New York

Turfgrass Survey

covers_to_bod.pmd 1 10/15/2004, 2:24 PM
 2 Commissioner’s Letter

 3 Summary, All Sectors

 7 Golf Courses

15 Sod Farms

21 Lawn Care Service Companies

26 Schools

32 Parks

38 Private Residences

43 Churches

47 Cemeteries

51 Apartment Complexes

55 Correctional Facilities

59 Airports

63 Corporate Sites

67 Fairgrounds/Racetracks

71 Survey Methodology & Procedures

73 General Questionnaire

80 Acknowledgments
New York Turfgrass Survey

Published November 2004

Compiled By

New York Agricultural Statistics Service

10B Airline Drive

Albany, New York 12235-0001

(518) 457-5570

E-Mail: nass-ny@nass.usda.gov

Home Page: www.nass.usda.gov/ny

Stephen C. Ropel, Director

Blair L. Smith, Deputy Director

 Candice A. Howard, Survey Coordinator

 

New York State

Turfgrass Association, Inc.

 P.O. Box 612

Latham, New York

(518-783-1229)

www.nysta.org

New York State

Department of Agriculture and Markets

 10B Airline Drive

 Albany, New York 12235-0001 1-800-554-4501

www.agmkt.state.ny.us
STATE OF NEW YORK

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS

10B Airline Drive, Albany, New York 12235

517-456-8876Fax 518-457-3087

www.agmkt.state.ny.us

George E. Pataki Nathan L. Rudgers

 Governor Commissioner

November 2004

Dear Friends:

I would like to thank New York’s green industry for working with the New York

State Department of Agriculture and Markets to develop the first comprehensive survey

of New York’s turf industry. 

In recent years, the turf industry has become an increasingly important sector of

New York’s agricultural industry. As a result of this survey, we are better able to

understand the actual impact of this industry on our businesses, our homes and on our

State’s economy. 

Turf production not only generates a significant number of jobs, revenue, and

demand for support services, but it is also beneficial to our environment. When properly

managed, turf helps control water runoff and erosion along our roadsides and

waterways, and reduces fertilizer runoff into our streams and rivers, helping New York

maintain its natural resources and clean water supplies. Turf grass adds value to our

homes and businesses and gives us places to play on athletic fields, parks and golf

courses. 

The turf industry plays an important role in New York’s economy and way of life.

Economically, environmentally, and aesthetically, the turf industry is important to all

New Yorkers. Thank you for your continued interest in New York agriculture and for

keeping our landscape green and growing.

Sincerely,

Nathan L. Rudgers

Commissioner
-3-

For the sectors included in this report, a total of 3.43 million turf acres were maintained in 2003. Private residences,

lawn care and golf courses accounted for 93 percent of the total acres. These sectors established 843,323 new turf

acres in New York at a cost of nearly $1.56 billion.

General Statistics, All Sectors, 2003

Sector Number Turf Area

(Acres)

New Turf

 Acres Cost of New Turf 

Golf Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 860 101,480 3,557 $27,330,600

Sod Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 8,148 2,962 $3,616,602

Lawn Care Service Companies . 1,950 278,850 21,450 $43,457,700

Schools .................... 675 54,675 4,050 $33,210,000

Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 65,100 2,695 $25,872,000

Private Residences ........... 3,670,000 2,825,900 807,400 $1,421,024,000

Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,770 24,425 490 $2,249,100

Cemeteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570 14,250 274 $697,330

Apartment Complexes . . . . . . . . 2,420 26,620 121 $273,460

Correctional Facilities ......... 118 2,242 47 $9,400

Airports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 13,968 187 $1,309,000

Corporate Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720 10,584 72 $103,320

Fairgrounds/Racetracks ....... 65 2,080 18 $5,751

Total ...................... - 3,428,322 843,323 $1,559,158,263

For the sectors included in this report, New York employed 43,148 employees in 2003 who had turf maintenance as

their primary responsibility. The total payroll for these employees was nearly $467 million. The value of turf

equipment owned by these sectors was over $6.3 billion in 2003.

General Statistics, All Sectors, 2003

Sector Total

Employees

Total

Payroll Value of Equipment

Golf Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,180 $229,362,000 $472,570,000

Sod Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 $4,160,800 $8,981,000

Lawn Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,650 $154,245,000 $174,127,200

Schools ....................... 3,781 $13,027,500 $80,057,700

Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,750 $38,710,000 $86,555,000

Private Residences .............. 1/ 1/ $5,468,300,000

Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,931 $3,908,000 $15,338,900

Cemeteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,322 $14,478,000 $5,529,000

Apartment Complexes . . . . . . . . . . . 726 $7,502,000 $14,520,000

Correctional Facilities ............ 114 $23,600 $2,950,000

Airports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 $820,800 $3,744,000

Corporate Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 $360,000 $374,400

Fairgrounds/Racetracks .......... 64 $292,500 $539,500

Total ......................... 43,148 $466,890,200 $6,333,586,700

1/ Insufficient data to publish.
-4-

Turf Maintenance Expenses

The sectors included in this report spent over $5 billion on turf maintenance expenses in 2003. These sectors spent

$1.81 billion on paid labor, $1.96 billion on equipment, $.72 billion on supplies and $.56 billion on miscellaneous

expenses.

Turf Maintenance Expenses, All Sectors, 2003

Sector Labor Equipment Supplies Misc. Total Percent

1,000 Dollars

Golf Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $237,214 $71,182 $62,985 $190,963 $562,344 11.1

Sod Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,500 $3,575 $2,394 $2,800 $13,269 0.0

Lawn Care Service Companies . $304,760 $73,476 $76,518 $82,249 $537,003 10.6

Schools .................... $76,064 $32,501 $8,620 $82,601 $199,786 4.0

Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $62,649 $24,343 $10,147 $27,157 $124,296 2.5

Private Residences ........... $965,210 $1,724,900 $550,500 1/ $3,240,610 2/ 64.0

Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $63,202 $13,190 $4,543 $156,300 $237,235 4.7

Cemeteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35,084 $6,441 $3,072 $8,248 $52,845 1.0

Apartment Complexes . . . . . . . . $37,510 $8,107 $3,388 1/ $49,005 1.0

Correctional Facilities . . . . . . . . . $1,369 $1,251 $378 $333 $3,330 0.0

Airports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,613 $1,958 $158 $6,624 $10,353 0.0

Corporate Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19,364 $2,090 $1,926 3/ $23,380 2/ 0.0

Fairgrounds/Racetracks . . . . . . . $2,036 $390 $134 $2,392 $4,952 0.0

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,810,575 $1,963,404 $724,763 $559,667 $5,058,408 100%

1/ Not applicable.

2/ Total excludes miscellaneous expenses.

3/ Insufficient data to publish.
-5-

Golf Courses

11.1%

Lawn Care

10.6%

Schools

4.0%

Parks

2.5%

Private Residents

64.0%

Churches

4.7%

Apartment Complexes

1.0%

All Other Sectors

1.1%

Cemeteries

1.0%

Turf Maintenance Expenses, All Sectors, 2003

Turf Maintenance Expenses, All Sectors, 2003

Percent of Total
-6-

Golf Courses

101,480

3.0%

Sod Farms

8,148

0.2%

Lawn Care

278,850

8.1%

Schools

54,675

1.6%

Parks

65,100

1.9%

Private Residents

2,825,900

82.4%

Churches

24,425

0.7%

Cemeteries

14,250

0.4%

Apartment Complexes

26,620

0.8%

Correctional Facilities

2,242

0.1%

Airports

13,968

0.4%

Corporate Sites

10,584

0.3%

Fairgrounds/Racetracks

2,080

0.1%

WHO HAS TURFGRASS?

There were nearly 3.43 million turf acres in New York in 2003. This acreage is slightly larger than the state of

Connecticut and is equal to 10 percent of the total area in the Empire State. Private residences maintained over 2.8

million acres, 82.4 percent of the total acres. Lawn care service companies maintained 278,850 acres, 8.1 percent

of the total. Golf courses maintained 101,480 acres, 3 percent of the total acres.

Turf Acres, All Sectors, 2003

Total Acres - 3,428,322
-7-

General Statistics

New York’s 860 golf courses

maintained 101,480 turf acres, an

average of 118 acres per course.

Golf courses owned a total of

181,215 acres, an average of 220

property acres per course in

2003. There were nearly 21

million rounds played on New

York’s golf courses, an average of

24,071 rounds per course. Golf

courses established 3,557 acres

of new turf at a cost of $27.3

million. Golf courses employed

3,440 full time and 7,740 part time

employees for a total of 11,180

employees in 2003. Total payroll

for these employees was over

$229 million in 2003. Golf courses

owned nearly $473 million dollars

worth of equipment in 2003.

General Statistics, Golf Courses, 2003

Item Unit Average per Course Total

Number of Golf Courses ................... Number - 860

Total Turf Area ......................... Acres 118 101,480

Property Acres ......................... Acres 220 189,215

Rounds Played ......................... Number 24,071 20,701,180

New Turf Acres Established ................. Acres 4.1 3,557

Cost of Establishing New Turf ............... Dollars $7,945 per acre $27,330,600

Paid Labor:

 Full Time Employees .................... Number 4 per golf course 3,440

 Part Time Employees ................... Number 9 per golf course 7,740

 Payroll ............................. Dollars $266,700 $229,362,000

Value of Turf Equipment ................... Dollars $549,500 $472,570,000
-8-

General Statistics, Golf Courses by Type, 2003

Sectors

9-Hole 18-Hole 27-Hole

Average

Per

Course

Total

Average

Per

Course

Total

Average

Per

Course

Total

Number of Golf Courses ......... - 224 - 516 - 43

Total Turf Area ............... 54 12,096 118 60,888 150 6,450

Property Acres ............... 136 30,464 196 101,136 313 13,349

Rounds Played ............... 15,800 3,539,200 22,330 11,522,280 41,900 1,801,700

New Turf Acres Established (acres) . . 5 1,097 3 1,548 2 103

Cost of Establishing New Turf (total) . . $29,100 $6,518,400 $32,600 $16,812,600 $12,000 $516,000

Paid Labors:

 Full Time Employees ......... 1.8 398 4 2,103 5.5 238

 Part Time Employees ........ 3.3 728 9.3 4,776 14.7 630

Value of Equipment ............ $437,500 $98,000,000 $537,400 $277,298,400 $805,500 $34,636,500

Sectors

36-Hole Other All Courses

Average

Per

Course

Total

Average

Per

Course

Total

Average

Per

Course

Total

Number of Golf Courses ......... - 34 - 43 - 860

Total Turf Area ............... 190 6,460 362 15,586 118 101,480

Property Acres ............... 404 13,736 710 30,530 220 189,215

Rounds Played ............... 37,000 1,258,000 60,000 2,580,000 24,071 20,701,180

New Turf Acres Established (acres) . . 14 465 8 344 4.1 3,557

Cost of Establishing New Turf (total) . $75,900 $2,580,600 $21,000 $903,000 $31,780 $27,330,600

Paid Labor:

 Full Time Employees ......... 7 241 10.7 460 4 3,440

 Part Time Employees ........ 19.5 663 22 943 9 7,740

Value of Equipment ............ $694,900 $23,626,600 $907,174 $39,008,500 $549,500 $472,570,000
-9-

General Statistics, Golf Courses by Type, 2003

Sectors

Private Semi-Private Public

Average

Per

Course

Total

Average

Per

Course

Total

Average

Per

Course

Total

Number of Golf Courses ........ - 298 - 158 - 313

Total Turf Area .............. 117 34,825 103 16,198 99 30,814

Property Acres .............. 209 62,212 172 27,204 193 60,349

Rounds Played .............. 21,644 6,450,012 23,875 3,772,253 21,845 6,837,386

New Turf Acres Established (acres) 3 962 1 164 7 2,140

Cost of Establishing New Turf (total) $33,059 $9,851,463 $12,508 $1,976,378 $37,279 $11,668,199

Paid Labors:

 Full Time Employees ........ 5.8 1,723 2 373 3 843

 Part Time Employees ........ 11.5 3,420 8 1,265 7 2,170

Value of Equipment ........... $813,265 $242,382,840 $8,338,986 $53,407,986 $443,180 $138,715,383

Sectors

Municipal Resort Other All Courses

Average

Per

Course

Total

Average

Per

Course

Total

Average

Per

Course

Total

Average

Per

Course

Total

Number of Golf Courses ........ - 57 - 30 - 4 - 860

Total Turf Area .............. 203 11,516 219 6,534 400 1,593 118 101,480

Property Acres .............. 330 18,817 532 15,937 1,175 4,696 220 189,215

Rounds Played .............. 48,131 2,743,466 25,806 774,192 30,968 123,871 24,071 20,701,180

New Turf Acres Established (acres) . 4 217 2 65 2 9 4.1 3,557

Cost of Establishing New Turf (total) . $64,592 $3,681,735 $4,906 $147,203 $1,405 $5,622 $31,780 $27,330,600

Paid Labor:

 Full Time Employees ........ 6.3 357 4.4 131 3.3 13 4 3,440

 Part Time Employees ........ 8.4 478 12.5 374 8.3 33 9 7,740

Value of Equipment ........... $524,785 $29,912,771 $244,866 $7,345,980 $201,260 $805,040 $549,500 $472,570,000
-10-

Turf Maintenance Expenses

Golf courses spent more than $562 million on turf maintenance expenses during 2003. Paid labor was the largest expense which accounted for $237 million, 42.1 percent of total expenses. Golf courses spent over $71 million for equipment, almost $63 million for

supplies, and over $190 million for miscellaneous expenses.

