The SFMA Conference Education Committee has put together an exciting and informative education program for the 2024 Conference in Daytona Beach, Florida. Each month, speakers will be featured to highlight a sample of what will be offered to attendees at the conference. This month’s featured speakers are Dr. Travis Shaddox presenting, “Soil Testing Interpretation and Application,” and Crystal Rose-Fricker presenting, “Sustainability in Turfgrass Management.”
Dr. Shaddox is a retired assistant professor from the Universities of Kentucky and Florida. His research focuses on
best management practices for turfgrass nutrition. His research was instrumental in the development and publishing of turfgrass BMP manuals for Florida and Kentucky. Prior to academia Dr. Shaddox worked in the fertilizer industry and managed sports field complexes in Weston and Miami Lakes, Florida.
Soil Testing Interpretation and Application
Soil testing is a common management practice used by sports field managers. However, understanding and applying soil test results continues to be a challenge. In this presentation, we will discuss the various soil testing methods, explain why one test does not fit-all, and explain which test is most appropriate for your course. We will walk through several soil tests and explain step-by-step which variables are useful and which are not. We will walk through an actual soil test interpretation report, and we will explain in detail how these results should or should not be applied to your nutrition program.
Learning Outcomes
* Attendees will better understand why, when, and how they should soil test.
* Attendees will better understand which soil tests they should use and which they should avoid.
* Attendees will better understand which soil test components they should use and which they should ignore.
Crystal Rose-Fricker is the president of Pure Seed, Pure-Seed Testing Inc. and Pure Valley Solutions. Her family has
3 generations in Oregon Ag. over the last 50 years. She has developed 322 turf and forage grass cultivars, 138 of which are on the European Union list. Over 1 billion lbs. of seed have been produced of PST cultivars to date. She has made her mark in research and breeding for over 35 years where she earned the NCCPB Genetics and Plant Breeding award for Industry and she has been recognized with the “6th most influential women in Golf” by Sports Illustrated magazine. Her leadership in the grass seed industry was honored by the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences Distinguished Alumni Leader Award. She is the NW Executive V.P. for ASTA and is actively involved in the European Seed Association, International Seed Federation, Oregon Seed Association and the TBA, a National Breeders Association for grasses.
Sustainability in Turfgrass Management
This presentation will discuss the pathway of seed to the sports field and how everyone is doing their part to be sustainable: breeders, farmers, distributors, & sports turf managers.
Learning Outcomes
* Educate through telling YOUR story: a personal story resonates with people and will get the point across better
* We need to engage, encourage, educate, and empower each other to show all our work as an industry on sustainability
* Sustainability is a moving target: we can’t become complacent and all need to continue pushing to become more sustainable every year