GIE+EXPO RECAP
A recap and look into the trends we saw at this year’s show in Louisville
Every October, our team at LebanonTurf looks forward to heading to Louisville for the GIE+EXPO. If you’ve never heard of or attended the Green Industry and Equipment Expo, this is the place for landscapers to talk everything from equipment and technique to products and technology. When attending a trade show of this magnitude, we always go with the goal in mind of focusing on saving time.
Saving time is still key
Every year, we see a more significant presence of equipment manufacturers at the show. This observation makes sense because technology is continuously evolving to help landscapers do their jobs not only better but faster and with fewer hands on deck. The issue of the ongoing labor shortage was still present in most booths this year—including ours.
“What I see in the industry is people looking for new ways to work smarter. The time-saving element is big as labor continues to be an issue,” said Jeremy Bigler, landscape channel manager at LebanonTurf. “There’s not enough labor to do all the projects companies want to do—they are always looking for more ways to finish jobs in less time.”
Most people who came up to chat with our reps were landscapers looking for products that will save them time and money. That’s where our combination fertilizers come into play—specifically the ProScape® family. These types of fertilizers can be crucial to your business and offer an added solution to the issue of labor shortage by performing multiple jobs in one. Below we’ll outline the different combinations and why they are beneficial to your customers’ turf.
Pre and Post Emergent + Fertilizer
Applying both pre and post-emergent fertilizer is vital to your customers’ turf. Pre-emergents attacks the grassy weeds before they begin to germinate and interrupt the growth process and become visible. Post-emergents attack the broadleaf weeds after they have already surfaced. Our ProScape pre and post-emergent plus fertilizer cover both of these in one application. Which keeps your customer’s lawn weed-free, them happy and your business booming.
Herbicide and Insecticides + Fertilizer
The main job of a herbicide is to control weeds, while insecticides target insects and white grubs. ProScape Acelepryn and Dimension + Fertilizer takes care of many unwanted plants and insects all in one application. Acelepryn targets grubs, caterpillars and weevils with a wide application window, and Dimension, a specialty herbicide, kills and prevents pesky crabgrass.
Pre-Emergent and Starter Fertilizer
If your customers are establishing new turf, renovating, or overseeding, ProScape® Starter Fertilizer 21-22-4 with Mesotrione is ideal. It can be used for pre-emergence control of over 30 listed broadleaf and grassy weeds while still allowing new seedling growth. With overseeding being a common fall practice, this product will be great to have on hand to ensure your customers’ turf comes back green and growing in the spring.
“GIE is always a great opportunity for us to hand out information, talk to people and help them with their problems,” said Bigler. “A lot of the people who visited our booth were fairly new landscapers who are already doing maintenance but wanted to add herbicide and pest control to their line and we’re able to give them some information to leave with.”
If you weren’t able to attend GIE this year, you could catch our reps at the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS) this coming January in Baltimore. You can also learn more about our full line of products by visiting LebanonTurf.com or contact our customer service department at 1-800-233-0628 to connect to a distributor near you.