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Golf Courses, 2003

Type of Expenses Contract

Expense

Non-Contract

Expense

Total

Expense

Percent

of Total

Paid Labor:

 Mowing/Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $111,219,534 $111,219,534 47.0

 Edging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,277,674 $4,277,674 2.0

 Clean-up (Spring) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,555,350 $8,555,350 4.0

 Clean-up (Fall) .................................. $10,694,186 $10,694,186 4.0

 Disease, Weed, Insect Control ....................... $466,602 $17,110,698 $17,577,300 7.0

 Wildlife Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

 Fertilizer Application .............................. $466,602 $6,416,512 $6,883,114 3.0

 Top Dressing Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,277,674 $4,277,674 2.0

 Aerification/Coring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,566,310 $4,277,674 $6,843,984 3.0

 Renovation/Overseeding/Reseeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,732,813 $4,277,674 $8,010,487 3.0

 Dethatching/Power Raking/Verticutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,138,838 $2,138,838 1.0

 Seed/Sod Installation .............................. $233,300 $4,277,674 $4,510,974 2.0

 Irrigation Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,031,934 $19,249,535 $29,281,469 12.0

 Irrigation Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $699,902 $4,277,674 $4,977,576 2.0

 Soil and Tissue Testing/Diagnostic Services ............. $933,203 - $933,203 1.0

 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,199,414 $12,833,023 $17,032,437 7.0 TOTAL Paid Labor .............................. $23,330,080 $213,883,720 $237,213,800 42.1%

Equipment: 1/

 New Equipment Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $34,736,913 48.8

 Used Equipment Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,562,559 3.6

 Irrigation Equipment Repairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,196,300 7.3

 Equipment Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,840,390 6.8

 Equipment Repairs and Maintenance .................. $16,229,542 22.8

 Equipment Rentals/Leasing Agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,331,767 10.3

 Other Expenses ................................. $284,729 0.4 TOTAL Equipment Parts and Repairs ................ $71,182,200 12.7%

Supplies: 1/

 Seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,779,081 6.0

 Lime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $503,877 0.8

 Sod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,574,617 2.5

 Top Dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,156,990 6.6

 Topsoil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,070,740 1.7

 Sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,141,479 3.4

 Mulch (straw, hay, peat moss, etc.) .................... $377,908 0.6

 Purchased Irrigation Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,133,724 1.8

 Crop Protectants:

 Herbicides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,149,234 5.0

 Insecticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,653,111 5.8

 Fungicides ................................... $17,005,864 27.0

 Biological Pesticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,763,571 2.8

 Fertilizer ........................................ $11,337,242 18.0

 Fuel/Lubricants (oil, gasoline, diesel, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,195,763 14.6

 Other Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,141,479 3.4 TOTAL Supplies ................................ $62,984,680 11.2%

Miscellaneous Expenses 1/

 Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,468,003 8.1

 Utilities ......................................... $14,895,114 7.8

 Travel and Meeting Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,100,593 1.1

 Property Taxes .................................. $44,494,379 23.3

 Sales and Use Tax ............................... $20,242,078 10.6

 Building Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,784,298 4.6

 Property Rental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,291,556 1.2

 Capital Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $79,631,571 41.7

 Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $763,852 0.4

 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,291,556 1.2 TOTAL Miscellaneous Expenses ................... $190,963,000 34.0%

TOTAL ALL EXPENSES ............................. $562,343,680 100%

 1/ Equipment, supplies and miscellaneous expenses were not broken down by contract vs. non-contract.
-11-

Other Mix

0.6%

Unknown

25.7%

Bentgrass

6.6%

Kentucky Bluegrass

6.0%

Improved Turf Type Tall

3.0%

Fine Fescue

4.5%

Poa Annua

3.6%

Poa Bent

5.5%

Ryegrass

14.5%

Bluegrass Mixture

30.0%

9-Hole Course

Other Mix

3.9%

Unknown

17.2%

Bentgrass

4.0%

Kentucky Bluegrass

6.0%

Improved Turf Type Tall

1.5%

Fine Fescue

2.3%

Poa Annua

2.0%

Poa Bent

12.0%

Ryegrass

10.6%

Bluegrass Mixture

39.0%

Other

1.5%

18-Hole Course

Other Mix

4.7%

Unknown

7.7%

Bentgrass

3.0%

Kentucky Bluegrass

7.7%

Fine Fescue

3.5%

Poa Bent

7.7%

Ryegrass

34.2%

Bluegrass Mixture

31.5%

27-Hole Course

Other Mix

10.5%

Unknown

5.5%

Bentgrass

7.8%

Kentucky Bluegrass

9.5%

Poa Annua

11.2%

Poa Bent

5.2%

Ryegrass

22.3%

Bluegrass Mixture

28.0%

36-Hole Course

Other Mix

5.0%

Unknown

Bentgrass 46.0%

1.0%

Kentucky Bluegrass

2.0%

Poa Annua

4.0%

Poa Bent

6.0%

Ryegrass

6.0%

Bluegrass Mixture

30.0%

Other

Other Mix

4.0%

Unknown

19.0%

Bentgrass

4.0%

Kentucky Bluegrass

6.0%

Improved Turf Type Tall

1.3%

Fine Fescue

2.3%

Poa Annua

2.6%

Poa Bent

9.8%

Ryegrass

13.5%

Bluegrass Mixture

35.5%

Other

2.0%

All Courses

Principal Types of Grass, Golf Courses

Total Acres - 101,480

 12,096 Acres 60,888 Acres

 6,450 Acres 6,460 Acres

15,586 Acres 101,480 Acres

Bluegrass mixture was the dominant grass type for most golf courses in New York in 2003. 27-hole courses reported that

ryegrass was the main grass type with bluegrass mixture a close second.
-12-

Roughs

54.0%

Fairways

28.0%

Greens

3.0%

Tees

2.8% Other Areas

12.2%

Turf Acres by Use, Golf Courses, 2003

Total Turf Acres - 101,480

Irrigation

New York golf courses irrigated a total of 37,548 acres, 37 percent of all turf. The main source of irrigation was ponds and

lakes.

Total Area of Turf Irrigated, Golf Courses, 2003

Information Source Total Area Irrigated

(Acres)

Percent of

Irrigation

Municipal Water ............... 4,506 12

Ponds/Lakes ................. 15,770 42

Wells ...................... 9,387 25

Rivers/Streams ................ 5,257 14

Other ...................... 2,628 7

TOTAL ..................... 37,548 100%
-13-

Management Problems

Golf courses reported the leading problems in turf management were disease and poor drainage. Wear and compaction and

labor were also a concern.

Turf Management Problems, Golf Courses, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem by Type of Course

Problem 9-Hole 18-Hole 27-Hole 36-Hole Other All

Courses

Disease .............. 65 64 75 62 75 65

Drought .............. 19 2 6

Poor Drainage ......... 36 55 62 62 49

Erosion .............. 4 1 2

Equipment Maintenance ... 27 15 12 25 50 20

Insects/Grubs .......... 17 11 12 25 50 15

Nematodes ........... 

Excessive Shade ........ 6 9 7

Poor Soil ............. 14 23 12 19

Thatch .............. 21 10 25 13

Wear and Compaction .... 29 37 25 37 34

Water Availability/Quality ... 4 2 12 33 4

Weeds .............. 17 11 25 13

Labor ............... 17 30 37 25 33 27

Moles/Voles ...........

Clipping Disposal ........ 

Geese/Wildlife ......... 8 14 12 37 50 15

Pet Waste ............

Land Availability ........

Other ............... 6 6 6

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management, Golf Courses, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem 9-Hole 18-Hole 27-Hole 36-Hole Other All

Courses

Operational Expenses .... 70 56 62 62 50 60

Labor Availability ........ 29 39 62 25 50 37

Government Regulation ... 51 58 87 62 75 58

Water Availability ........ 21 28 12 23

Loss of Chemical Regulations 36 60 62 75 75 54

Other ............... 12 7 12 8

Golf courses reported operational expenses as the biggest future problem for turf management. Government regulation and

loss of chemical registrations were also a major concern.
-14-

Primary Information Source

Golf courses reported peers as the most important source for turf management information in 2003. Commercial technical reps

were also utilized as a primary source of turf information.

Primary Information Source, Golf Courses, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist ........................... 33

Peers ................................... 52

Commercial Technical Reps. ..................... 48

County Extension Service ....................... 7

Community College ........................... -

Newspapers ................................ -

Technical Journals ............................ 30

Private Consultant ............................ 10

TV/Radio .................................. -

Garden Center/Nursery ......................... -

Magazines ................................. 27

Internet 9

Product Labels .............................. 17

Lawn Care Company .......................... 3

Industry Association ........................... 14

United States Golf Association Agronomist ............ 17

Golf Course Superintendent Association of America ...... 30

Other ................................... 5

Training

Seventy six percent of golf courses reported that at least one employee had some type of turf maintenance training in 2003.

Percent Enrolled in Turf Maintenance Training

Golf Courses, 2003

Attended Training 76

No Training 24

TOTAL 100%
-15-

General Statistics

New York’s 14 sod farms maintained 8,148

acres, an average of 582 acres per farm.

There were a total of 2,226 acres of sod sold

in 2003 for a total of $14.9 million. Sod farms

established 2,962 acres of new turf at a cost

of $3.6 million. These farms employed 56 full

time and 84 part time employees for a total of

140 employees in 2003. Total payroll for

these employees was over $4 million. Sod

farms owned nearly 9 million dollars worth of

turf equipment. The total assessed land

value averaged $2,200 per acre for sod

farms, a total of $17.9 million.

General Statistics, Sod Farms, 2003

Item Unit Average per farm Total

Number of Sod Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number - 14

Total Turf Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 582 8,148

Maximum Production Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 212 2,968

Sod Sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 159 2,226

Gross Sales from Sod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $ .154 per sq. ft. $14,932,542

Gross Income from Sod Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $72,900 $1,020,600

New Turf Acres Established . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 212 2,962

Cost of Establishing New Turf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $1,221 per acre $3,616,602

Paid Labor

 Full Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 4 per farm 56

 Part Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 6 per farm 84

 Payroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $297,200 $4,160,800

Value of Turf Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $641,500 per farm $8,981,000

Total Assessed Land Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $2,200 per acre $17,925,600
-16-

Turf Maintenance Expenses

Sod farms spent more than $13 million on turf maintenance expenses during 2003. Paid labor was the largest expense which accounted for $4.5 million, 34 percent of total expenses. Sod farms spent over $3.5 million for equipment, over $2.3 million for supplies and $2.8 million for miscellaneous expenses.

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Sod Farms, 2003

Type of Expenses 2/ Total Expense Percent

of Total

Paid Labor:

 Mowing/Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,080,000 24.0

 Edging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

 Clean-up (Spring) .................................... $45,000 1.0

 Clean-up (Fall) ...................................... Disease, Weed, Insect Control .......................... $135,000 3.0

 Wildlife Control 1/ .................................... - -

 Fertilizer Application .................................. $180,000 4.0 Aerification/Coring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

 Renovation/Overseeding/Reseeding ..................... $90,000 2.0 Dethatching/Power Raking/Verticutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $45,000 1.0

 Seeding ........................................... $90,000 2.0

 Irrigation Installation 1/ ................................ - -

 Irrigation Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $90,000 2.0 Soil and Tissue Testing/Diagnostic Services ............... $45,000 1.0 Harvesting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,620,000 36.0

 Consumer sod installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $765,000 17.0

 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $270,000 6.0 TOTAL Paid Labor .................................. $4,500,000 34%

Equipment:

 New Equipment Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,787,500 50.0

 Used Equipment Purchase s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $286,000 8.0

 Equipment Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $178,750 5.0

 Equipment Repairs and Maintenance .................... $965,250 27.0

 Irrigation Equipment Repairs ........................... $35,750 1.0 Equipment Rentals/Leasing Agreements .................. $286,000 8.0

 Other Expenses ..................................... $35,750 1.0 TOTAL Equipment Parts and Repairs .................. $3,575,000 27%

Supplies:

 Seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $406,980 17.0

 Lime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $119,700 5.0

 Sod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

 Top Dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

 Topsoil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

 Sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

 Mulch (straw, hay, peat moss, etc.) ...................... - - Purchased Irrigation Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

 Crop Protectants:

 Herbicides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $215,460 9.0

 Insecticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $143,640 6.0

 Fungicides ....................................... $71,820 3.0

 Biological Pesticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $23,940 1.0

 Fertilizer ........................................... $646,380 27.0 Fuel/Lubricants (oil, gasoline, diesel, etc.) ................. $622,440 26.0

 Other Expenses ..................................... $143,640 6.0 TOTAL Supplies .................................... $2,394,000 18%

Miscellaneous Expenses ...............................

 Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $532,000 19.0

 Utilities ............................................ $112,000 4.0

 Travel and Meeting Expenses .......................... $56,000 2.0

 Property Taxes ...................................... $112,000 4.0

 Sales and Use Tax ................................... $588,000 21.0

 Building Maintenance ................................. $84,000 3.0

 Property Rental ...................................... $756,000 27.0

 Capital Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $448,000 16.0

 Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $28,000 1.0

 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $84,000 3.0 TOTAL Miscellaneous Expenses ...................... $2,800,000 21%

TOTAL ALL EXPENSES ................................ $13,269,000 100%

1/ Included in Other. 2/ There was insufficient data reported to publish contract vs. non-contract expenses. Only the total is reported.
-17-

Kentucky Bluegrass

3,952

48.5%

Other

489

6.0%

Bentgrass

81

1.0%

Bluegrass Mixture

3,219

39.5%

Improved Turf Type Tall Fescue

293

3.6%

Fine Fescue

114

1.4%

Lawn Service Companies Retail Establishments 31.8%

10.5%

Wholesale Business

23.5%

Homeowners

6.5%

Other

5.1%

Public or Gov't Agencies

5.8%

Schools and Parks

6.3%

Golf Courses

10.5%

Principal Types of Grass, Sod Farms, 2003

Total Acres 8,148

Bluegrass mixture was the dominant grass type for sod farms in New York in 2003. Kentucky Bluegrass and Bluegrass

Mixtures comprised 88 percent of all turf acres grown in New York State.

Percent Sod Sold by Customer

Sod Farms, 2003

New York sod farms sold 31.8 percent of their production to lawn service companies. The second largest consumer of sod

was wholesalers with 23.5 percent.
-18-

Irrigation

New York sod farms irrigated a total of 3,096 acres in 2003, 38 percent of all turf acres. The main source of irrigation was

rivers and streams, accounting for 68 percent of the total irrigated acres. There were no sod farms using municipal water for

irrigation.

Total Area of Turf Irrigated, Sod Farms, 2003

Source Total Area Irrigated

(Acres)

Percent of

Irrigation

Municipal Water ............ - -

Ponds/Lakes .............. 867 28

Wells ................... 124 4

Rivers/Streams ............. 2,105 68

Other ................... - -

Total ................... 3,096 100%
-19-

Turf Management Problems

Poor drainage was the top turf management problem for sod farms in New York. Drought, equipment maintenance and

insects/grubs were also a major concern for sod farms. 

Turf Management Problems, Sod Farms, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Poor Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Equipment Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Insects/Grubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Nematodes ................................... -

Excessive Shade .............................. -

Poor Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Thatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Wear and Compaction .......................... -

Water Availability/Quality ........................ -

Weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Moles/Voles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Clipping Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Geese/Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Pet Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Land Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management, Sod Farms, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Operational Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Labor Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Government Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Water Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Loss of Chemical Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Sod farms reported labor availability to be a significant future problem for turf management. Government regulation was the

second major concern followed by expenses, loss of chemical registrations and water availability.
-20-

Primary Information Source

Sod farms reported university specialists as an important source for turf management information in 2003. Peers, commercial

reps, garden and nursery centers and industry associations were also utilized as sources of information.

Primary Information Source, Sod Farms, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Commercial Technical Reps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

County Extension Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Newspapers .................................. -

Technical Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Private Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

TV/Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Garden Center/Nursery ......................... -

Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Internet -

Product Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Lawn Care Company ........................... -

Industry Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Training

All sod farms reported that at least one employee had some type of turf maintenance training in 2003.

Percent Enrolled in Turf Maintenance Training

Sod Farms, 2003

Attended Training 100

No Training -

TOTAL 100%
-21-

General Statistics

New York’s lawn care service companies

accounted for 649,350 service accounts in

2003, an average of 333 accounts per

company. These lawn care companies

maintained a total of 278,850 acres in New

York. A total of 21,450 new turf acres were

established at a cost of over $43 million.

Lawn care service companies employed

5,850 full time and 7,800 part time employees

for a total of 13,650 employees in 2003. Total

payroll for these employees was over $154

million. The value of turf equipment owned or

leased by lawn care service companies

totaled over $174 million.

General Statistics, Lawn Care, 2003

Item Unit Average per Company Total

Number of Lawn Care Service Companies . . . . . . Number - 1,950

Number of Service Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 333 649,350

Total Turf Area Maintained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 143 278,850

New Turf Acres Established . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 11 21,450

Cost of Establishing New Turf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $2,026 per acre $43,457,700

Paid Labor:

 Full Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 3 per company 5,850

 Part Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 4 per company 7,800

 Payroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $79,100 per company $154,245,000

Value of Turf Equipment owned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $64,858 per company $126,473,100

Value of Turf Equipment Rented/Leased . . . . . . . . Dollars $24,438 per company $47,654,100

Total Value of All Turf Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $89,296 per company $174,127,200
-22-

Turf Maintenance Expenses

Lawn care service companies spent more than $537 million on turf maintenance expenses during 2003. Paid labor was the

largest expense which accounted for $304.76 million, 56.7 percent of total expenses. Lawn care companies spent nearly

$73.48 million on equipment, over $76.5 million for supplies and $82.25 million for miscellaneous expenses.

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Lawn Care, 2003

Type of Expenses Contract

Expense

Non-Contract

Expense Total Expense Percent

of Total

Paid Labor:

 Mowing/Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $41,699,095 $56,458,050 $98,157,145 32.2

 Edging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,357,691 $9,221,823 $10,579,514 3.5

 Clean-up (Spring) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,310,970 $17,009,140 $22,320,110 7.3

 Clean-up (Fall) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,262,752 $16,189,423 $20,452,175 6.7

 Disease, Weed, Insect Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,685,434 $28,485,187 $31,170,621 10.2

 Wildlife Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - $758,239 $758,239 0.3

 Fertilizer Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,334,128 $45,760,735 $55,094,863 18.0

 Aerification/Coring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,146,350 $3,914,152 $6,060,502 2.0

 Renovation/Overseeding/Reseeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,936,707 $6,065,910 $8,002,617 2.6

 Dethatching/Power Raking/Verticutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $499,151 $1,250,069 $1,749,220 0.6

 Seed/Sod Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,623,636 $10,246,470 $19,870,106 6.5

 Irrigation Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12,119,392 $2,172,252 $14,291,644 4.7

 Irrigation Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,452,429 $430,352 $4,882,781 1.6

 Soil and Tissue Testing/Diagnostic Services ............ $708,795 $368,872 $1,077,667 0.4

 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,693,720 $6,598,726 $10,292,446 3.4

 TOTAL Paid Labor ............................... $99,830,250 $204,929,400 $304,759,650 56.7%

Equipment: 1/

 New Equipment Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $41,440,464 56.4

 Used Equipment Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,625,356 13.1

 Irrigation Equipment Repairs ........................ $734,760 1.0

 Equipment Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,612,840 9.0

 Equipment Repairs and Maintenance ................. $13,446,108 18.3

 Equipment Rentals/Leasing Agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,322,568 1.8

 Other Expenses .................................. $293,904 0.4 TOTAL Equipment Parts and Repairs ............... $73,476,000 13.7%

Supplies: 1/

 Seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,509,296 7.2

 Lime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,601,612 3.4

 Sod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,361,526 5.7

 Top Dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,448,576 3.2

 Topsoil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,738,850 7.5

 Sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $765,180 1.0

 Mulch (straw, hay, peat moss, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,295,540 3.0

 Purchased Irrigation Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $153,036 0.2

 Crop Protectants:

 Herbicides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,116,174 9.3

 Insecticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,876,088 11.6

 Fungicides .................................... $765,180 1.0

 Biological Pesticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $535,626 0.7

 Fertilizer ........................................ $17,981,730 23.5

 Fuel/Lubricants (oil, gasoline, diesel, etc.) .............. $17,063,514 22.3

 Other Expenses .................................. $306,072 0.4 TOTAL Supplies ................................. $76,518,000 14.3%

Miscellaneous Expenses 1/

 Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35,860,586 43.6

 Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,333,177 7.7

 Travel and Meeting Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,151,487 1.4

 Property Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,112,453 5.0

 Sales and Use Tax ................................ $19,739,772 24.0

 Building Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,796,467 3.4

 Property Rental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,540,889 11.6

 Capital Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $904,740 1.1

 Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,233,736 1.5

 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $575,743 0.7 TOTAL Miscellaneous ............................ $82,249,050 15.3%

TOTAL ALL EXPENSES ............................. $537,002,700 100%

1/ Equipment, supplies and miscellaneous expenses were not broken down by contract vs. non-contract.
-23-

Principal Types of Grass, Lawn Care, 2003

Total Acres - 278,850

Irrigation

New York lawn care service companies irrigated a total of 181,253 acres, 65 percent of all turf acres maintained. The main

source of irrigation as municipal water, accounting for 84 percent of total irrigated acres.

Total Area of Turf Irrigated, Lawn Care, 2003

Source Total Area Irrigated

(Acres)

Percent of

Irrigation

Municipal Water .......... 152,253 84

Ponds/Lakes ............ 1,813 1

Wells ................. 27,187 15

Rivers/Streams ........... - -

Other ................. - -

Total .................. 181,253 100%

Bentgrass

1,952

0.7%

Kentucky Bluegrass

10,317

3.7%

Bluegrass Mixture

89,232

32.0%

Improved Turf Type Tall

22,308

8.0%

Fine Fescue

22,866

8.2%

Ryegrass

46,568

16.7%

Unknown

46,289

16.6%

Other Mix

29,279

10.5%

Other

10,039

3.6%
-24-

Turf Management Problems

Weeds were the biggest turf management problem for lawn care service companies in New York. Disease and labor were also

a major concern in 2003.

Turf Management Problems, Lawn Care, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Poor Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Equipment Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Insects (Grubs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Nematodes ............................. -

Excessive Shade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Poor Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Thatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Wear and Compaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Water Availability/Quality .................. 5

Weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Moles/Voles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Clipping Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Geese/Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Pet Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Land Availability ......................... -

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management, Lawn Care, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Operational Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Labor Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Government Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Water Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Loss of Chemical Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Lawn care service companies reported government regulation to be a significant future problem for turf management. Labor

availability and operational expenses were also a major concern.
-25-

Primary Information Source

Lawn care service companies in New York reported county extension services as an important source for turf management

information in 2003. Industry association and product labels were also utilized as sources of information.

Primary Information Source, Lawn Care, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Commercial Technical Reps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

County Extension Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Newspapers ......................................... -

Technical Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Private Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

TV/Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Garden Center/Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Product Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Lawn Care Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Industry Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Training

Seventy two percent of lawn care service companies reported that at least one employee had some type of turf maintenance

training in 2003.

Percent Enrolled in Turf Maintenance Training

Lawn Care, 2003

Attended Training 72

No Training 28

Total 100%
-26-

General Statistics

Turf acres were broken down differently for

schools than other sections. Acres were

broken down to include and exclude athletic

fields. There were 675 school systems in

New York in 2003. New York schools

maintained a total of 54,675 acres, 18,900

acres were athletic fields and 35,775 were

turf acres excluding athletic fields. There

were a total of 4,050 new turf acres

established in 2003, at a cost of $33.2

million. New York school systems

employed 2,228 full time and 1,553 part

time employees for a total 3,781 employees

who had turf maintenance as their primary

responsibility. Total payroll for these

employees was over $13 million. The

value of turf equipment owned by schools

was over $80 million in 2003.

General Statistics, Schools, 2003

Item 1/ Unit Average per

School System Total

 Number of School Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number - 675

 Turf Area Excluding Athletic Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 53 35,775

 Turf Area on Athletic Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 28 18,900

 Total Turf Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 81 54,675

 New Turf Acres Established . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 6 4,050

 Cost of Establishing New Turf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $8,200 per acre $33,210,000

 Paid Labor

 Full Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 3.3 2,228

 Part Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 2.3 1,553

 Payroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $19,300 $13,027,500

 Value of Turf Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $118,604 $80,057,700

1/ There were 675 school systems in New York in 2003. School systems included kindergarten through high school and also colleges

 and universities.
-27-

Turf Maintenance Expenses

New York schools systems spent nearly $200 million on turf maintenance expenses during 2003. Miscellaneous was the largest expense which accounted for $82.6 million, 41.4 percent of total expenses. Capital improvements were over $41 million which made miscellaneous the most costly expense. School systems in New York spent over $76 million for paid labor, $32.5 million for equipment and $8.6 million for supplies.

