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Thank you for a wonderful Turfgrass Conference!

By: Brooke Garcia

We would like to THANK YOU for attending the 69th Annual Kansas Turfgrass Conference in Manhattan, KS!

This three day conference was hosted in Manhattan, KS on December 4th, 5th, and 6th. The conference is hosted by the Kansas Turfgrass Foundation, in conjunction with KNLA. This was the first year this conference was located in Manhattan, and we have received a lot of great feedback. Thank you to everyone who shared their input. We appreciate all of our participants who were able to attend, learn, and grow at this conference.

We would like to especially thank our featured speakers. They are pictured above from left to right (From Left: Dr. Josh Friell, Dr. Frank Wong, Dr. Roch Gaussoin, and Dr. Matthew Elmore). In addition to our featured speakers, we had a variety of sessions that were led by university faculty, companies, and leaders in the turf industry. Whether you’re new to the turf industry or a seasoned professional, everyone was provided with an opportunity to learn something new.

In addition, we would like to express our gratitude to all of our vendors who participated in the conference, as well as offered their sponsorship. Thank you for taking your time to network with the many participants who attended the conference.

Thank you for a wonderful way to end the year! Happy Holidays!

Be an Exhibitor at the Annual Turfgrass Conference

KsTurfgrassFound-logo

We have a lot of opportunities for you to increase your companies visibility at the Annual Turfgrass Conference!

Here is a list of ways to support the Annual Conference and promote your company

  1. Become a birdie, eagle, or albatross Sponser.
  2. Purchase and exhibitor booth.
  3. Raffle Donations.
  4. Exhibitor Bingo Card.

For more all the registration information, see the link below.

http://www.k-state.edu/turf/events/ExhibitorInformation_2015Conference.pdf

 

Meet the Featured Speakers at the Kansas Turfgrass Conference

We have a great lineup of speakers this year for the 65th Annual Turfgrass Conference.  Here is a little bit more about the speakers.  Hope to see everyone at the conference.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL PROGRAM

http://www.k-state.edu/turf/events/2015TurfConferenceWEB.wpd.pdf

REGISTER HERE!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2015-kansas-turfgrass-conference-trade-show-in-conjunction-with-knla-registration-18168721134

horvath_headshotDr. Brandon Horvath is the Turf Pathologist in the Plant Science Department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  His research interests include epidemiology of turfgrass pathogens and development of strategies based upon epidemiological research to manage turfgrass diseases.

 

 

leah_tallDr. Leah Brilman is the Director of Research & Technical Services for Seed Research of Oregon, a division of Pickseed. She serves as a turfgrass breeder and agronomist for the company. She has been responsible for the development and release of over 70 commercial varieties. As more and more golf courses switch to effluent water, Leah’s work focuses on increasing the tolerance for salt stress in the company’s species.

 

 

 

 

Kreuser_Bill_210x315Dr. Bill Kreuser is an assistant professor in the Agronomy & Horticulture Department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research focuses on turfgrass soil, water and nutrient management. He is interested in the relationship between turf crown moisture and temperature stress tolerance. This has implications for turfgrass survival during summer and winter droughts and can result in desiccation of injury and plant death. Other interests include sustainable lawn management, use of nitrogen sensing technology to increase fertilizer application precision, and the cause and management of impermeable iron-oxide layers in sand-based putting greens.

jay_mccurdyDr. Jay McCurdy is the Extension Turfgrass Specialist in the Department of Plant & Soil Science at Mississippi State University. His emphasis is on turfgrass weed control, herbicide resistance and low maintenance, and biologically diverse turf systems.

New This Year at the Kansas Turfgass Conference

If you attend the Kansas Turf Conference this year December 1-3 in Topeka, you will notice several new features.

First of all, the Kansas Nursery & Landscape Association will be joining up with us for our conference this year, offering additional sessions in Basic and Advanced Nursery & Landscape, as well as having more vendors at the trade show in this area. We are excited for the possibilities this can bring to the dynamics of our conference.

Exhibitor Bingo 

Each attendee will receive a KTF Exhibitor Bingo card in their registration packet. Join the fun by visiting participating exhibitor booths each day during the trade show hours and turning in your completed card at the KTF booth. A raffle drawing will be held both Tuesday and Wednesday for a great prize. You must be present to win.

