Profiles in Sustainability —
Logic Lawn Care— Dedicated to Safe, Healthy Lawns By Marilyn Witney
Back in the 90s when the economy was booming, Steve Neumann headed for college and selected Finance as his major. Afterwards, for fourteen years, he held positions at some of the country’s best known financial services establishments.
The Beginning Then came 2008. Things changed for that business and Neumann and his wife Betsy took advantage of their new-found freedom, rented an RV, packed up their sons and took off to discover America. For almost a year they travelled the country, visiting more than 26 National and State Parks and generally immersing their lives in the great outdoors. Before the trip, they both already appreciated the beauty of nature. The trip, however, gave them a brand new appreciation for natural spaces and nature’s delicate balance. Logic Lawn Care Is Born When they returned the summer of 2008, they knew they wanted a business where they could work outdoors. They also appreciated the idea of a business where work-life balance is possible, with extra-hard work necessary for a full eight months of the year, but with the benefit of four complete months’ time off to travel and spend time with friends and family. So Neumann bought one electric lawn mower and a truck and they were on their way. With wife Betsy as his partner and single employee, he set out to learn all he could about natural lawn care while looking for customers who were interested in this service. “We wanted a business where we could help take care of the planet and at the same time learn something new,” Neumann says. Logic Lawn Care served its first client that fall and the company has grown steadily each year ever since. Focus on Sustainable Lawn Care Until this year, Logic Lawn Care offered both sustainable lawn maintenance and natural lawn care. Maintenance included using electric and propane powered equipment and, early on, solar panels atop his small truck which also helped power equipment. Over 20
time, Neumann’s maintenance business grew so much that he and Betsy decided to eliminate that service beginning with spring 2017, and focus on what has become their passion … caring for turf naturally. This natural lawn service includes fertilization, weed control, aeration and seeding, which is Neumann’s specialty. Neumann likes to think of his company as a “lawn care boutique,” which has found a unique niche that can help municipalities, schools, corporate facilities and homeowners, along with other contractors who add his special expertise to serving their lawn maintenance customers. Eliminating lawn maintenance from Logic’s services also eliminated competition with traditional lawn maintenance contractors and enables Neumann instead to partner with them to serve their maintenance customers who want to avoid harsh chemicals in the care of their lawn. Community Pressure and the Market The market for natural lawn care has grown exponentially since Logic Lawn Care opened. Business comes to them through facility managers at schools and municipalities, along with homeowners and other contractors who want to sub natural lawn care to Logic. Just as sustainability and “green” practices have become buzz words in mainstream conversations, so has the desire for making safer, healthier grassy areas for recreation, picnicking, hiking and biking especially for children and pets. Community groups and activists want the amount of poisonous pesticides on the public land to be decreased, if not eliminated. But they still want beautiful green spaces for their parks and public landscapes. For example, Logic Lawn Care was called in six years ago when community pressure moved the Village of Skokie to take a closer look at how they managed their lawn care. “We welcome input from the community and they were concerned about chemical application on areas where families and children would be playing,” commented Skokie’s Village Forester Elizabeth Zimmerman, who manages the Village contract with Logic Lawn Care. “Steve manages our Village Green and Village Hall landscapes, plus a 55-acre Skokie park. His company greatly reduced the amount of traditional chemicals applied to our green spaces, AND they look better than ever!” In addition to the Village of Skokie, Neumann partners with several other municipalities, park districts and schools to achieve their goals.
The Landscape Contractor April 2017