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Schools, 2003

Type of Expenses Contract

Expense

Non-Contract

Expense Total Expense Percent

of Total

Paid Labor:

 Mowing/Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,679,080 $39,210,750 $42,889,830 56.5

 Edging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $327,030 $1,748,250 $2,075,280 2.7

 Clean-up (Spring) ................................. $708,564 $3,683,810 $4,392,374 5.8

 Clean-up (Fall) ................................... $749,442 $4,183,312 $4,932,754 6.5

 Disease, Weed, Insect Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,716,904 $936,563 $2,653,467 3.5

 Wildlife Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $572,301 $499,500 $1,071,801 1.4

 Fertilizer Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,261,953 $2,310,188 $4,572,141 6.0 Aerification/Coring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $722,190 $1,123,875 $1,846,065 2.4 Renovation/Overseeding/Reseeding .................. $844,826 $1,685,813 $2,530,639 3.3 Dethatching/Power Raking/Verticutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $218,020 $187,313 $405,333 0.5 Seed/Sod Installation .............................. $408,787 $874,125 $1,282,912 1.7

 Irrigation Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $749,442 $874,125 $1,623,567 2.1

 Irrigation Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $463,292 $811,688 $1,274,980 1.7 Soil and Tissue Testing/Diagnostic Services ............ $95,384 - $95,384 0.1

 Turf Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $109,010 $3,996,000 $4,105,010 5.4

 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - $312,188 $312,188 0.4 TOTAL Paid Labor ............................... $13,626,225 $62,437,500 $76,063,725 38%

Equipment: 1/

 New Equipment Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20,963,306 64.5 Used Equipment Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,355,168 13.4

 Irrigation Equipment Repairs ........................ $715,028 2.2 Equipment Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,300,050 4.0

 Equipment Repairs and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,290,165 13.2 Equipment Rentals/Leasing Agreements ............... $812,530 2.5

 Other Expenses .................................. $65,003 0.2 TOTAL Equipment Parts and Repairs ............... $32,501,250 16.3%

Supplies: 1/

 Seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,094,708 12.7

 Lime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $137,915 1.6

 Sod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $258,593 3.0

 Top Dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $810,256 9.4

 Topsoil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $861,975 10.0

 Sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $129,296 1.5

 Mulch (straw, hay, peat moss, etc.) ................... $344,790 4.0

 Purchased Irrigation Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $948,173 11.0

 Crop Protectants:

 Herbicides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $258,593 3.0

 Insecticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $51,719 0.6

 Fungicides .................................... $129,296 1.5

 Biological Pesticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $68,958 0.8

 Fertilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,577,414 18.3 Fuel/Lubricants (oil, gasoline, diesel, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,767,049 20.5

 Other Expenses .................................. $181,015 2.1 TOTAL Supplies ................................. $8,619,750 4.3%

Miscellaneous Expenses 1/

 Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,717,050 4.5

 Utilities ......................................... $19,163,455 23.2

 Travel and Meeting Expenses ....................... $578,208 0.7

 Property Taxes ................................... - - Sales and Use Tax ................................ - - Building Maintenance .............................. $15,694,208 19.0

 Property Rental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,404,219 1.7

 Capital Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $41,300,550 50.0

 Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $743,410 0.9

 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

 TOTAL Miscellaneous Expenses ................... $82,601,100 41.4%

TOTAL ALL EXPENSES ............................. $199,785,825 100%

1/ Equipment, supplies and miscellaneous expenses were not broken down by contract vs. non-contract.
-28-

Other

823

2.3%

Bentgrass

358

1.0%

Bluegrass Mixture

6,368

17.8%

Other Mix

6,153

17.2%

Ryegrass

5,152

14.4%

Unknown

15,383

43.0%

Kentucky Bluegrass

715

2.0%

Improved Turf Type Tall Fescue

358

1.0%

Fine Fescue

465

1.3%

Bluegrass Mixture

5,897

31.2%

Ryegrass

2,457

13.0%

Unknown

5,348

28.3%

Other Mix

2,835

15.0%

Other

226

1.2%

Improved Turf Type Tall

605

3.2%

Kentucky Bluegrass

1,153

6.1%

Bentgrass

95

0.5%

Fine Fescue

284

1.5%

Principal Types of Grass, Schools, 2003

Total Acres Excluding Athletic Fields - 35,775 Acres

Principal Types of Grass, Schools, 2003

Total Turf Area on Athletic Fields - 18,900 Acres
-29-

Irrigation

New York school systems irrigated a total of 6,834 acres, 12.5 percent of all turf areas including athletic fields. The main

source of irrigation was municipal water, accounting for 80 percent of total irrigated acres.

Total Area of Turf Irrigated, Schools, 2003

Source Total Area Irrigated

(Acres)

Percent of

Irrigation

Municipal Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,467 80

Ponds/Lakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 2

Wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,025 15

Rivers/Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 3

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

Total ........................ 6,834 100%

Hired Lawn Care

Twenty five percent of New York school systems hired a professional lawn care service to perform turf maintenance in 2003.

School systems spent an average of $28,000 a year for this service, a total of $4.7 million in 2003.

Lawn Care Service, Schools, 2003

Percent Average Total

 Hired Lawn Care Service . . . . . . . 25 $28,000

per school system $4,725,000

 Did Not Hire Lawn Care Service . . 75

 Total 100%

Athletic Fields and Playgrounds

New York school systems maintained a total of 11,475 fields and playgrounds in 2003. There were an average of 2 baseball

fields, 3 softball, 2 football, 4 soccer, 4 playground and 2 other fields per school system. Playgrounds were used 9 months out

of the year while baseball, softball, soccer and other fields were used 5 months out of the year. Football fields were only used

4 months out of the year. The average field was used 4.7 hours per day.

Recreational Field Usage, Schools, 2003

Field Number of Fields Months Used Average

Average per park Total hours per day

Baseball . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1,350 5.0 4.3

Softball . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2,025 5.0 4.3

Football . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1,350 4.0 4.0

Soccer 4 2,700 5.0 4.4

Playground . . . . . . . . . 4 2,700 9.0 6.3

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1,350 5.0 4.0

Total ............ - 11,475 5.8 4.7
-30-

Turf Management Problems

New York schools reported wear and compaction as the top management problem for turf on athletic fields and turf excluding

athletic fields. Weeds were the second biggest problem for turf excluding athletic fields. Poor drainage was the second biggest

problem for turf on athletic fields while weeds were the second biggest problem for turf excluding athletic fields.

Turf Management Problems, Schools, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem

Percent

Excluding Athletic

Fields Athletic Fields

Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 5

Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 26

Poor Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 43

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1

Equipment Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 8

Insects/Grubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 10

Nematodes ................................. - -

Excessive Shade ............................ 2 -

Poor Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 18

Thatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4

Wear and Compaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 69

Water Availability/Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 26

Weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 36

Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 26

Moles/Voles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2

Clipping Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

Geese/Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 13

Pet Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 -

Land Availability ............................. 1 5

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management, Schools, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Operational Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Labor Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Government Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Water Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Loss of Chemical Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

New York school systems reported operational expenses as the top concern for future turf management problems. Labor

availability and government regulation were the second most important concern.
-31-

Primary Information Source

Schools reported county extension services as the most important source for turf management information. Commercial

technical reps were also used as a source of information.

Primary Information Source, Schools, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Commercial Technical Reps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

County Extension Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Newspapers .................................. 1

Technical Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Private Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

TV/Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Garden Center/Nursery ......................... 7

Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Product Labels ................................ 8

Lawn Care Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Industry Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Training

Fifty seven percent of schools reported that at least one employee had some type of turf maintenance training in 2003.

Percent Enrolled in Formal Turf Maintenance Training,

Schools, 2003

Attended Training 57

No Training 43

TOTAL 100%
-32-

General Statistics

Turf acres were broken down differently for

parks than other sections. Acres were

broken down to include and exclude athletic

fields. There were 350 parks in New York

in 2003. These parks maintained a total of

65,100 acres, an average 186 acres per

park. Turf area excluding athletic fields

averaged 126 acres per park, a total of

44,100 acres. Turf area on athletic fields

averaged 60 acres per park, a total of

21,000 acres. Parks established a total of

2,695 new turf acres for a cost of $25.9

million. Parks employed 4,725 full time

and 4,025 part time employees for a total

of 8,750 employees who had turf

maintenance as their primary

responsibility. Total payroll for these

employees was $38.7 million in 2003. The

value of turf equipment owned by parks

was worth nearly $86.6 million.

General Statistics, Parks, 2003

Item Unit Average

per Park Total

 Number of Parks 1/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number - 350

 Turf Area Excluding Athletic Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 126 44,100

 Turf Area on Athletic Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 60 21,000

 Total Turf Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 186 65,100

 New Turf Acres Established . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 7.7 2,695

 Cost of Establishing New Turf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $9,600 per acre $25,872,000

 Paid Labor

 Full Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 13.5 4,725

 Part Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 11.5 4,025

 Payroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $110,600 $38,710,000

 Value of Turf Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $247,300 $86,555,000

1/ Some parks reported multiple sites. Total number of sites was 639 for a total of 350 parks.
-33-

Turf Maintenance Expenses

Parks spent more than $124.2 million on turf maintenance expenses during 2003. Paid labor was the largest expense which accounted for $62.6 million, 50.4 percent of total expenses. Parks spent $24.3 million for equipment, $10.1 million for supplies

and nearly $27.2 million for miscellaneous expenses. 

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Parks, 2003

Type of Expenses Contract

Expense

Non-Contract

Expense Total Expense Percent

of Total

Paid Labor:

 Mowing/Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $453,544 $43,019,900.0 $43,473,444 69.4

 Edging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $566,930 $911,680 $1,478,610 2.5

 Clean-up (Spring) ................................ $85,040 $4,387,460 $4,472,500 7.1

 Clean-up (Fall) .................................. $130,394 $4,558,400 $4,688,794 7.5

 Disease, Weed, Insect Control ...................... $640,630 $455,840 $1,096,470 1.7

 Wildlife Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,054,490 $113,960 $1,168,450 1.9

 Fertilizer Application .............................. $527,245 $398,860 $926,105 1.5

 Aerification/Coring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $294,804 $854,700 $1,149,504 1.8

 Renovation/Overseeding/Reseeding ................. $873,072 $683,760 $1,556,832 2.5

 Dethatching/Power Raking/Verticutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $124,725 $170,940 $295,665 0.5

 Seed/Sod Installation ............................. $85,040 $284,900 $369,940 0.6

 Irrigation Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $527,245 - $527,245 0.8

 Irrigation Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $85,040 $683,760 $768,800 1.2

 Soil and Tissue Testing/Diagnostic Services ........... $204,095 $204,095 0.3

 Turf Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - $455,840 $455,480 0.7

 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17,006 - $17,006 - TOTAL Paid Labor .............................. $5,669,300 $56,980,000 $62,649,300 50.4%

Equipment: 1/

 New Equipment Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11,075,838 45.5

 Used Equipment Purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $48,684 0.2

 Irrigation Equipment Repairs ....................... $486,850 2.0

 Equipment Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,823,730 11.6

 Equipment Repairs and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,615,288 39.5

 Equipment Rentals/Leasing Agreements .............. $194,740 0.8

 Other Expenses ................................. $97,370 0.4 TOTAL Equipment Parts and Repairs .............. $24,342,500 19.6%

Supplies: 1/

 Seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $842,160 8.3

 Lime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $81,172 0.8

 Sod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $405,860 4.0

 Top Dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $324,688 3.2

 Topsoil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $649,376 6.4

 Sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $202,930 2.0

 Mulch (straw, hay, peat moss, etc.) .................. $152,198 1.5

 Purchased Irrigation Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,435,160 24.0

 Crop Protectants:

 Herbicides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $273,955 2.7

 Insecticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $172,490 1.7

 Fungicides ................................... $791,427 7.8

 Biological Pesticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

 Fertilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,187,140 11.7

 Fuel/Lubricants (oil, gasoline, diesel, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,597,504 25.6

 Other Expenses ................................. $30,440 0.3 TOTAL Supplies ................................ $10,146,500 8.2%

Miscellaneous Expenses 1/

 Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $81,470 0.3

 Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,303,512 4.8

 Travel and Meeting Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,430 0.0

 Property Taxes .................................. - - Sales and Use Tax ............................... - Building Maintenance ............................. $760,382 2.8

 Property Rental .................................. $10,863 0.0

 Capital Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $24,983,980 92.0

 Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,863 0.0

 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

 TOTAL Miscellaneous Expenses .................. $27,156,500 21.8%

TOTAL ALL EXPENSES ............................ $124,294,800 100%

1/ Equipment, supplies and miscellaneous expenses were not broken down by contract vs. non-contract.
-34-

Other

572

1.3%

Bentgrass

441

1.0%

Bluegrass Mixture

9,790

22.2%

Other Mix

529

1.2%

Ryegrass

5,513

12.5%

Unknown

26,813

60.8%

Kentucky Bluegrass

221

0.5%

Improved Turf Type Tall Fescue

221

0.5%

Bluegrass Mixture

2,730

13%

Ryegrass

420

2%

Unknown

17,010

81%

Other Mix

840

4%

Principal Types of Grass, Parks, 2003

Total Acres Excluding Athletic Fields - 44,100 Acres

Principal Types of Grass, Parks, 2003

Total Turf Area on Athletic Fields - 21,000 Acres
-35-

Irrigation

New York parks irrigated a total of 12,369 acres, 19 percent of all turf areas including athletic fields. The main source of

irrigation was municipal water, accounting for 73 percent of total irrigated acres. There were no parks using rivers or streams

as a source of irrigation.