Trade Show Educational Events

Each afternoon the trade show will “kick-off” with a 15-minute presentation. On December 1, Dr. Brandon Horvath, one of our featured out-of-state speakers from the University of Tennessee, will talk on “The History and Development of Mowing Technology.   On December 2, Chery Boyer and Jared Hoyle will talk on “How to Use Social Media in the Green Industry.”   You won’t want to miss these talks!

There will be an interactive exhibit on turf and landscape weeds, diseases and insects. You can complete the activity once (either Tues. or Wed.) to earn 0.5 hr of credit in 3A & 3B. Be sure to stop by that booth!

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Building a Pitcher’s Mound

The Sports Turf Management session on Dec. 2 at the Kansas Turf Conference will be presented by Ewing Irrigation Products. It is part of an initiative to educate coaches, sports turf managers and volunteers on how to maintain the safest, most playable baseball fields possible. At this event, you will have the opportunity to network and learn tips from two former top NFL/MLB groundskeepers. The breakout will be focusing on the proper construction (material selection, preparation tips, etc.) of building a pitching mound from the ground up.

Troy Smith is Ewing Irrigation’s National Sports Field Product manager based out of Phoenix, AZ. Prior to joining Ewing Troy maintained both cool-season and warm-season turf at the highest levels for organizations such as the Milwaukee Brewers, Denver Broncos and the Arizona Cardinals. Troy earned his B.S. in Landscape Horticulture/Turfgrass Management from Colorado State University, and was president of the Sport Turf Managers Association (STMA) in 1999.

Luke Yoder is a member of Ewing’s national sport field team and is currently based out of Southern California. Luke comes from a very decorated sports field management career acting as a head groundskeeper in both major and minor league baseball. For the past 12 MLB seasons, Luke has been the head groundskeeper as well as director of field and landscape maintenance for the San Diego Padres. In addition to his responsibilities as head groundskeeper at Petco Park, Luke also worked with all of the team’s minor league affiliates as well as the team.

We have a great educational program lined up this year, along with an improved layout for our trade show. Pesticide recertification credits will be available, as well as educations credits fo GCSAA and International Society of Arboriculture.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL PROGRAM

http://www.k-state.edu/turf/events/2015TurfConferenceWEB.wpd.pdf

REGISTER HERE!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2015-kansas-turfgrass-conference-trade-show-in-conjunction-with-knla-registration-18168721134

Mark the dates to attend—December 1, 2 & 3. You should receive your conference program in the mail soon.

 

 

Kansas Turfgrass Conference In Conjunction with KNLA in 2015

IMG_2802This year the Kansas Turfgrass Conference will be held in conjunction with the Kansas Nursery & Landscape Association at the Kansas Expo Centre in Topeka on December 1, 2 & 3. By partnering with KNLA, we hope to have a larger audience and trade show, as well as offering more sessions for attendees.

The conference is an excellent way to learn about turf and landscape management, visit with old friends, network with new ones, and see all the latest and greatest equipment and supplies from local and national vendors.

Sessions include Basic Turfgrass; Disease, Insect & Weed Management; Golf Turf Management; Sports Turf; Lawn Care; Basic Nursery & Landscape and Advanced Nursery & Landscape (sponsored by NurseryWorks).

On December 2, Ewing Irrigation is sponsoring the Sports Turf session which is part of anIMG_2811 initiative to educate coaches, sports turf managers and volunteers on how to maintain the safest, most playable baseball fields possible. At this event, you will have the opportunity to network and learn tips from two former top NFL/MLB groundskeepers., Troy Smith and Luke Yoder.   The focus will be on the proper construction of a pitching mound from the ground up by actually building a pitcher’s mound in the trade show area.

You can register online for the conference HERE! 

The conference has been approved for the following :

State Pesticide Applicator Recertification Credit Hours:

1 Core Hour             3A—9.5 hours                           3B—9.5 hours

GCSAA Education Points

December 1 workshops—.55                   December 2 & 3 conference—.75

International Society of Arboriculture

CEUs available for Certified Arborists

You will receive a conference program in the mail with a ballot for board of directors of KTF. Please take the time to vote for 3 board of directors and mail or fax it in. See you in December!

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