. These mechanisms are particularly useful in conditions where excess nutrients or suspended solids might be problematic. They also provide excellent habitat for fish, amphibians, and invertebrates that help fuel a larger food web. In effect, the roots act much like the bank overhang with the root curtain I described above. The shade and accompanying cooler temperatures, lower light intensities, cover, food, and cleaner, less turbid water provide meaningful benefits to highly impacted urban streams. These are all positives from the perspective of aquatic organisms as well as those critters that feed on them.

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IMAGE 1: Installed commercially available floating wetland cell

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE VALLEY SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

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FEATURE Experiential Learning Part I: Teaching with the FTW Application

“With a bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and an aspiring Master’s in Landscape Architecture, I have spent most of my academic career learning about environmental challenges facing our society. Personally, I have a specific interest in urban development and the implications it has on the natural environment and its processes. As population numbers rise and cities continue to expand, the rapid urbanization of areas has led to various anthropogenic complications, both ecologically and economically. However, as cities continue to develop, design also continues to evolve. Now professionals are generating more sustainable, innovative solutions to mitigate these anthropogenic complications that arise from development.

To further explore these solutions, I took Professor Mike Ross’s Green Infrastructure Theory course at the University of Tennessee in spring of 2021. Professor Ross has designed this course as an exploration of the history, theory, construction, and maintenance of sustainable design as a cost-effective, innovative solution to a myriad of ecological concerns. One of the major components of our course was the design, creation, and implementation of a floating treatment wetland (FTWs) for Third Creek.

Third Creek, which runs through the University of Tennessee’s campus, is heavily impacted by urban stormwater runoff from rooftops and pavement in the surrounding areas. Ultimately, this runoff has led to the pollution of the creek and degradation of the surrounding habitat. To help mitigate these concerns, Professor Ross tasked us with designing our own floating wetland treatment.

FTWs act as engineered rafts that support native wetland vegetation, which provide habitat and attenuate pollutants from the water.

The added benefits of habitat creation and aesthetics are key components to well-designed green infrastructure and as part of the green infrastructure class I teach at the University of Tennessee. I have worked with students from Plant Sciences, Landscape Architecture, and Environmental Sciences to design and build FTWs utilizing cut shoots of manually harvested invasive bamboo, Phyllostachys aurea, as the structure and native wetland and emergent plants as our phytoremediating component (Image 2).

Additionally, students are given the opportunity to plant and launch commercially-available units, much as they would spec as a landscape architect, designer, consultant or contractor.

Currently we are utilizing these islands as a way to address issues of water quality, habitat, and aesthetics in Knoxville’s Third Creek. Our project is part of a larger effort to improve the greenway and is based in the University’s shared concern for the waterway and its impact on the larger watershed, the Tennessee River, and the citizens of the state.

Experiential Learning Part II: A Student’s Point of View The impact of this project extends well beyond the waterways and has directly impacted the students who are contributing to our team’s effort. Mia Roark was invited to share her perspectives and insights on the experiential learning that she gained. As she explains:

IMAGE 2: Students harvest bamboo for the raft construction project.

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FEATURE In small groups, we were instructed to design and build our own FTW from bamboo, cultivated from an invasive patch on campus, and any other biodegradable materials of our choosing. The design inspiration for my group’s floating wetland came from the traditional art of creating bamboo furniture. We adopted the strategy from Taiwanese artists to make small triangular cuts in a singular piece of bamboo to create a bend. This technique is not only visually interesting; but also creates a stronger corner in comparison to connecting two separate bamboo pieces. We then used deck screws to attach two bent pieces to the opposite sides of a rectangular box made from four pieces of bamboo drilled together to form a hexagon shape. This shape was chosen so that in the event we created more wetlands, we could form a honeycomb pattern by connecting them together. Once our shape was finalized, we assembled two additional identical hexagons and attached them on top of one another for buoyancy.

