"Why Our Customer's Customized Programs Are The Future Of Lawn Care"

Help To Meet Our Challenge
A bold stewardship initiative for the Professional Lawn Care Industry is to set an aggressive policy that also sets an admirable standard for other fertilizer markets. It would be characterized by seeking to curtail current usage of actual nutrient inputs (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) industry-wide by 2 million tons. Nutrients PLUS is leading the way. By knowing your part, you can also help the industry reach its goal of 2 million tons!
Why Should You Care?
You must. Our industry's approach to fertility has remained unchanged for decades, yet the industry has not. It is enormous and rapidly growing. According to Lawn & Landscape Magazine, there are now 90,000 lawn care operators in the U.S. These companies are now caring for about 3 million acres of residential and commercial turf with revenues over $4.2 billion, according to a research study recently released by Specialty Products Consultants, Lawn & Landscape Magazine June 2004. Also, $700 million was spent this past year on fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and plant growth regulators.
Time For Fertility To Match Needs Of A $4.2 Billion Dollar Industry
Since the Clean Air & Water Act 1972, nutrient management is simply a term people talk about. Some cities and states in the U.S. have actually adopted nutrient management programs. Are bans, more laws and fines for violations really what our industry needs? Do you want a future where regulators dictate nutrient restrictions upon your company without regard to how you will get results? We must take action, we must be practical and we must be proactive. Nutrients PLUS is for sustainable practices for turfgrass management in the 21st century. Also noteworthy is though this article relates to nutrient management, the energy savings in our model is important too. The equivalent of 0.01 gallons of fuel per ton of Nutrients PLUS natural products and 0.075 gallons for organic-based products is saved(1). When applied over the next ten years and several million tons of fertilizer, this plan offers yet another compelling outcome.
What We Must Do
If the professional lawn & landscape industry accepts and performs fertility by accounting for organic matter, its approximate current fertilizer usage of 1 million tons annually can be improved upon dramatically. This volume yields 450,000 tons of actual nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium when assuming an average analysis of 25-5-15 (250,000 tons N, 50,000 tons P, 150,000 tons K). When 450,000 tons is reduced 1/3 to 1/2annually using NPK PL 15's Matter Meter, this equates to the elimination, as an average, 187,000 tons of actual nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium or 415, 555 tons in their salt compound forms. If this industry were to set a goal to convert 50% of its companies to budget for organic matter in 10 years, we'll eliminate over 2 million tons of these fertilizer salts. In our model, actual applied material remains the same so 2 million tons applied as organic material is 50% actual organic matter or 1 million dry tons, 5 million wet tons (1:5 dry to wet ratio) in the form of raw manure and waster-water treatment solids - both potential pollutants but now converted to valuable premium fertilizers laden with valuable slow release nutrients.
How About Your Company?
For every $50,000 dollars budgeted for fertilizer by medium to large sized lawn care companies an application of approximately 42 tons of nitrogen, 8.5 tons of phosphorous and 25 tons of potassium results annually. In a year, a company such as this can apply a combined total of 25 tons less nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium - the equivalent of over a tractor-trailer load. In 10 years, soils are spared 250 tons of these nutrients added to soils maintained by the company or 10 tractor-trailers. Again, the impact is compounded by the fact there are 90,000 companies. Also remember, materials applied not only displace or greatly reduce inferior highly water soluble, high-salt index sources such as urea and phosphates but another potential source of nutrient pollutants is vacuumed away, at the 1:5 ratio , when manures and wastewater treatment solids laden with valuable nutrients are converted to usable forms & recycled back in this cleanup program.
Nutrients PLUS Leadership
Nutrients PLUS was customized to take on this great challenge. There has been a great interest in organic programs, but many obstacles have hindered the best of efforts. Nutrients PLUS addressed each objection cited in survey after survey. Driven by a belief there was a better way, solutions were found one by one until we arrived at our total plan. Now Nutrients PLUS customers are buying direct, benefiting from great pricing and getting quick results. Above all, our customers know when they apply Nutrients PLUS, it is an investment in their futures.
Recycling Before Our Plan - Just Talk!
Environmentalists lobby regulators, regulators pressure waste generators, waste generators try to learn how to sell fertilizers, fertilizer manufacturers continue to make synthetic fertilizers, applicators debate the need for organic programs, and the public prefers them but won't pay extra. They all can't decide what is organic, what is natural or whether it's organic-based or natural-based. It makes no sense - no wonder organic wastes containing valuable plant nutrients continue to go un-recycled perpetuating harmful fertility practices.
Past Practices Required Change
It has been done before. One of the industry's foremost experts on nitrogen fertility and its affect on turfgrass management is retired professor Dr. Richard Schmidt of Virginia Tech. Dr. Schmidt once suggested when managing cool season grasses, an emphasis on fall fertility over spring applications would result in a healthier root system and overall better turf vigor. That concept is now common industry knowledge. At the time however, the practice of heavy spring fertility was the norm and fall applications were hardly considered. His theories were revolutionary. Today, turfgrass managers cannot answer how many pounds organic matter are to be applied annually and in what proportion relative to time of year. This is no different to practitioners of Dr. Schmidt's day when the question was related to pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet. As much as Dr. Schmidt changed our way of thinking, timing of nitrogen inputs and the resulting influence it had on our industry pales in the comparison outcome that will occur if we all act now to include organic matter into fertility regimes.
Goals Of Nutrient Management & The Lawn Care Industry
The goals of nutrient management include promotion of best management practices in the agricultural and urban use of fertilizers. By budgeting for organic matter, the professional lawn care industry also gains powerful allies with those who are grappling with the manure and wastewater treatment side of this important issue. A resisting industry to these matters is self-destructive, jeopardizing its entire trade as we know it , while a progressive industry seeks to embrace the challenges of society, assist governmental agencies, environmental groups and an informed public. Tackling both sides of the nutrient problem, applying organic matter containing fertilizers, addresses our nation's waste issues that the singular approach of synthetic slow-release fertilizers does not. Budgeting for organic matter may not be commonplace today, but the practice should be the number 1 goal of the professional lawn care industry for sound nutrient management and a sustainable future. What other turf management practice has as much impact on the following areas:

1. Clean Air and Water Act 1972

2. National Nutrient Management Recommendations

3. State Nutrient Management Programs

4. Preventative Measures For Bans On Pesticide & Fertilizers

5. EPA Compliance

6. Water Restrictions & Water Management

7. Major Turfgrass Disease Suppression

8. Fungicide Usage Reduction

9. Herbicide Usage Reduction

10. Insecticide Usage Reduction

NPK PL15 Programs . . .
The Future of Nutrient Management

5 Reasons:

1. Reduces nutrient inputs as a proactive choice of science (NPK PL 15) not a governmental law.

2. Displaces overuse of synthetic fertilizers.

3. Organic nutrients applied are slower to release, and less likely to contaminate waterways and groundwater.

4. Recycling organic nutrients creates a vacuum sucking up the other concern regulators have - waste from farm animals and water treatment facilities.

5. No other program is this comprehensive, and can offer these results NOW!

Nutrients PLUS . . .
Nutrient Management in Action!

The Professional Lawn Care Industry needs to act. Lobbyists attend to the good work of representing your views for Bills presented to Congress, but also realize that you now have a powerful tool to implement nutrient management on your own. "Budgeting for organic matter" research initiatives are underway on major crops in all areas of agriculture. Nutrients PLUS programs are practical applications of these studies. The reason for you to act now is far ranging with implications on the environment, politics, agriculture, your business and livelihood.

 Nutrients PLUS Team Makes Organic Matter
JOIN THE TEAM TODAY

Assumptions: $50,000 budget using $300 as the average cost/ton translates to 166.5 tons of fertilizer. The analysis used of 25-5-15 is a 5-1-3 ratio of N-P-K. This is an obvious generalization. In your approach we ask each customer to identify existing fertilizer inputs. Do not change the ratios of programmed inputs but simple reduce volume percentage each by 1/3. In subsequent years reduce total annual inputs 1/2.

¹Energy and alternatives for fertilizer and pesticide use. Fluck, R.C. (ed.) Energy in Farm Production, vol. 6 in Energy in World Agriculture. Elsevier, New York Pp. 177-201. 1992.