Missouri Turfgrass Industry
Brad Fresenburg
Research Associate
University of Missouri Turfgrass Research Center
(573) 442-4893 or FresenburgB@missouri.edu
Turfgrass Industry
- Turfgrass is ranked the 4th major crop in Missouri in terms of maintained and harvested acreage.
- Expenditures of $1.3 billion to establish, produce, and maintain turfgrass in Missouri.
- Home lawns cover 53% of the acreage and account for 66% of the expenditures.
- Pesticide Applicator Training from 1995 to 1999 trained approximately 1,900 to 2,200 annually with 30 to 33% of those being in Ornamental & Turf (Category 3).
Turfgrass Management Careers
- Golf Course Management
- 315 courses in Missouri in 1995
- Superintendent
- Asst. Superintendent
- Athletic Field Management
- 1,254 public facilities for baseball/softball in Missouri
- 577 public facilities for football/soccer in Missouri
- Head Groundskeeper
- Asst. Groundskeeper
- Construction of Golf Courses and Athletic Fields
- Soccer Fields/Sport Complexes
- Missouri ranked 7th in golf course construction in 1995
- Sod Production
- 4,000 acres producing 1.5 to 2.0 million square yards annually
- Lawn Care & Landscaping
- Grounds Maintenance
- Sales & Marketing
- Support industry of pesticides, fertilizers, seed, equipment, etc.
- Education & Research
- Requires post-graduate study
- Internships
- Recommended during junior &/or senior year
- Cleveland Browns
- Baltimore Ravens
- Kansas City Royals
- Oklahoma City Redhawks (AAA Club for the Texas Rangers)
- What can you do now in high school?
- Summer jobs at golf courses, athletic field complexes, sod farms, etc.
- Vo-Ag or Vo-Tech schools taking horticultural and agricultural classes
- Math and Sciences
- Communication Skills
- Women in Turfgrass Management
- Steady growth
- Heather Nabozny, Head Groundskeeper for the Detroit Tigers
- 25 women at the 2000 STMA Conference with head groundskeeper and management titles