HOW TO: STORE EQUIPMENT FOR WINTER
As cold weather approaches, so does the need for winterizing your equipment. Following is a short supplies list and some tips for keeping your equipment in top shape....
The Equipment Equation
Bidding a maintenance job is an art for some and a science for others; a customized trade secret derived from years of historical data, experience and some costly lessons learned along the way....
In Training
When planning for your business' success, everything flows from one absolute necessity: great people. Without the best possible employees working in your organization and toward a common goal, your journey down the road to success can quickly become an obstacle course....
Paying Fair
A small employer trying to stay current with state and federal laws regarding wages can sometimes feel overwhelmed. However, taking a few steps to understand the laws and how they can apply ot a green industry business owner can make all the difference in the world in staying compliant with the meaning of the law....
NOAA ISSUES U.S. WINTER OUTLOOK
In the first of a two-part update to the U.S. Winter Outlook, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) meteorologists predict this winter to be warmer than the 30-year norm, yet cooler than last year....
BY ALL ESTIMATIONS
Today is payday! I still get excited on payday. You'd think the feeling would wear off after all of these years, but it hasn't....
ON SITE: Teaching Tools
Looking out at the rolling land that had been a part of his family for decades, David Pursell saw the opportunity for something special an 18-hole research and demonstration golf course that would change the way peole viewed an entire industry....
FINDING ANSWERS
POTTING PROBLEMS Q I am trying more flowerpots around my landscapes to add color in areas without flowerbeds. I have tried several different potting soils that I purchased from wholesale/retail garden centers....
WHITE-TAILED DEER DON'T LIKE BABY FORMULA
What are you going to do about the deer? You invest money and time to improve the landscape only to have it mown down at the deer's preferred browsing height: to the ground....
HOW TO: PREVENT EROSION DURING CONSTRUCTION
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that one billion tons of topsoil are lost to erosion every year. Not only does erosion take away precious topsoil, but also clogs waterways and damages adjacent properties....
CONGRESS URGED TO EXPAND NATURAL GAS SUPPLIES
As the nation continues to assist those impacted by Hurricane Katrina and begins to look at the long-term consequences of the devastating storm, the Agriculture Energy Alliance urges Congress to continue to implement policy changes needed to diversify both the types and geographic locations of the U.S. energy supplies....
SHORT CUTS
According to industry estimates, overall shipments of hand-held products (handheld blowers, backpack blowers, trimmers and chain saws) are forecast to post moderate growth during calendar year 2005, reaching 12.2 million units....
Got Customers?
Personal contact with clients reaches beyond the responsibility of just business owners and partners. For many service providers across the nation, it's a company mission, a way of differentiating yourself and a means of survival in a harsh competitive landscape....
THE IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON BUILDING MATERIALS AND PRICES
The full extent of the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the overall economy and on the housing market is still unclear, but the number of homes destroyed by this catastrophe is larger than the losses from any previous U.S. natural disaster....
READER POLL
Here are the reader poll results for the question posted throughout September on the Grounds Maintenance Web site, www.grounds-mag.com. Does your business...
Dollars by Design
So, your long-time maintenance client asks you to bid on the installation of a new landscape element on his property. You don't want to pass up the work, but you don't want to get in over your head....
FOCUS ON: Mini Excavators
Can you dig it? Don't let their size fool you. Mini excavators offer lots of power as well as versatility for lots of tasks. And their small size allows them to go where other machines can't....
Easy on the Environment
Environmental design is no longer an elite service reserved for the privileged few. More and more people around 50 million in the United States, according to California researchers Paul Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson--have strong environmental values....
PRODUCT PREVIEW: GOLF
ROTARY DECK MOWER John Deere introduces the 3245C rotary mower, which is equipped with a 48.5-hp, liquid-cooled John Deere Series 220 turbocharged diesel engine....
SHORT CUTS
EQUIPMENT THEFT RING BUSTED The Sheriff's Department of Ventura County announced that its Construction Burglary Task Force has effectively dismantled a criminal organization responsible for construction site burglaries, rental equipment thefts and landscape equipment thefts that have plagued Southern California and the Southwestern United States for the past three and a half years....
Going Corporate
Nearly three-fourths of the millions of small businesses in the United States are sole proprietorships, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce....
OPEI PREDICTS MORE EQUIPMENT-BUYING IN 2006
As the mowing season starts to wind down, you may be auditing your mowing equipment as well as other maintenance equipment that you use to perform your jobs to see what needs to be repaired and what needs to be replaced....
READER POLL
Here are the reader poll results for the question posted throughout August on the Grounds Maintenance Web site, www.grounds-mag.com. Are you or any of...
Lowering Healthcare Costs
If you're like most grounds maintenance professionals, you're fighting what sometimes looks like a losing battle against the onrushing tide of rising healthcare costs....
PRODUCT PREVIEW: CONTRACTOR
UNDERGROUND PIPING INSTALLATION The Hitch-N-Ditch is designed to attach to a 4-wheel-drive vehicle hitch allowing users to install underground piping for irrigation while simply driving their vehicle....
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