Prior to finalizing this model, we did a floatation test to insure our FTW would indeed float (Image 3). While our design was

successful, we were apprehensive whether the structure could support additional weight. Therefore, to increase buoyancy we decided to add two side palettes of dry bamboo to the bottom of our wetland, similar to the structure of pontoon boats. Then, we latched each corner so that two pieces of bamboo meet with a waxed string for added support. Finally, we finished our FTW by creating a base for the soil and plants by adding split pieces of bamboo and coconut coir fiber to the top layer.

The process of designing, creating, and implementing a floating treatment wetland in an environment that we were familiar with was an invigorating, eye-opening experience (Image 4). We were able to observe the concerns surrounding Third Creek and integrate a solution of our own design from start to finish. Personally, I too often succumb to the notion that change must happen at a large scale. However, this opportunity taught me that it is possible to enact change in only two months. Though our design had its flaws, it was still successful in supporting native vegetation and providing habitat, which was the prevailing priority.

IMAGE 3: Students launch their bamboo raft constructed wetland cell IMAGE 4: The bamboo wetland cell is transplanted and made ready for launch

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After completing the Green Infrastructure Theory course in May of 2021, I began an internship with Professor Ross working on the enhancement of Third Creek and the greenway that runs alongside it. Largely, we are focused on the restoration of the riparian buffer surrounding the creek, the improvement of the quality of water, and the enhancement of the greenway users experience. The integration of more floating treatment wetlands, both commercial and student designed, will offer a unique, cost effective solution to the restoration of the degraded habit and water quality of Third Creek.”

The Long-Term View Stream restoration is very important, but can often be a long and costly process. The benefits of green infrastructure can help offset costs and lessen the cumulative impacts of urbanization.

FTWs are not a panacea for poor ecological design and management, nor will they make up for all of the lost riparian and aquatic habitat we have experienced in Tennessee. These structures can certainly help us gain lost ground, however. FTWs will play a role as an inexpensive solution available to private landowners, golf courses, lake side residential communities and urban parks and greenways. Through the efforts of University of Tennessee students and faculty, we are learning how to apply this agency across scales with multiple benefits in mind. In the long-term we are creating informed future professionals, clients, and constituencies that care about watersheds and swimmable, fishable urban waterways. Growers, consultants, contractors, and designers can all make a positive difference in the aesthetics and biodiversity of our urban waterways.

For more information about this project or to learn about other opportunities in Sustainable Landscape Design, or would like to know more about the University of Tennessee’s Masters in Landscape Architecture degree program, contact Michael Ross at mross28@utk.edu or (865) 9741606.

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This article is reprinted with permission from Tennessee GreenTimes, Fall 2021.

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FEATURE

UNDER PROMISE AND OVER DELIVER

By Bill Carraway, VP of Sales & Marketing, The Turfgrass Group, Inc.

“U

nder promise and over deliver.” Although I cannot take claim as the originator of this academic discipline, it is absolutely a fundamental imperative by which I operate, when it comes to the introduction of any new product into the marketplace. It was with this theory as our guiding principle that in early 2015 The Turfgrass Group (TTG) launched the release of TifTuf® Certified Bermudagrass. Little did we know that some six years later, our determination to “Under Promise” would ultimately turn out to be one of the greatest understatements ever spoken in the world of turfgrass.

The University of Georgia (UGA) has long held the deferential honor of being recognized as the world’s leading turfgrass breeding program, and as such is revered as the standard by which all other

34

university and privately owned warm season breeding programs are measured. As Scott Angle, the former Dean of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences put it, “Much of the past success of our sod and turf industry is a direct result of the many varieties of turfgrass generated at UGA.” He continued, “In business, you’re only as good as your ability to keep ahead of your competitors. In Georgia, our sod growers and turf professionals are fortunate to have a world-class turfgrass program to keep them ahead of our friends and competitors in other states.”

For those of us that view the turfgrass industry through the prism of ‘time served,’ we have had the privilege of growing some superior turfgrass varieties that in certain cases have had profound impacts on our careers as well as our individual farms’ growth

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and financial success. In some cases, these cultivar influences had run their course in a matter of several growing seasons, but those are not the ones I am attempting to focus on. The ones I am referring to are those rare cornerstone varieties, the industry changers, these are the Transformational Grasses. Can you say Tifway 419?

