Editor's Focus: Sept. 2000

Last month we revisited the first 100 cover profile subjects to appear on the cover of our magazine. This month, Bill Jones and his company, Terra Systems, kicks off the second 100 profiles, and his environmental focus earns him this symbolic position.

Terra Systems is an organic lawn care company – the first one to appear on our cover – and that’s one of the reasons we wanted to profile it. Now, it has never been our policy to endorse companies or products, and we’re not going to change that philosophy. There are benefits to using both organic and synthetic products in a lawn care program, as long as they are used correctly. But starting on our second 100 cover profiles a few months after embarking on a new millennium seemed like an opportune occasion to highlight what likely will be an emerging trend in the industry in coming years – heightened environmental awareness.

Don’t get me wrong – I’ll be the first person to talk about how cautiously lawn and landscape professionals already treat the environment. And I’m a believer in the value of certification, licensing and ongoing training for all levels of the industry. But the fact of the matter is that the environmental groups that create public pressure and initiate legislation are not going to disappear. As long as pesticides are applied to the earth, people will protest. And I doubt we will ever convince these individuals that pesticides aren’t the problem – people who don’t know how to use pesticides are the problem.

So, we must continue to demonstrate our environmental sensitivity to the general public. For some companies, organic lawn care might be the answer, although there is no reason to think a traditional lawn care program isn’t or can’t be environmentally friendly. Companies that use pesticides, however, must commit to using them responsibly. That means being licensed. That means understanding and adhering to integrated pest management. That means training technicians. Most of all, that means putting the environment first.

The lawn care industry continues to grow at a healthy pace, but we all recognize that many people still equate lawn care products with environmental damage. This isn’t necessarily true, but these opinions will only be mitigated through a commitment by lawn care professionals to doing their job the right way every day.