Total Area of Turf Irrigated, Parks, 2003

Source Total Area Irrigated

(Acres)

Percent of

Irrigation

Municipal Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,029 73

Ponds/Lakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 2

Wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,093 25

Rivers/Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -

Total ........................ 12,369 100%

Hired Lawn Care

Ten percent of New York parks managers hired a professional lawn care service to perform turf maintenance in 2003. Parks

spent an average of $17,000 a year on this service, a total of $595,000.

Lawn Care Service, Parks, 2003

Percent Average Total

 Hired Lawn Care Service . . . . . . . 10 $17,000 per park $595,000

 Did Not Hire Lawn Care Service . . 90

 Total ....................... 100%

Athletic Fields and Playgrounds

New York parks maintained a total of 11,550 fields and playgrounds in 2003. There were an average of 8 baseball fields, 5

softball, 3 football, 5 soccer, 10 playgrounds and 2 other fields per park. Baseball, softball, soccer and other fields were used 6

months out of the year while playgrounds were used 9 months. Football fields were only used 4 months out of the year. The

average field in a park was used 5.8 hours per day.

Recreational Field Usage, Parks, 2003

Field

Number of Fields

Months Used Average

hours per day Average per park Total

Baseball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2,800 6.0 4.8

Softball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1,750 6.0 4.3

Football . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1,050 4.0 4.5

Soccer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1,750 6.0 4.7

Playground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 3,500 9.0 8.5

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 700 6.0 5.2

Total ........................ - 11,550 6.7 5.8
-36-

Turf Management Problems

Wear and compaction was the top turf management problem on turf excluding athletic fields. Poor drainage and poor soil were

also a major concern. Wear and compaction was also the top management problem for turf on athletic fields. Weeds were the

second major problem with poor drainage also reported.

Turf Management Problems, Parks, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem

Percent

Excluding

Athletic Fields Athletic Fields

Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6

Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 25

Poor Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 43

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3

Equipment Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 12

Insects/Grubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3

Nematodes .......................... - -

Excessive Shade ..................... 7 -

Poor Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 18

Thatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 -

Wear and Compaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 71

Water Availability/Quality ............... 7 3

Weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 53

Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 12

Moles/Voles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 -

Clipping Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 -

Geese/Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 21

Pet Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3

Land Availability ...................... 2 3

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 9

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management, Parks, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Operational Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Labor Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Government Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Water Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Loss of Chemical Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

New York parks reported operational expenses as a significant future problem for turf management. Labor availability was the

second most important concern.
-37-

Primary Information Source

New York parks reported peers as an important source for turf management information in 2003. County extension services

were a close second.

Primary Information Source, Parks, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Commercial Technical Reps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

County Extension Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Newspapers .................................. 6

Technical Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Private Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

TV/Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Garden Center/Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Internet 15

Product Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Lawn Care Company ........................... 6

Industry Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Training

Fifty three percent of parks reported that at least one employee had some type of turf maintenance training in 2003.

Percent Enrolled in Formal Turf Maintenance Training,

Parks, 2003

Attended Training 53

No Training 47

TOTAL 100%
-38-

General Statistics

There were 3.67 million private

residences in New York excluding

New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx

and Richmond counties. Private

residences accounted for 2.83

million acres, an average of .77

acres per home. A total of 807,400

new turf acres were established in

2003, at a cost of $1.42 billion. The

average resident spent 13.5 hours a

month mowing and 10.7 hours on

other lawn maintenance activities.

Private residents owned nearly $5.5

billion of turf equipment.

General Statistics, Private Residence, 2003

Item Unit Average per Residence Total

Number of New York Residences . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number - 3,670,000

Total Turf Area ......................... Acres 0.77 2,825,900

New Turf Acres Established ................. Acres 0.22 807,400

Cost of Establishing New Turf ............... Dollars $1,760 per acre $1,421,024,000

Paid Labor

 Full Time and Part Time Employees .......... Number - 1/

 Payroll ............................. Dollars - 1/

Unpaid Labor: 

 Hours Spent on Mowing .................. Hours 13.5 per month

 Hours Spent on Other Lawn Maintenance ...... Hours 10.7 per month

Value of Turf Equipment ................... Dollars $1,490 $5,468,300,000

1/ Insufficient data to publish.
-39-

Turf Maintenance Expenses

Private residences spent more than $3.24 billion on turf maintenance expenses during 2003. Paid labor accounted for $965

million, 29.8 percent of total expenses. Equipment accounted for $1.7 billion, 53.2 percent of the total and supplies accounted

for $550.5 million in 2003.

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Private Residence, 2003

Type of Expenses Contract

Expense

Non-Contract

Expense Total Expense Percent

of Total

Paid Labor:

 Mowing/Trimming ........................... $292,058,600 $135,423,000 $427,481,600 44.3

 Edging .................................. $12,698,200 $9,909,000 $22,607,200 2.3

 Clean-up (Spring) ........................... $44,443,700 $33,030,000 $77,473,700 8.0

 Clean-up (Fall) ............................. $44,443,700 $33,030,000 $77,473,700 8.0

 Disease, Weed, Insect Control .................. $63,491,000 $23,121,000 $86,612,000 9.0

 Wildlife Control ............................ - $3,303,000 $3,303,000 0.4

 Fertilizer Application ......................... $63,491,000 $36,333,000 $99,824,000 10.4

 Aerification/Coring .......................... - $3,303,000 $3,303,000 0.4

 Renovation/Overseeding/Reseeding ............... $19,047,300 $9,909,000 $28,956,300 3.0

 Dethatching/Power Raking/Verticutting ............. - $3,303,000 $3,303,000 0.4

 Seed/Sod Installation ........................ $19,047,300 $6,606,000 $25,653,300 2.6

 Irrigation Installation ......................... $50,792,800 $19,818,000 $70,610,800 7.3

 Irrigation Service ........................... $12,698,200 $9,909,000 $22,607,200 2.3

 Soil and Tissue Testing/Diagnostic Services .......... - - -- Other ................................... $12,698,200 $3,303,000 $16,001,200 1.6 TOTAL Paid Labor ......................... $634,910,000 $330,300,000 $965,210,000 29.8%

Equipment: 1/

 New Equipment Purchases ..................... $1,241,928,000 72.0

 Used Equipment Purchases .................... $224,237,000 13.0

 Irrigation Equipment Repairs .................... $17,249,000 1.0

 Equipment Supplies ......................... $77,620,500 4.5

 Equipment Repairs and Maintenance .............. $137,992,000 8.0

 Equipment Rentals/Leasing Agreements ............ $8,624,500 0.5

 Other ................................... $17,249,000 1.0 TOTAL Equipment Parts and Repairs ............. $1,724,900,000 53.2%

Supplies: 1/

 Seed ................................... $60,555,000 11.0

 Lime ................................... $11,010,000 2.0

 Sod .................................... $11,010,000 2.0

 Top Dressing .............................. $11,010,000 2.0

 Topsoil .................................. $82,575,000 15.0

 Sand ................................... $55,050,000 10.0

 Mulch (straw, hay, peat moss, etc.) ................ $44,040,000 8.0

 Purchased Irrigation Water ..................... $22,020,000 4.0

 Crop Protectants:

 Herbicides .............................. $16,515,000 3.0

 Insecticides ............................. $16,515,000 3.0

 Fungicides .............................. $5,505,000 1.0

 Biological Pesticides ....................... - - Fertilizer ................................. $88,080,000 16.0

 Fuel/Lubricants (oil, gasoline, diesel, etc.) ........... $121,110,000 22.0

 Other ................................... $5,505,000 1.0 TOTAL Supplies ........................... $550,500,000 17%

Miscellaneous Expenses 2/

 Insurance ................................ Utilities .................................. Property Taxes ............................ Sales and Use Tax .......................... Building Maintenance ........................ Property Rental ............................ Capital Improvements ........................ Training ................................. Other ................................... TOTAL Miscellaneous Expenses ................

TOTAL ALL EXPENSES ........................ $3,240,610,000 3/ 100%

1/ Equipment, supplies and miscellaneous expenses were not broken down by contract vs. non-contract.

2/ Not applicable. 3/ Total excludes miscellaneous expense.
-40-

Bentgrass

42,388

1.5%

Improved Turf Type Tall

14,130

0.5%

Kentucky Bluegrass

70,648 Bluegrass Mixture 2.5%

206,290

7.3%

Fine Fescue

62,170

2.2%

Ryegrass

211,942

7.5%

Other

76,300

2.7%

Unknown

2,034,648

72.0%

Other Mix

107,384

3.8%

Principal Types of Grass, Private Residence, 2003

Total Acres 2,825,900

Irrigation

New York’s private residences irrigated a total of 423,885 acres in 2003, 15 percent of all privately owned turf acres. The main

source of water for irrigation was municipal water. Irrigation using municipal water accounted for 67 percent of the total

acreage irrigated. Wells were also a main source of irrigation. 

Total Area of Turf Irrigated, Private Residence, 2003

Source Total Area Irrigated

(Acres) Percent

Municipal Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284,003 67

Ponds/Lakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,910 8

Wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84,777 20

Rivers/Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,240 1

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,955 4

Total ........................ 423,885 100%
-41-

Turf Management Problems

Weeds were the top turf management problem for private residences in 2003. Insects/grubs and poor soil were also a major

concern.

Turf Management Problems, Private Residence, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Poor Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Equipment Maintenance .................... 6

Insects/Grubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Nematodes .............................. -

Excessive Shade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Poor Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Thatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Wear and Compaction ..................... 9

Water Availability/Quality ................... 3

Weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Moles/Voles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Clipping Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Geese/Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Pet Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Land Availability .......................... -

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management, Private Residence, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Operational Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Labor Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Government Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Water Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Loss of Chemical Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Private residences reported operational expenses as a significant future problem for turf management. Water and labor

availability were also major concerns.
-42-

Primary Information Source

New York private residences reported garden centers and nurseries as an important source for turf management

information in 2003. Product labels and peers were also major sources of information.

Primary Information Source, Private Residence, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Commercial Technical Reps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

County Extension Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Newspapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Technical Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Private Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

TV/Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Garden Center/Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Product Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Lawn Care Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Industry Association ............................. 1

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Hired Lawn Care

Twenty five percent of New York’s private residences hired a professional lawn care service to perform turf maintenance in

2003. The average resident spent $900 a year on this service, a total of over $825 million in 2003.

Lawn Care Service, Private Residence, 2003

Percent Average Total

 Hired Lawn Care Service . . . . . . . . . . . 25 $900

per residence $825,750,000

 Did Not Hire Lawn Care Service . . . . . . 75

 Total ........................... 100%
-43-

General Statistics

There were 9,770 churches in New

York excluding New York, Kings,

Queens, Bronx and Richmond

counties. These churches

maintained a total of 24,425 acres,

an average of 2.5 acres per church.

There were a total of 490 new turf

acres established in 2003, at a cost

of $2.2 million. New York churches

employed 977 full time and 1,954

part time employees, a total of 2,931

employees who had turf

maintenance as their primary

responsibility. Total payroll for these

employees was $3.9 million in 2003.

The value of turf equipment owned

by churches was $15.3 million in

2003. There is no irrigation table for

churches due to insufficient data.

General Statistics, Churches, 2003

Item Unit Average per Church Total

Number of Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number - 9,770

Total Turf Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 2.5 24,425

New Turf Acres Established . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 0.05 490

Cost of Establishing New Turf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $4,590 per acre $2,249,100

Paid Labor:

 Full Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 0.1 977

 Part Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 0.2 1,954

 Payroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $400 $3,908,000

Value of Turf Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $1,570 $15,338,900
-44-

Bentgrass

146

0.6% Kentucky Bluegrass

146

0.6%

Bluegrass Mixture

2,565

10.5%

Improved Turf Type Tall

489

2.0%

Fine Fescue

122

0.5%

Ryegrass

879

3.6%

Unknown

18,807

77.0%

Other Mix

782

3.2%

Other

489

2.0%

Turf Maintenance Expenses

Churches spent more than $237 million on turf maintenance expenses during 2003. Miscellaneous was the largest expense

which accounted for $156.3 million, 65.9 percent of total expenses. Churches spent over $63 million for paid labor, over $13

million for equipment and $4.5 million for supplies. There was insufficient data reported to publish the detailed breakouts for

expenses. Only totals were able to be published.

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Churches, 2003

Type of Expenses Contract

Expense

NonContract

Expense

Total

Expense

Percent

of Total

 Paid Labor ..................................... $33,550,180 $29,651,950 $63,202,130 26.6

 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/ 1/ $13,189,500 5.6

 Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/ 1/ $4,543,050 1.9

 Miscellaneous .................................... 1/ 1/ $156,300,000 65.9

 TOTAL ALL EXPENSES ........................... 1/ 1/ $237,234,680 100%

1/ Equipment, supplies, and miscellaneous expenses were not broken down by contract vs. non-contract.