In 1960 the University of Georgia in cooperation with the USDA released the new interspecific hybrid bermudagrass Tifway 419.

Developed by Dr. Glen W. Burton at Tifton, Georgia, this sterile triploid hybrid, now sixty years later, still reigns as the most recognized, utilized, and produced hybrid bermudagrass in the world. The UGA list of improved bermudagrass cultivar releases is lengthy, well known, and unmatched. It is on this platform that turfgrass

breeders Drs. Wayne Hanna and Brian Schwartz continue to build and preserve this legacy.

In May of 1993 Dr. Hanna planted over 27,700 bermudagrass crosses he had made in 1992 at Tifton. As a result of continuous observation and evaluation, in 2001 a single selection being tested as DT-1 (drought tolerant number one) was selected because of its ability to maintain quality and green color longer than the other genotypes when under drought stress. With the arrival of Dr. Schwartz in 2009, he began more rigorous scientific testing to better understand Dr. Hanna’s observations. Additional evaluation plots and real-world test sites were established on turf farms and residential properties across Georgia, Texas, and Florida for the purpose of evaluating the selection in a diversity of microclimates.

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE VALLEY SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

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FEATURE As the result of a specialty crops grant known as the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) which began in 2010, UGA became a part of a multi-university collaborative that would focus on selecting and testing drought-tolerant warm-season turfgrass cultivars. This team included scientists from UGA, the University of Florida, North Carolina State University, Texas A&M University, and Oklahoma State University. With the team of some 32 scientists exchanging plant material and data across such vast environmental conditions, the entire evaluation process was expedited.

According to NC State turfgrass breeder Susana Mila-Lewis, “The collaboration among breeders across such different environments is priceless. It helps us to select better lines with more performance stability because they have been tested against a wide range of weather conditions like drought and cold as well as an array of pests and diseases.”

Upon concluding the 2010-2015 SCRI research cycle, the fiveuniversity collective determined to release a single bermudagrass cultivar, the University of Georgia’s DT-1. The team’s five-year research initiative had demonstrated a 40% water savings over the

leading bermudagrass, without loss of turf quality. It is important to understand that these determinations were based on the removal of all irrigation and or supplemental water inputs. When combining the SCRI results with concurrent ongoing efforts at Tifton, as well as twenty plus years of work done by Drs. Hanna and Schwartz, the university had determined it was time to launch its new release.

Having followed the DT-1 research data for more than a decade, TTG understood that UGA had accumulated a rather lengthy list of suitors, all more than willing to take this grass to market. In addition, based on what research data had continued to corroborate, in terms of drought tolerance and water savings, we were acutely aware that the university had grandiose expectations for this release. Thus, one can only imagine the great sense of adulation felt when it was announced that we had once again been selected to market another UGA release. With the realization that we had just been entrusted with one of those “rare cornerstone varieties,” an “industry changer,” one of those “Transformational Grasses,” it was now time for us to do what we do best, build a production network.

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FEATURE In February of 2015, UGA’s newest release DT-1 was officially named TifTuf® Certified Bermudagrass. Now that our variety had a name, the work done in preparation for our product launch took shape in short order. With plant material sources established, key talking points memorized, armed with over twenty years of research data, our team introduced the turfgrass industry to this grass that would begin to change the face of the American landscape.

Our initial foray into the marketplace was nothing short of extraordinary. We began by approaching the progressive producers and leaders in our industry, many of which were already part of the TTG production network. This group of producers I referred to as “the low hanging fruit” as it took little effort to license them.

These producers, like TTG, had been following the DT-1 research and were aware of the ‘value-added’ characteristics that TifTuf® would bring to the marketplace.

Early in the market expansion process, TTG ownership continued to pursue additional marketing opportunities. In early 2016 TTG partnered with Harmony Outdoor Brands, the nation’s top retail sod provider. Through a vast network of sod producers, Harmony provides farm fresh sod to various markets coast to coast, including Home Depot and Lowe’s stores. With our collective networks expanding across the country, a symbiotic relationship began to develop.

