The Winter Lawn Care Conference is an annual event presented by the Massachusetts Association of Lawn Care Professionals (MALCP) in partnership with UMass Extension. This event is an excellent opportunity for professionals who work in the landscape and lawn care industries to attend an educational session during the off-season. Winter Lawn Care Conference participants have the option to choose one of two education tracks, Business or Technical. All attendees are invited to attend an on-site trade show.
Who should attend? Lawn, landscape, municipal and sports turf professionals and crews, and anyone interested in environmentally sound, economically feasible turf management. Business owners and managers will learn from the best of their colleagues, making their businesses thrive.
Registration
| To register by mail with check or PO#: | To register online with credit card: |
|---|---|
Download registration form  |
http://www.regonline.com/winterlawncareconference2013 |
Technical Education Track Agenda
| 7:45 – 8:15 | Registration, visit with exhibitors |
| 8:15 | Welcome |
| Talk #1 | Woody Plant Pests: Learning from 2012, Preparing for 2013 Robert Childs, UMass This session will cover some key and surprise pests of trees and shrubs from the season of 2012, with an eye towards preparing for 2013. Emerald ash borer, various scale insects and other pests will be discussed. |
| 9:30 – 10:00 | Break, coffee with exhibitors |
| Talk #2 | Impacting Pest Occurrence through Turfgrass Selection Mary Owen, UMass A fundamental practice in the integrated management of lawn damaging pests is the careful selection of the right turfgrasses. Learn how to find, select and use turfgrass species and cultivars that exhibit insect, disease and stress tolerance as well as resistance to weed encroachment. |
| Talk #3 | Dealing with Grassy and other Weeds in the Lawn Environment Randy Prostak, UMass Annual grass and grass-like weeds are among the most difficult pests to manage in a lawn setting. Learn about the toughest examples including Poa annua, crabgrass, and nutsedge. The most up-to-date approaches for both cultural and chemical management will be covered. |
| 11:45 – 12:45 | Lunch: you choose, on your own or select additional lunch option on registration form Visit with exhibitors |
| Talk #4 | Strange and Unusual Fungi in the Landscape Dr. Nick Brazee, UMass Ever been curious about an odd fungus in the landscape? Unique fungi that appear frequently in managed landscapes include fairy rings, cedar apple rust, conk fungi, artillery fungi, and bark mulch fungi. Learn about conditions that lead to development of structures, and when and how to implement control measures. |
| Talk #5 | Insect Management: The Latest Options Dr. Pat Vittum, UMass The available options for lawn insect pests have evolved significantly in just the past few years. Some of the newer materials are more effective and environmentally and user friendly. Learn about how these changes might enhance your ability to more effectively manage turf damaging insects. |
| Talk #6 | Environmental Considerations: Nutrient Management Mary Owen, UMass Responsible nutrient management for the Green Industry is a key issue. We will consider BMPs for maximizing nutrient uptake and sequestration while minimizing environmental impact. A brief summary of recently passed state legislation, An Act Relative to the Regulation of Plant Nutrients, Chapter 262 of the Acts of 2012, will be included. |
| 3:00 – 3:15 | Contact Hours Awarded Pesticide recertification contact hours (CH) valid for licenses in all New England states have been approved. Attendees that are present the entire day may choose ONE of the following options: • 5 CH for category 00; OR • 5 CH for category 37; OR • 3 CH for category 37 + 2 CH for 36; OR • 4 CH for category 37 + 1 CH for 36 Approval has been requested for the following professional certifications: CSFM, MCH, MCLP, and AOLCP. |
| 3:15 | Adjourn |
Business Education Track Agenda
| 7:00 – 8:00 | Registration, visit with exhibitors |
| 8:00 – 9:40 | Communicating Effectively About Integrated Pest Management: A Consumer Research-Based Approach for Lawn Care Professionals Karen Reardon Engage in hands on exercises designed to assist you in communicating with the public, customers and other interested parties about IPM. What is important about thresholds; the value of being licensed; why information on labels is so significant and safety information will be included. IPM and pesticide communication is an important part of your pesticide training and skill set. |
| 9:40 – 10:15 | Break, coffee with exhibitors |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Politics and Governing 2013: What Happened, What it Means, and How to Make an Impact Trey Grayson Like it or not, political decisions made by those who represent you shape how you and your family live their lives and how you run your business. Today’s political scene is as mucky as ever; why bother participating? Join former Kentucky Secretary of State and current Director of the Harvard Institute of Politics, Trey Grayson, in a frank discussion about the value of your participation as a voter and Business professional. Review what happened in the 2012 elections; the role of social media and data, why it is important to know your legislators and tips on how to be a good citizen. |
| 11:30 – 1:00 | Lunch: provided with registration Visit with exhibitors |
| 1:15 - 3:15 | Profit Builders Workshop for Lawn Care - Dramatically Improve Your Efficiency, Margins and Profitability Jeffrey Scott Are you maximizing your growth & profitability? What first made you successful may now be getting in the way of reaching your next level of success. This workshop will wake you up to specific methods for improving efficiency, margins, sales and net profits. Immediately improve your business results by learning how to:
Highly interactive networking opportunity - This is an interactive peer group discussion that will greatly benefit established companies looking to reinvigorate their profit focus and help newer companies build their systems. With an elite group of lawn care leaders you will discuss techniques for more profitable selling, pricing, estimating, organizing production, incentivizing, developing employees and managing production data. You will come away with a custom game plan for your firm, with specific techniques that you can immediately implement. |
| 3:15 | Contact Hours Awarded 2 pesticide recertification contact hours have been requested for valid licenses in all New England states in categories 00, 36 and 37. |
| 3:30 | Adjourn |
Contact
For Business Education Track information, exhibitor information, and other general conference information - Contact MALCP at (781) 274-7373, malcp@yahoo.com.
For Technical Education Track information - Contact the UMass Turf Program at (508) 892-0382, mowen@umext.umass.edu