Principal Types of Grass, Churches

Total Acres - 24,425
-45-

Turf Management Problems

Churches reported weeds as the most difficult turf management problem in 2003. Poor soil was also a major problem.

Turf Management Problems, Churches, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Poor Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Equipment Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Insects/Grubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Nematodes .............................. -

Excessive Shade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Poor Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Thatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Wear and Compaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Water Availability/Quality ................... 5

Weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Moles/Voles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Clipping Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Geese/Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Pet Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Land Availability .......................... 3

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management, Churches, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Operational Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Labor Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Government Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Water Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Loss of Chemical Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Churches reported operational expenses as the major concern for future turf management problems. Labor availability was

also a significant future problem.
-46-

Primary Information Source

Churches reported peers as the most important source for turf management information. Garden centers and nurseries were

also a major source of information.

Primary Information Source, Churches, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Commercial Technical Reps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

County Extension Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Newspapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Technical Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Private Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

TV/Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Garden Center/Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Product Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Lawn Care Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Industry Association ............................. 1

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Training

Only one percent of churches reported that at least one employee had some type of turf maintenance training in 2003.

Percent Enrolled in Turf Maintenance Training,

Churches, 2003

Attended Training 1

No Training 99

TOTAL 100%

Hired Lawn Care

Thirty percent of churches in New York hired a professional lawn care service to perform turf maintenance in 2003. Churches spent an

average of $3,400 a year on this service, a total of nearly $10 million.

Lawn Care Service, Churches, 2003

Percent Average Total

 Hired Lawn Care Service . . . . . . . . . . 30 $3,400

per church

$9,965,400

 Did Not Hire Lawn Care Service . . . . . 70

 Total ...................... 100%
-47-

General Statistics

New York’s 570 cemeteries have a total turf

area of 14,250 acres, an average of 25 acres

per cemetery. During 2003 these cemeteries

established 274 new turf acres at a cost of

$697,330. New York cemeteries employed

467 full time and 855 part time employees, a

total of 1,322 employees who had turf

maintenance as their primary responsibility.

Total payroll for these employees was over

$14.4 million in 2003. Turf equipment owned

by all cemeteries was valued at $5.53 million,

an average of $9,700 per cemetery. There is

no irrigation table for cemeteries due to

insufficient data.

General Statistics, Cemeteries, 2003

Item Unit Average

per Cemetery Total

 Number of Cemeteries ................... Number - 570

 Total Turf Area ........................ Acres 25 14,250

 New Turf Acres Established ................ Acres 0.48 274

 Cost of Establishing New Turf ............... Dollars $2,545 per acre $697,330

 Paid Labor

 Full Time Employees ................... Number 0.82 467

 Part Time Employees ................... Number 1.5 855

 Payroll ............................ Dollars $25,400 $14,478,000

 Value of Turf Equipment .................. Dollars $9,700 $5,529,000
-48-

Bentgrass

29

0.2%

Kentucky Bluegrass

228

1.6%

Bluegrass Mixture

3,078

21.6%

Improved Turf Type Tall

314

2.2%

Fine Fescue

371

2.6%

Ryegrass

2,437

17.1%

Unknown

5,570

39.1%

Other Mix

1,781

12.5%

Other

442

3.1%

Turf Maintenance Expenses

Cemeteries spent about $53 million on turf maintenance expenses during 2003. Paid labor was the largest expense which

accounted for $35.1 million, 66 percent of total expenses. Over $6.44 million was spent on equipment and repairs, over $3.0

million for supplies, and almost $8.25 million for miscellaneous expenses. There was insufficient data reported to publish the

detailed breakouts for expenses. Only totals were able to be published.

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Cemeteries, 2003

Type of Expenses Contract Expense Non-Contract

Expense

Total

Expense

Percent

of Total

 Paid Labor .......................... $4,104,000 $30,980,000 $35,084,000 66.0

 Equipment .......................... 1/ 1/ $6,441,000 12.0

 Supplies ........................... 1/ 1/ $3,072,000 6.0

 Miscellaneous ........................ 1/ 1/ $8,248,000 16.0

 TOTAL ALL EXPENSES ................. 1/ 1/ $52,845,000 100%

1/ Equipment, supplies, and miscellaneous expenses were not broken down by contract vs. non-contract. 

Principal Types of Grass, Cemeteries, 2003

Total Acres - 14,250 Acres
-49-

Turf Management Problems

Weeds were the top turf management problem for cemeteries in New York. Poor soil, labor, and equipment maintenance were

also major concerns for cemeteries.

Turf Management Problems, Cemeteries, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Poor Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Equipment Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Insects/Grubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Nematodes .............................. -

Excessive Shade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Poor Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Thatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Wear and Compaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Water Availability/Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Moles/Voles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Clipping Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Geese/Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Pet Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Land Availability .......................... 3

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management, Cemeteries, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Operational Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Labor Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Government Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Water Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Loss of Chemical Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Cemeteries reported operational expenses as the major concern for future turf management problems. Labor availability was

the second major concern.
-50-

Primary Information Source

The primary source of turf management information used by cemeteries was peers followed closely by garden center/nursery

operations. The county extension service was the third most used source for information and product labels were the fourth.

Primary Information Source, Cemeteries, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Commercial Technical Reps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

County Extension Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Newspapers ................................... 9

Technical Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Private Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

TV/Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Garden Center/Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Product Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Lawn Care Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Industry Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Training

Ninety-two percent of cemeteries did not have anyone attend formal turf maintenance training during 2003. Eight percent had

staff enrolled in a training program.

Percent Enrolled in Turf Maintenance Training,

Cemeteries, 2003

Attended Training 8

No Training 92

Total 100%

Hired Lawn Care

Forty percent of cemeteries in New York hired a professional lawn care service to perform turf maintenance in 2003.

Cemeteries spent an average of $9,000 a year on this service, a total of over $2 million.

Lawn Care Service, Cemeteries, 2003

Percent Average Total

 Hired Lawn Care Service . . . . . . . . . . 40 $9,000

per cemetery $2,052,000

 Did Not Hire Lawn Care Service . . . . . 60

 Total ........................ 100%
-51-

General Statistics

There were 2,420 apartment complexes

in New York excluding New York, Kings,

Queens, Bronx and Richmond counties.

These complexes maintained a total of

26,620 acres, an average of 11 acres

per complex. There were a total of 121

new turf acres established in 2003, at a

cost of $273,460. New York apartment

complexes employed 484 full time and

242 part time employees, a total of 726

employees who had turf maintenance

as their primary responsibility. Total

payroll for these employees was $7.5

million. The value of turf equipment

owned by apartment complexes was

over $14.5 million in 2003. There is no

irrigation table for apartment complexes

due to insufficient data.

General Statistics, Apartment Complexes, 2003

Item Unit Average per

Complex Total

 Number of Apartment Complexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number - 2,420

 Total Turf Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 11 26,620

 New Turf Acres Established . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 0.05 121

 Cost of Establishing New Turf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $2,260 per acre $273,460

 Paid Labor

 Full Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 0.2 484

 Part Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 0.1 242

 Payroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $3,100 $7,502,000

 Value of Turf Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $6,000 $14,520,000
-52-

Improved Turf Type Tall

80

0.3%

Fine Fescue

107

0.4%

Unknown

23,692

89.0%

Other Mix

745

2.8%

Ryegrass

532

2.0%

Bluegrass Mixture

1,118

4.2% Bentgrass

346

1.3%

Turf Maintenance Expenses

New York apartment complexes spent more than $49 million on turf maintenance expenses during 2003. Paid labor was the largest

expense which accounted for $588.5 million, 76.6 percent of total expenses. Apartment complexes spent $8.1 million on equipment and

over $3.3 million on supplies. There was insufficient data reported to publish the detailed breakouts for expenses. Only totals were able to

be published.

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Apartment Complexes, 2003

Type of Expenses Contract Expense Non-Contract

Expense

Total

Expense

Percent

of Total

 Paid Labor ................................ $18,150,000 $19,360,000 $37,510,000 76.6

 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/ 1/ $8,107,000 16.6

 Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1/ 1/ $3,388,000 6.8

 Miscellaneous ..............................

1/ 1/ 2/ -

 TOTAL ALL EXPENSES ..................... 1/ 1/ $49,005,000 100%

1/ Equipment, supplies, and miscellaneous expenses were not broken down by contract vs. non-contract. 

2/ Not applicable.

3/ Total excludes miscellaneous expense.

Principal Types of Grass, Apartment Complexes, 2003

Total Acres - 26,620 Acres
-53-

Turf Management Problems

Weeds were the top turf management problem for apartment complexes in New York. Drought and poor soil were also major

concerns.

Turf Management Problems, Apartment Complexes, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Poor Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Equipment Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Insects/Grubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Nematodes ............................ -

Excessive Shade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Poor Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Thatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Wear and Compaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Water Availability/Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Labor ................................ 7

Moles/Voles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Clipping Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Geese/Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Pet Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Land Availability ........................ 6

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management,

Apartment Complexes, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem 

Problem Percent

Operational Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Labor Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Government Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Water Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Loss of Chemical Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Apartment complexes reported operational expenses as the major concern for future turf management problems. Labor and water

availability were also major concerns.
-54-

Primary Information Source

Apartment complexes reported lawn care companies as the most important source of turf management information. Garden centers and

nurseries were also a major source of information.

Primary Information Source, Apartment Complexes, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Commercial Technical Reps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

County Extension Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Newspapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Technical Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Private Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

TV/Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Garden Center/Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Magazines ..................................... 1

Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Product Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Lawn Care Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Industry Association .............................. 1

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Training

Five percent of apartment complexes reported that at least one employee had some type of turf maintenance training in 2003.

Percent Enrolled in Formal Turf Maintenance Training,

Apartment Complexes, 2003

Attended Training 5

No Training 95

Total 100%

Hired Lawn Care

Fifty percent of apartment complexes in New York hired a professional lawn care service to perform turf maintenance in 2003. Apartment

complexes spent an average of $7,500 a year for this service, a total of over $9 million in 2003.

Lawn Care Service, Apartment Complexes, 2003

Percent Average Total

 Hired Lawn Care Service . . . . . . . . . 50 $7,500

per complex

$9,075,000

 Did Not Hire Lawn Care Service . . . . 50

 Total ...................... 100%
-55-

General Statistics

New York’s 118 correctional facilities have

a total turf area of 2,242 acres, an average

of 19 acres per facility. During 2003 these

facilities established 47 new turf acres for a

cost of $9,400. Correctional facilities hired

106 full time and 8 part time, a total of 114

employees who had turf maintenance as

their primary responsibility. Total payroll

for these employees was $23,600 in 2003.

Turf equipment owned by all correctional

facilities was valued at $2.95 million.

There is no irrigation table for correctional

facilities due to insufficient data.

General Statistics, Correctional Facilities, 2003

Item Unit Average per

Correctional Facility Total

Number of Correctional Facilities ............... Number - 118

Total Turf Area ........................... Acres 19 2,242

New Turf Acres Established ................... Acres 0.4 47

Cost of Establishing New Turf ................. Dollars $200 per acre $9,400

Paid Labor

 Full Time Employees ..................... Number 0.9 106

 Part Time Employees ..................... Number 0.07 8

 Payroll ............................... Dollars $207 $23,600

Value of Turf Equipment ..................... Dollars $25,000 $2,950,000
-56-

Turf Maintenance Expenses

Correctional facilities spent $3.3 million on turf maintenance expenses during 2003. Paid labor was the largest expense which accounted

for over $1.3 million, 41 percent of total expenses. Correctional facilities spent over $1.2 million for equipment, $377,600 for supplies and

$332,800 for miscellaneous expenses. There was insufficient data reported to publish the detailed breakouts for expenses. Only totals

were able to be published. 

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Correctional Facilities, 2003

Type of Expenses Contract Expense Non-Contract

Expense

Total

Expense

Percent

of Total

 Paid Labor ................................ $41,300 $1,327,500 $1,368,800 41.0

 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/ 1/ $1,250,800 38.0

 Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/ 1/ $377,600 11.0

 Miscellaneous .............................. 1/ 1/ $332,800 10.0

 TOTAL ALL EXPENSES ..................... 1/ 1/ $3,330,000 100%

1/ Equipment, supplies, and miscellaneous expenses were not broken down by contract vs. non-contract. 

Principal Types of Grass, Correctional Facilities, 2003

Total Acres 2,242

Unknown

2,242

100%
-57-

Turf Management Problems

Drought and equipment maintenance were the top turf management problems for correctional facilities in New York. Only one

percent reported poor soil, water availability, weeds, labor, and clipping disposal as a problem.

Turf Management Problems, Correctional Facilities, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Poor Drainage ............................ -

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Equipment Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Insects/Grubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Nematodes .............................. -

Excessive Shade .......................... -

Poor Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Thatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Wear and Compaction ...................... -

Water Availability/Quality ..................... 1

Weeds .................................. 1

Labor ................................... 1

Moles/Voles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Clipping Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Geese/Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Pet Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Land Availability ........................... -

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management, Correctional Facilities, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Operational Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Labor Availability ............................. 2

Government Regulation ........................ -

Water Availability ............................. -

Loss of Chemical Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Correctional facilities reported operational expenses as the major concern for future turf management problems. Labor

availability was a minor concern. No one reported government regulation, water availability or loss of chemical registrations

as a significant future problem. 
-58-

Primary Information Source

The primary source of turf management information used by correctional facilities was county extension services followed

closely by product labels and garden/nursery operators.