Today, TifTuf® is the exclusive bermudagrass marketed through both Home Depot and Lowe’s as a Harmony Premium brand.

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FEATURE By mid-summer we had licensed TifTuf® producers in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Texas, as well as North and South Carolina, with Georgia and the Carolinas being completely licensed out.

Though licensing producers in six states might not appear terribly impressive, understanding that TTG’s production licensing program is unique in that we limit the number of producers permitted in each state can make licensing a bit more challenging. Additionally, making certain that we have selected the correct producers to meet market demand while also reaching the various consumer demographics within each state. More importantly, by our limiting the number of producers within a specific geography, we are better able to maintain the genetic integrity of our exclusive varieties, while at the same time protecting our producer’s ROI and product price point.

In addition, TTG is the only licensing program in the U.S. that requires state Crop Improvement Certification for each of our

turfgrass releases. It is imperative that both we and our licensees maintain the purity, as stated earlier, of our varieties, thereby making certain that the end-user is receiving the intended variety, thus the desired characteristics purchased. It is also important to point out that TTG is the only U.S. licensing program to field a team of professional turfgrass field inspectors. Above and beyond those inspections conducted by the individual state certification programs, we also inspect every acre of every production field nationwide a minimum of three times each growing season.

By requiring Crop Improvement Certification standards, this also meant that TTG must provide the appropriate ‘Application for Variety Certification’ documentation to each state’s certification office where a producer had been licensed. Although this document exchange and validation process had become quite routine for TTG, a few unanticipated challenges presented themselves.

The University of Florida “The Swamp” – Gainesville, Florida

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TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

The turfgrass industry has proven its resilience over and over, and when 2020 brought so many unexpected changes and challenges, you showed up to support each other and the organizations that bring turfgrass managers together. At Leading Edge Communications, we are proud to partner with the associations and companies that keep the industry and professionals growing.

To Our 2020 Adver tisers

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FEATURE Until 2015 our experience had been that all certification programs operated from a similar protocol template. What temporarily stymied our progress was the realization that not every certification program even had established certification guidelines and protocols for warm season turfgrass. Thus, there were some brief moments of trepidation due to these enlightenments, but as Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” The outcome was that these momentary obstructions provided TTG the opportunity to collaborate with our partners at the Georgia Seed Development Commission (GSDC), fashioning language that has now become the official warm-season Certification Standard for several programs, including California.

As mentioned earlier, we entered the marketplace armed with more research data than any other proprietary turfgrass in history.

We understood that TifTuf® was rapidly becoming a household

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name in some regions. However, not everyone was as enthusiastic and certain consumers remained more than a bit dubious. Even knowing TifTuf® checked all the bermudagrass boxes, we still chose to restrain ourselves from pontificating on every verifiable TifTuf® attribute. Instead, we forced ourselves to “under promise and over deliver”. The rationale was that we would spoon-feed the TifTuf® message slowly to those that might believe that TifTuf® was simply ‘Too Good to Be True’, through an expanded industry conference schedule, more targeted digital and print education and most importantly face to face presentations.

Within a year, our production network had grown to over thirty producers nationwide. We had expanded TifTuf® production into Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, California, and Hawaii. As our network expanded westward, demand for cost-effective plant material on the other side of the U.S. became a necessity. We determined to establish a TifTuf® Foundation and Registered nursery in the Southwest.

Cotton Bowl Stadium – Red River Classic

Dolphins Stadium – Brisbane, Australia

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TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

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FEATURE I believe it is safe to say, The Turfgrass Group may have “Under Promised,” but TifTuf ® absolutely “Over Delivered.”

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This was accomplished by TTG engaging one of our oldest producer partners Evergreen Turf of Chandler, Arizona and by once again calling on the GSDC. Leveraging their relationship with both the Georgia and California Departments of Agriculture, the GSDC provided the prowess to complete the governmental part of this equation. Through this assemblage of both government and private sector professionals, we established TifTuf® Foundation and Registered fields at Evergreens American Sod Farm facility located in Escondido, California. This marked the first time in UGA and GSDC history that a Foundation plant source field had been permitted and established outside of the state of Georgia.

