EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
The past few months have been interesting. Diana and I had the opportunity to attend the TPI Summer Convention and Trade Show in Utah. During the meetings, we got to learn more about the industry and how it operates in other parts of the country.
One of the more interesting sessions was the round table discussions. The attendees divided up according to region and talked about issues that were affecting them. By and large, it could have been a session of just Texas growers because all regions shared most of the issues. Low sod prices, high fuel costs, labor and regulatory problems were among the most common.
We were able to spend some time with the executive directors from Florida and the Midwest Sod Council. We talked about our respective organizations and what we were doing. Again, we shared many of the same challenges.
The Midwest Sod Council conducts a price survey each week. It allows those who participate to get an idea about what others are doing in response to inventory and demand. The TPT Board has decided to see if we can get a similar project started in Texas. We will be contacting you to get your e-mail address. Only those who respond to the survey will see the results. We will not release your prices to anyone.
We represented you at the Texas County Agricultural Agents Association annual meeting in Odessa. TPT helped sponsor the meeting and we made a presentation to the group concerning issues affecting the industry and how we hoped to work with them to address those issues.
We also participated in the Nursery and Landscape Expo in Dallas. This is a very large trade show and we probably talked to some of your customers. It is the best trade show we attend. A lot of landscapers and others came by our booth. We also were able to meet others in the turf industry who share some of our goals and objectives.
And finally, after about three years of planning, we were able to get the SAWS drought study established. Twenty-five varieties, representing St. Augustine, bermudagrass, zoysia, and buffalo, were planted on September 17 & 18. Several of our members contributed greatly to getting this done. Special thanks go to David Doguet and Bladerunner Farms for allowing us to use the Leon Creek site for the study, Turfgrass America for washing the sod and providing the refrigerated truck, Mike McBee for doing the land leveling, Billy Mayfield for hauling the sod to Poteet, all those who entered grasses in the study, Chance Stone, Les Bolton , Darren Doguet, Don Thompson and all who helped with the planting. We also had help from Extension agents and staff in San Antonio as well as others. Many hours of planning and hard work went into this project and we should be proud of what has been accomplished to this point.