Primary Information Source, Correctional Facilities, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Commercial Technical Reps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

County Extension Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Newspapers .................................. -

Technical Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Private Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

TV/Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Garden Center/Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Magazines ................................... -

Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Product Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Lawn Care Company ........................... -

Industry Association ............................ -

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Training

Eighty-eight percent of the correctional facilities had at least one employee enrolled in turf maintenance training during 2003.

Twelve percent of the facilities had no one in training.

Percent Enrolled in Turf Maintenance Training

Correctional Facilities, 2003

Attended Training 88

No Training 12

Total 100%

Hired Lawn Care

There were no correctional facilities in New York that hired a professional lawn care service to perform turf maintenance in

2003.

Lawn Care Service, Correctional Facilities, 2003

Percent

 Hired Lawn Care Service . . . . . . . . . -

 Did Not Hire Lawn Care Service . . . . 100

 Total ....................... 100%
-59-

General Statistics

There were 144 airports in New York

in 2003. These airports maintained

a total of 13,968 acres, an average

of 97 acres per airport. There were

a total of 187 new turf acres

established in 2003, at a cost of $1.3

million. New York airports employed

187 full time and 202 part time

employees, a total of 389 employees

who had turf maintenance as their

primary responsibility. The total

payroll for these employees was

$820,800. The value of turf

equipment owned by airports was

over $3.7 million in 2003. There is no

irrigation table for airports due to

insufficient data.

General Statistics, Airports, 2003

Item Unit Average per

Airport Total

 Number of Airports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number - 144

 Total Turf Acres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 97 13,968

 New Turf Acres Established . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 1.3 187

 Cost of Establishing New Turf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $7,000 per acre $1,309,000

 Paid Labor

 Full Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 1.3 187

 Part Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 1.4 202

 Payroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $5,700 $820,800

 Value of Turf Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $26,000 $3,744,000
-60-

Improved Turf Type Tall

140

1.0%

Fine Fescue

489

3.5%

Unknown

11,496

82.3%

Other Mix

475

3.4%

Other

1,368

9.8%

Turf Maintenance Expenses

New York airports spent more than $10.3 million on turf maintenance expenses during 2003. Miscellaneous was the largest

expense which accounted for $6.6 million, 64 percent of total expenses. Airports spent $1.6 million on paid labor, nearly $2

million on equipment and $158,400 on supplies. There was insufficient data reported to publish the detailed breakouts for

expenses. Only totals were able to be published.

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Airports, 2003

Type of Expenses Contract

Expense

Non-Contract

Expense

Total

Expense

Percent

of Total

 Paid Labor ..................... 2/ $1,612,800 $1,612,800 15.6

 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/ 1/ $1,958,400 18.9

 Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/ 1/ $158,400 1.5

 Miscellaneous ............... 1/ 1/ $6,624,000 64.0

 TOTAL ALL EXPENSES .......... 1/ 1/ $10,353,60

0 100%

1/ Equipment, supplies, and miscellaneous expenses were not broken down by contract vs. non-contract. 

2/ Insufficient data to publish breakouts

Principal Types of Grass, Airports, 2003

Total Acres - 13,968 Acres
-61-

Turf Management Problems

Labor was the top turf management problem for airports in New York. Equipment maintenance was the second biggest problem.

Turf Management Problems, Airports, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Poor Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Equipment Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Insects/Grubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Nematodes ............................ -

Excessive Shade ........................ -

Poor Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Thatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Wear and Compaction .................... -

Water Availability/Quality ................... -

Weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Moles/Voles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Clipping Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Geese/Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Pet Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Land Availability ......................... -

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management, Airports, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Operational Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Labor Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Government Regulation ......................... -

Water Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Loss of Chemical Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Airports reported operational expenses to be a significant future problem for turf management. Labor availability was also reported as a

concern.
-62-

Primary Information Source

New York airports reported peers and county extension services as important sources for turf management information in 2003. Product

labels and garden centers/nurseries were also used as sources of information.

Primary Information Source, Airports, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Commercial Technical Reps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

County Extension Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Newspapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Technical Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Private Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

TV/Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Garden Center/Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Product Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Lawn Care Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Industry Association .............................. -

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Training

There were no airports that reported turf maintenance training for employees in 2003.

Percent Enrolled in Formal Turf Maintenance Training,

Airports, 2003

Attended Training -

No Training 100

TOTAL 100%

Hired Lawn Care

There were no airports that reported hiring a lawn care service to perform turf maintenance in 2003.

Lawn Care Service, Airports, 2003

Percent

 Hired Lawn Care Service . . . . . . . . . . . -

 Did Not Hire Lawn Care Service . . . . 100

 Total ........................ 100%
-63-

General Statistics

There were 720 corporate sites in New

York excluding New York, Kings,

Queens, Bronx and Richmond counties.

These corporations maintained a total of

10,584 acres, an average of 14.7 acres

per site. There were a total of 72 new

turf acres established in 2003, at a cost

of $103,320. New York corporate sites

employed 65 full time and 36 part time

employees, a total of 101 employees

who had turf maintenance as their

primary responsibility. Total payroll for

these employees was $360,000 in

2003. The value of turf equipment

owned by corporate sites was $374,400

in 2003. There is no irrigation table for

corporate sites due to insufficient data.

General Statistics, Corporate Sites, 2003

Item Unit Average per

Corporate Site Total

Number of Corporate Sites .................. Number - 720

Total Turf Area ......................... Acres 14.7 10,584

New Turf Acres Established ................. Acres 0.1 72

Cost of Establishing New Turf ................ Dollars $1,435 per acre $103,320

Paid Labor:

 Full Time Employees .................... Number 0.09 65

 Part Time Employees ................... Number 0.05 36

 Payroll ............................ Dollars $500 $360,000

Value of Turf Equipment ................... Dollars $520 $374,400
-64-

Improved Turf Type Tall

80

0.3%

Fine Fescue

107

0.4%

Unknown

23,692

89.0%

Other Mix

745

2.8%

Ryegrass

532

2.0%

Bluegrass Mixture

1,118

4.2% Bentgrass

346

1.3%

Turf Maintenance Expenses

More than $23 million was spent on turf management expenses during 2003 by corporate sites. Paid labor was the largest expense

which accounted for $19.4 million, 83 percent of total expenses. These sites spent over $2 million for equipment and almost $1.93 million

for supplies. There was insufficient data reported to publish the detailed breakouts for expenses. Only totals were able to be published.

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Corporate Sites, 2003

Type of Expenses Contract

Expense

Non-Contract

Expense Total Expense Percentof Total

 Paid Labor ..................................... $11,144,200 $8,219,500 $19,363,700 83.0

 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/ 1/ $2,090,200 9.0

 Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/ 1/ $1,926,000 8.0

 Miscellaneous ................................... 1/ 1/ 2/ -

 TOTAL ALL EXPENSES .......................... 1/ 1/ $23,379,900 3/ 100% 3/

1/ Equipment, supplies, and miscellaneous expenses were not broken down by contract vs. non-contract.

2/ Insufficient data to publish.

3/ Total excludes miscellaneous expense.

Principal Types of Grass, Corporate Sites, 2003

Total Acres - 10,584
-65-

Turf Management Problems

Weeds were the top turf management problem for corporate sites in New York. Drought, excessive shade, and wear and

compaction were also a major concern.

Turf Management Problems, Corporate Sites, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Poor Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Equipment Maintenance .................... -

Insects/Grubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Nematodes .............................. -

Excessive Shade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Poor Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Thatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Wear and Compaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Water Availability/Quality ................... -

Weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Labor .................................. 8

Moles/Voles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Clipping Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Geese/Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Pet Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Land Availability .......................... -

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management, Corporate Sites, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Operational Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Labor Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Government Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Water Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Loss of Chemical Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Corporate sites reported labor availability as the major concern for future turf management problems. Operational expenses

were the second major concern followed by water availability.
-66-

Primary Information Source

New York corporate sites reported lawn care companies as the most important source for turf management in 2003. Peers,

county extension services, garden centers/nurseries and the internet were also major sources of information.

Primary Information Source, Corporate Sites, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Commercial Technical Reps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

County Extension Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Newspapers .................................. 6

Technical Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Private Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

TV/Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Garden Center/Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Product Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Lawn Care Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Industry Association ............................ 6

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Training

Nineteen percent of corporate sites reported that at least one employee had some type of turf maintenance training in 2003.

Percent Enrolled in Turf Maintenance Training,

Corporate Sites, 2003

Attended Training 19

No Training 81

TOTAL 100%

Hired Lawn Care

Ninety one percent of corporate sites in New York hired a professional lawn care service to perform turf maintenance in 2003.

They spent an average of $30,250 a year on this service, a total of nearly $20 million.

Lawn Care Service, Corporate Sites, 2003

Percent Average Total

 Hired Lawn Care Service . . . . . . . . . . 91 $30,250

per site $19,819,800

 Did Not Hire Lawn Care Service . . . . . 9

 Total .......................... 100%
-67-

General Statistics

There were 9 racetracks and 56

fairgrounds in New York in 2003. These

facilities maintained a total of 2,080

acres, an average of 32 acres per

facility. There were a total of 18 new

turf acres established in 2003, at a cost

of $5,751. New York fairgrounds and

racetracks employed 9 full time and 55

part time employees who had turf

maintenance as their primary

responsibility. Total payroll for these

employees was $292,500 in 2003. The

value of turf equipment owned by these

facilities was $539,500 in 2003. There

is no irrigation table for fairgrounds and

racetracks due to insufficient data.

General Statistics, Fairgrounds and Racetracks, 2003

Item Unit Average

per Facility Total

 Number of Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number - 65

 Total Turf Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 32 2,080

 New Turf Acres Established . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acres 0.28 18

 Cost of Establishing New Turf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $319 per acre $5,751

 Paid Labor

 Full Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 0.14 9

 Part Time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number 0.85 55

 Payroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $4,500 $292,500

 Value of Turf Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars $8,300 $539,500
-68-

Bluegrass Mixture

187

9.0%

Ryegrass

102

4.9%

Unknown

1,758

84.5%

Other Mix

33

1.6%

Turf Maintenance Expenses

Fairgrounds and racetracks spent over $4.9 million on turf maintenance expenses during 2003. Miscellaneous was the largest

expense which accounted for $2.39 million, 48.3 percent of total expenses. These facilities spent over $2 million for labor,

$390,000 for equipment and $133,900 for supplies expenses.

Turf Maintenance Expenses, Fairgrounds and Racetracks, 2003

Type of Expenses Contract Expense Non-Contract

Expense

Total

Expense

Percent

of Total

 Paid Labor .......................... $1,336,500 $699,200 $2,035,700 41.1

 Equipment .......................... 1/ 1/ $390,000 7.9

 Supplies ........................... 1/ 1/ $133,900 2.7

 Miscellaneous ........................ 1/ 1/ $2,392,000 48.3

 TOTAL ALL EXPENSES ................. 1/ 1/ $4,951,600 100%

1/ Equipment, supplies, and miscellaneous expenses were not broken down by contract vs. non-contract.

Principal Types of Grass, Fairgrounds and Racetracks, 2003

Total Acres - 2,080 Acres
-69-

Turf Management Problems

Poor drainage was the top turf management problem for fairgrounds and racetracks in New York. Poor soil was the next most

important problem followed by labor and erosion.

Turf Management Problems, Fairgrounds and Racetracks, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Poor Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Equipment Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Insects/Grubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Nematodes .............................. -

Excessive Shade ......................... -

Poor Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Thatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Wear and Compaction ..................... -

Water Availability/Quality ................... -

Weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Moles/Voles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Clipping Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Geese/Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Pet Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Land Availability .......................... -

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Significant Future Problems for Turf Management,

Fairgrounds and Racetracks, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Turf Problem

Problem Percent

Operational Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Labor Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Government Regulation ........................ 8

Water Availability ............................. 8

Loss of Chemical Registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Fairgrounds and race tracks reported labor availability as the major concern for future turf management problems. Operational

expenses were also a major concern.
-70-

Primary Information Source

University specialists, county extension services and garden center/nurseries were reported as the top three most important

sources for turf management for New York fairgrounds and racetracks.

Primary Information Source, Fairgrounds and Racetracks, 2003

Percent Reporting a Specific Information Source

Information Source Percent

University Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Peers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Commercial Technical Reps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

County Extension Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Newspapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Technical Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Private Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

TV/Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Garden Center/Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Product Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Lawn Care Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Industry Association ............................. -

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Training

There were no fairgrounds or racetracks that reported enrolling staff in turf maintenance training in 2003.

Percent Enrolled in Formal Turf Maintenance Training,

Fairgrounds and Racetracks, 2003

Attended Training -

No Training 100

TOTAL 100%

Hired Lawn Care

Thirty percent of the fairgrounds and racetracks in New York hired a professional lawn care service to perform turf maintenance

in 2003. They spent an average of $20,500 a year on this service, a total of $399,750 in 2003.