By 2019, production exceeded 4,000 acres with new fields being planted at a record pace. Demand was exceeding availability in certain markets, while both commercial and residential developments were beginning to specify TifTuf®. As more sports venues continued to jump on the bandwagon, requests to sponsor Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) became more prevalent. By the end of that calendar year, TTG had turned down over thirty farms nationwide that had requested TifTuf® licenses that were either too close to an existing producer or were in a state that had already been licensed out.

Today over 750,000,000 square feet of TifTuf® has been installed on professional and collegiate sports fields, golf courses, and commercial and residential landscapes across the United States. As a result, in just the past five years, millions of America’s precious water resources have been saved.

To date, TifTuf® production acreage has already surpassed anything that has ever been accomplished with any other licensed proprietary turfgrass in history. Our production network now stands at sixty-five farms strong, producing over 11,000 acres of Certified TifTuf® on over 100 production locations across Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, and Hawaii.

I believe it is safe to say, The Turfgrass Group may have “Under Promised,” but TifTuf® absolutely “Over Delivered.”

THE TURFGRA SS TEAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, KNOXVILLE José Javier Vargas Almodóvar Research Associate II Turf & Ornamental Weed Science The University of Tennessee 2431 Joe Johnson Drive 252 Ellington Plant Sci. Bldg.

Knoxville, TN 37996 (865) 974-7379 jvargas@utk.edu tnturfgrassweeds.org @UTweedwhisperer

Jim Brosnan, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Turfgrass Weed Science The University of Tennessee 2431 Joe Johnson Drive 252 Ellington Plant Sci. Bldg.

Knoxville, TN 37996-4561 (865) 974-8603 jbrosnan@utk.edu tnturfgrassweeds.org @ UTturfweeds

Frank Hale, Ph.D. Professor, Entomology and Plant Pathology The University of Tennessee 5201 Marchant Drive Nashville, TN 37211-5201 (615) 832-6802 fahale@utk.edu ag.tennessee.edu/spp

Tom Samples, Ph.D. Professor, Turfgrass Extension The University of Tennessee 2431 Joe Johnson Drive 252 Ellington Plant Sci. Bldg.

Knoxville, TN 37996-4561 (865) 974-2595 tsamples@utk.edu turf.utk.edu @ tnturfman

John Stier, Ph.D. Associate Dean The University of Tennessee 2621 Morgan Circle 126 Morgan Hall Knoxville, TN 37996-4561 (865) 974-7493 jstier1@utk.edu turf.utk.edu @ Drjohnstier

Greg Breeden Extension Specialist, The University of Tennessee 2431 Center Drive 252 Ellington Plant Sci. Bldg.

Knoxville, TN 37996-4561 (865) 974-7208 gbreeden@utk.edu tnturfgrassweeds.org @gbreeden1

Kyley Dickson, Ph.D. Associate Director, Center for Athletic Field Safety Turfgrass Management & Physiology (865) 974-6730 kdickso1@utk.edu @ DicksonTurf

Brandon Horvath, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Turfgrass Science The University of Tennessee 252 Ellington Plant Sci. Bldg.

2431 Joe Johnson Drive Knoxville, TN 37996 (865) 974-2975 bhorvath@utk.edu turf.utk.edu @ UTturfpath

John Sorochan, Ph.D. Professor, Turfgrass Science The University of Tennessee 2431 Joe Johnson Drive 363 Ellington Plant Sci. Bldg.

