The New York State Turfgrass Association, in cooperation with Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Professional Landscape Association of Rockland County, the New York State Turf and Landscape Association, Sports Turf Managers of New York, Hudson Valley Golf Course Superintendents Association, and the New York State Association of Cemeteries, will hold its Southeast Regional Conference on Feb. 26-27, 2008, at the Holiday Inn - Suffern in Suffern, N.Y. Credits will be offered from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Sports Turf Managers Association, International Society of Arboriculture, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, and Certified Landscape Technician program. Pesticide recertification credits are also available from Connecticut and New Jersey.
This year’s conference will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 26 with a dynamic half-day presentation by celebrated author and speaker, Daniel A. Potter, Ph.D., Professor of Entomology at the University of Kentucky. Registration begins at noon for “Destructive Turfgrass Insects: Biology, Diagnosis and Control” presented from 1-5 p.m. Potter will discuss how to resolve pest problems affecting lawns, golf courses and sports fields in the Northeastern United States. He’ll provide information on managing turf insect pests effectively, economically and safely.
The Southeast Regional Conference continues on Feb. 27 with coffee and registration at 6 a.m. and ends at the conclusion of the final session at 3:30 p.m. An Early Bird session on “Managing Destructive Turfgrass Insects” will be presented by Potter from 6:30-7:30 a.m. This will be followed by the General Session from 8:15–9:45 a.m. Daniel Peck, Ph.D., Cornell University, will discuss the status of European crane flies in the Northeast; Jeffrey Lane, The Vandervort Group, LLC, will give legislative updates; and Larry Wilson, NYAFEC, will present regulatory updates.
After the general session, attendees will have the opportunity throughout the day to choose sessions that feature topics related to golf turf, lawn/landscape, sports turf, cemetery maintenance, software demonstrations, regulatory updates, and CLT training. These sessions will be presented by professors from Cornell University, the University of Kentucky, SUNY Delhi, and SUNY Cobleskill.
In addition, business experts on landscape maintenance, cemetery care and New York State DEC professionals will give presentations. Highlights include the “Golf Course Year in Review” by Jim Baird, Ph.D., who served as an agronomist with the United States Golf Association in 2007 and has recently accepted the position of Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist in Turfgrass Management at the University of California, Riverside. Jennifer Grant, Ph.D., Cornell University, will give a technology demonstration on “TracTurf Software” which is used to track pesticide applications. Gino Merendino, Merendino Cemetery Care, will present “Innovations in Cemetery Operations.” Barbara Kendal, New York State DEC - Hudson River Estuary Program, will discuss better site design techniques for landscaping and Thomas DeChillo, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, will review inspections, contracts and pesticide registration.
For a complete list of sessions and presenters as well as the exhibitor and attendee registration forms, please access the 2008 Southeast Regional Conference brochure on the New York State Turfgrass Association web site at www.nysta.org. For additional information, please contact NYSTA at 518-783-1229, fax 518-783-1258 or email nysta@nysta.org.