Lawn Care Service, Fairgrounds and Racetracks, 2003

Percent Average Total

 Hired Lawn Care Service . . . . . . . 30 $20,500

per facility

$399,750

 Did Not Hire Lawn Care Service . . 70

 Total ..................... 100%
-71-

Survey Methodology and Procedures

Survey Objective

The objective of the survey was to account for the total amount of turfgrass in New York and determine the economic value of

turf, turf production, services and expenditures. 

Strata Identification

There were 13 different industry segments that were surveyed. There were 7 versions of the questionnaire. Golf, Sod, Lawn

Care, Schools, Parks and Private Residences all received individual questionnaires. All questionnaires had the same ‘core’

questions but some questions were added to specific industries. There was a General questionnaire that was sent to

Churches, Cemeteries, Apartment Complexes, Correctional Facilities, Airports, Corporate Sites and Fairgrounds/Racetracks.

This questionnaire is included in the back of this publication. This survey design focused on these major industry segments

listed above. 

Data Collection

Data was collected by two methods, mail and telephone. Mailing of questionnaires began in December 2003. A reminder

postcard was mailed to those who had not responded by the beginning of March 2004. A second questionnaire was sent to

non respondents at the end of March. A shorter version of the questionnaire was mailed to schools, parks, churches and

corporate sites at the beginning of June. Telephoning began in April and ended in June of 2004. 

Survey Design

Each segment had a determined universe size (ex: total number of golf courses in New York state). Some segments were

mailed to the universe while others were mailed only to a sample of the universe. A list of these segments was compiled from

many different sources which included industry associations, government and state agencies and other outside sources. Listed

below is a brief description of each segment.

Golf Courses

A list of golf courses was obtained from the New York State Turfgrass Association (NYSTA) and Golf Course Superintendent

Associations around the state. The total universe was 860 and a questionnaire was sent to all courses.

Sod Farms

Lists from New York National Agricultural Statistic Service (NASS) and NYSTA were used. The universe was 14 and all were

surveyed.

Lawn Care

A list of lawn care service companies was obtained from NYSTA, New York State Nursery/Landscape Association and New

York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The universe was 1950 and all were surveyed.

Schools

A list of schools was obtained from NYSTA and the New York State Association for Superintendents of School Buildings and

Grounds. There were a total of 675 school systems used as the universe. School systems are defined as a group of schools

that identify themselves as one school, similar to a school district. There were multiple school sites per school system. All 675

were surveyed.

Parks

A list of parks was obtained from NYSTA and New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The

universe was 350 and all were surveyed.
-72-

Private Residences

A list of New York residences was obtained from an outside source, INFO USA. The universe was 3.67 million which excluded

New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx and Richmond counties. A sample of 8000 was used. 

Churches

A list of churches in New York was obtained from an outside source, INFO USA. The universe was 9770 which excluded New

York, Kings, Queens, Bronx and Richmond counties. A sample of 3000 was used. 

Cemeteries

A list of cemeteries was obtained from New York State Association of Cemeteries and the Metropolitan Cemetery Association. 

The universe was 570 and all were surveyed.

Apartment Complex

A list of apartment complex in New York was obtained from an outside source, INFO USA The universe was 2,420 which

excluded New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx and Richmond counties. A sample of 750 was used. 

Correctional Facilities

A list of federal, state and county correctional facilities was obtained from the internet. The universe was 118 and all were

surveyed. 

Airports

A list of airports in New York was obtained from an outside source, INFO USA. The universe was 144 and all were surveyed.

Corporate Sites

A list of corporations in New York was obtained from two outside sources, INFO USA and International Facility Management

Association (IFMA). The universe was 720 which excluded New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx and Richmond counties. All 720

were surveyed. 

Fairgrounds/Racetracks

A list of fairgrounds and racetracks in New York was provided by two sources, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

and New York State Ag & Markets. There were 9 racetracks and 56 fairgrounds in New York. All were surveyed.

Data Editing and Analysis

All questionnaires were manually reviewed before being edited and summarized by Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS)

software. This program checked for completeness and accuracy of data. Errors were identified by the computer edit and these

errors were reviewed and then data was updated accordingly. After data were corrected, additional analysis was performed to

look at extreme values or outliers and averages of all questions asked. 

Data Summarization

Data from usable reports were summarized in SAS. Data were expanded to reach universe levels.
-73-

 NEW YORK

 AGRICULTURAL

 STATISTICS

 SERVICE 

New York Agricultural Statistics Service

1 Winners Circle

Albany, NY 12235

1-800-821-1276

Fax: 1-800-591-3834

E-mail: nass-ny@nass.usda.gov

2003 Turfgrass Study

Project Code 460

Please make corrections to name, address, and zip code if necessary

The New York Agricultural Statistics Service

needs your help with the 2003 Turfgrass Study.

This study will provide accurate, timely, and

unbiased statistics of the turfgrass industry. This

report is voluntary and not required by law. Your

individual report will remain strictly confidential

and only be used in summary with similar reports

from across the State to produce accurate statistics

of the turfgrass industry in New York.

Stephen C. Ropel

State Statistician

INSTRUCTIONS

Please have the person most responsible for lawn maintenance complete this questionnaire. Base all answers on 2003 data.

The enclosed business reply envelope requires no postage. 

1. How would you best describe this site?

(Enter code number) .........................................................

009

CODES

Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Commercial Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Cemetery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Corporate Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Apartment Complex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Fairground / Racetrack ................... 25

Correctional Facility ....................... 16 Other (Specify) ......................... 26

Airport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

2. How many of the above sites are included in this report? .............................

001

3. What is the total area of turf at all sites? 

(1 acre = 43,560 sq. ft.) .............................

002

acres

OR

003

sq. ft.

4. How much new turf was established in 2003? ...........

030

acres OR

031

sq. ft.

5. What was the total cost of establishing the new turf in 2003? (Include cost of ground

preparation, soil conditioners, fertilizers, seed, sod, and all other costs incurred)

(Enter whole dollars) ........................................................

032

 $
-74-

6. What is the total assessed land value of all reported sites?

(Enter whole dollars) .........................................................

010

 $

7. What is the market value of all turf maintenance equipment owned?

(Enter whole dollars) .........................................................

011

 $

8. Did you hire a professional lawn care service to perform maintenance 

service to your turf in 2003? .............................................

Yes = 1

No = 2

034

(enter code)

9. What was the total cost in 2003 for this service? 

(Enter whole dollars) .........................................................

035

 $

10. How many acres of total turf area are: 

102

acres 

Bentgrass

105

acres 

Improved Turf Type 

Tall Fescue

110

acres

Unknown

103

acres 

Kentucky Bluegrass

106

acres 

Fine Fescue

111

acres

Other Mix (Specify)

____________________

104

acres 

Bluegrass Mixture

109

acres 

Ryegrass

112

acres

Other (Specify)

____________________
-75-

11. Which three of the following were the most difficult turf management problems in 2003?

(Enter a "1" for each of the three applicable problems)

250 Disease 257 Excessive Shade 264 Moles / Voles

251 Drought 258 Poor Soil 265 Clipping Disposal

252 Poor Drainage 259 Thatch 266 Geese / Wildlife

253 Erosion 260 Wear and Compaction 267 Pet Waste

254 Equipment Maintenance 261 Water Availability/Quality 268 Land Availability

255

Insects / Grubs

262

Weeds

269 Other (Specify)

 ___________________

256 Nematodes 263 Labor

12. How many year-round employees had turf maintenance as their primary

responsibility during 2003? .................................................

036

13. How many seasonal employees had turf maintenance as their primary

responsibility during 2003? .................................................

037

14. What was your total 2003 payroll for all turf maintenance employees?

(payroll, benefits, taxes, insurance, FICA, 401k, pension) ...........................

038

 $

15. Did you or any of your staff enroll in any turf maintenance training in 2003?

Yes = 1

No = 2

039

(enter code)

16. How much area of turf was irrigated in 2003? ...........

320

acres 

OR

326

sq. ft. 

17. What percent of irrigation water was provided by the following sources? (Must add to 100%)

321

% Municipal water

323

% Wells

325

%

Other (Specify)

_________________

322

% Ponds / Lakes

324

% Rivers / Streams
-76-

18. What are your three most important sources for turf management information?

(Enter a "1" for each of the three applicable sources)

275

University Specialist

281

Technical Journals

287

Product Labels

276

Peers

282

Private Consultant

288

Lawn Care Company

277 Commercial

Technical Reps.

283

TV / Radio

289

Industry Association

278 County Extension

Service

284

Garden Center / Nursery

292 Other

(Specify)_____________

279

Community College

285

Magazines

280

Newspapers

286

Internet

19. Which of the following do you consider to be a significant future problem for turf management at this property?

(Enter a “1" in each box that you consider a future problem)

350

Operational Expenses

353

Water Availability

351

Labor Availability

354

Loss of Chemical Registrations

352

Government Regulation

355 Other (Specify)

___________________________

COMMENTS:
-77-

20. PAID LABOR EXPENSES

Please report the following costs for paid labor for either Contract or Non Contract expense. Please break out costs

for contracted expenses and those incurred individually by you or your business. Contracted expenses are those that

are incurred when hiring a contractor or outside service company that is not directly an employee of you or your

business.

If details are unavailable, report total costs at bottom of column. (Enter whole dollars)

List Only Turf Information Contract Expense Non Contract Expense

(Own Payroll)

Mowing / Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

601

 $

501

 $

Edging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

602

 $

502

 $

Clean-up (Spring) ...................................

603

 $

503

 $

Clean-up (Fall) .....................................

604

 $

504

 $

Disease, Weed, Insect Control .........................

605

 $

505

 $

Widlife Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

606

 $

506

 $

Fertilization Application ..............................

607

 $

507

 $

Aerification / Coring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

608

 $

508

 $

Renovation / Overseeding / Reseeding ..................

609

 $

509

 $

Dethatching / Power Raking / Verticutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

610

 $

510

 $

Seed / Sod Installation ...............................

611

 $

511

 $

Irrigation Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

612

 $

512

 $

Irrigation Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

613

 $

513

 $

Soil and Tissue Testing / Diagnostic Services .............

614

 $

514

 $

Other (Specify) ......................................

619

 $

519

 $

TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

624

 $

524

 $
-78-

21. EQUIPMENT EXPENSES

New Equipment Purchases (large purchases like trucks, tractors, utility vehicles, mowers, etc.) .......

527

 $

Used Equipment Purchases (large purchases like trucks, tractors, utility vehicles, mowers, etc.) ......

528

 $

Irrigation Equipment Repairs ................................................

529

 $

Equipment Supplies (blades, trimline, etc.) .......................................

530

 $

Equipment Repairs and Maintenance .........................................

531

 $

Equipment Rentals / Leasing Agreements ......................................

532

 $

Other (Specify) ............................................................

533

 $

TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

535

 $

22. SUPPLY EXPENSES

Seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

540

 $

Lime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

541

 $

Sod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

542

 $

Top Dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

543

 $

Topsoil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

544

 $

Sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

545

 $

Mulch (straw, hay, peat moss, etc.) ............................................. 546

 $

Purchased Irrigation Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

547

 $

Crop Protectants

A. Herbicides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

549

 $

B. Insecticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

550

 $

C. Fungicides ........................................................ 551

 $

D. Biological Pesticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

552

 $

Fertilizer ................................................................ 553

 $

Fuel / Lubricants (oil, gasoline, diesel, etc.) ....................................... 554

 $

Other (Specify) .................................................................

555

 $

TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

556

 $
-79-

23. MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES

Insurance (liability, building) ..................................................

561

 $

Utilities (electric, gas, water, sewer, telephone, etc.) ................................. 562

 $

Property Taxes ........................................................... 564

 $

Sales and Use Tax ........................................................ 565

 $

Building Maintenance ...................................................... 566

 $

Property Rental ........................................................... 567

 $

Capital Improvements (new building, new irrigation or drainage system, etc.) .............. 568

 $

Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

569

 $

Other (Specify) ............................................................ 570

 $

TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

571

 $

24. Would you like to receive a free copy of the results of this study

in the mail? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yes = 1

No = 2

099

(enter code)

(The survey results will also be available on the Internet at http://www.nass.usda.gov/ny)

Reported by:_________________________________Telephone:___________________ Date:__________________

Office Use Only Respondent Response Code Enum. Eval.

Respondent’s Name 1-Op/Ptnr

2-Sp

3-Acct/Bkpr

4-Oth

5-Est R

6-Est NR

101 1-Mail

2-Tel

3-Int

6-MailR

7-TelR

8-IR

9-Inac

910 098 100
-80-
New York

Turfgrass Survey

New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets

10B Airline Drive, Albany, New York 12235

www.agmkt.state.ny.us | www.nass.usda.gov | www.nysta.o

back_cover.pmd 1 10/15/2004, 2:36 PM