Knoxville, TN 37996-4561 (865) 974-7324 sorochan@utk.edu turf.utk.edu @ sorochan

Alan Windham, Ph.D. Professor, Entomology and Plant Pathology The University of Tennessee 5201 Marchant Drive Nashville, TN 37211-5201 (615) 832-6802 https://ag.tennessee.edu/spp/ @ UTPlantDoc

The Tennessee Turfgrass Association serves its

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members in the industry through education, promotion and representation. The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the association, its staff, or its board of directors, Tennessee Turfgrass Magazine, or its editors. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers, or Turfgrass

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Association members, does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services featured in this, past or subsequent issues of this quarterly publication. Copyright © 2021 by the Tennessee Turfgrass Association. Tennessee Turfgrass is published bi-monthly. Subscriptions are complimentary to members of the Tennessee Turfgrass Association. Third-class postage is paid at Jefferson

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City, MO. Printed in the U.S.A. Reprints and Submissions: Tennessee Turfgrass allows reprinting of material. Permission requests should be directed to the Tennessee Turfgrass Association. We are not responsible for unsolicited freelance manuscripts and photographs. Contact the managing editor for contribution information. Advertising: For display and classified advertising rates and insertions, please contact Leading Edge Communications, LLC, 206 Bridge Street, Suite 200, Franklin, TN 37064, (615) 790-3718, Fax (615) 794-4524.

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TENNESSEE TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE VALLEY SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

45

GUEST COLUMN

WHAT’S WITH

WORKERS THESE DAYS?

By Neal Glatt, CSP, ASM

M

ore and more managers are questioning why it seems the labor force is so different than it used to be. While some want to blame generational shifts in thinking, the reality is far more a product of our current economy. Here’s why workers today are more demanding and what they really want in a job.

To start, workers can afford to be much more selective in where they choose to work. As of August 2021, there are 10.1 million open jobs and only 8.7 million people on unemployment in the United States. With more jobs than people, there is very little risk with choosing to look elsewhere for a job if workers don’t feel valued or don’t see a future with an organization. Quite simply, the days of workers gratefully working for a paycheck to meet their needs are long gone when competition for employees is so dire.

Workers also are seeking more money because it has become increasingly expensive to live. Since 2015, there has been a cumulative price increase of over 15% in consumer goods, and it’s on the rise. And a livable wage, that is the wage required to cover all basic necessities like housing, food, healthcare, and other essentials, is often two to three times the minimum wage in a given county, depending on the number of dependents supported. If employees are supposed to be grateful for a paycheck, then that paycheck needs to be enough to provide for them to live comfortably.

But paying enough money for employees to afford to live is not a competitive advantage. Whereas previous generations found meaning in their communities and families, today’s workforce is seeking purpose in their jobs. They want to feel like they are contributing positively and making a difference through the work they do every day. And yet, only 34% of employees have even heard a story about how their company impacted a customer to improve their business or life.

When I used to hire hundreds of seasonal workers to shovel snow in New England, I found success not by offering more pay or benefits than competitors but by inspiring my people with purpose.

We shoveled snow at utility providers to ensure that our entire community had heat and electricity despite the worst winters on record. We cleared supermarkets and pharmacies so that the people

46

in our communities could get the groceries and medication they needed to survive. We knew that successfully doing our job meant saving lives and enabling society to function no matter what Mother Nature had in store.

In addition, we focused on growth and development opportunities because it’s currently the number one factor when choosing a job for employees today. The best recruiters are those who had risen through the ranks of the organization themselves. Their story became an inspiration for employees who wanted to achieve their own dreams. Whatever their purpose – buying a home, having a family they could provide for, finding respect of their colleagues, or achieving mastery of their craft – they could achieve through the opportunities provided.

Yet the most critical desire of workers today is a manager who makes them feel valued. More than just a seat on the bus, employees want to have their ideas heard and considered. The best organizations provide opportunities for employees to voice opinions and then honestly consider, refine, and utilize them. It should be no surprise that at least 70% of a worker’s engagement is directly based on their manager.

If you’re trying to hire and retain staff, it’s time to consider having more conversations with your employees about why your organization exists, how they can play a role in success, what their future could look like, and how it can be achieved as a team. I prefer to have weekly coaching conversations with the people I manage and set formal goals with them quarterly. It’s a collaborative, and time-consuming, process, but it’s also the top reason people want to continue to work for me. In fact, my employees often tell me that our coaching conversations are their favorite part of the job. And I know you can do it too.

Neal Glatt is the Managing Partner of GrowTheBench, an online training platform for the green industry. You can learn more about him and his solutions at www.NealGlatt.com.

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

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