Arkansas Turfgrass Association

Conference 2025

Registration is open for our 2025 conference!

Join us on January 16-17, 2025

Hot Springs Convention Center
134 Convention Blvd., Hot Springs, AR

The ATA is a Non-Profit Organization working to bring
opportunity and resources to the turfgrass industry

Join the Arkansas Turfgrass Association Today

Become one of hundreds of turfgrass producers
and organizations in Arkansas that have joined ATA.

2025 Conference Schedule

Thursday - January 16, 2025
7:30-8:30am
Trade Show/Breakfast
8:30-9:00 am
Welcome to 2025 ATA
Josh Landreth

Speaker

Welcome

Topic

9:00-9:30 am
Session 1
Jason Davis

Speaker

Pesticide Calibration

Topic

Techniques for Properly Calibrating Turf Sprayers
9:30-10:00 am
Session 2
Aaron Patton

Speaker

Integrated Pest Management

Topic

Developing a Turfgrass IPM Plan
10:00-11:00 am
Break / Visit Trade Show
11:00-11:30 am
Session 3
Seth Dunlap

Speaker

Update on Pesticide Regulations

Topic

Update from AR Dept. Ag on Pesticide Regulations
11:30-12:30 pm
Mini Workshop and Session 4
Hannah Wright Smith

Speaker

Herbicide Stewardship and Turf Weed ID

Topic

Identifying Common Turfgrass Weeds in Arkansas
12:30-2:00 pm
"Lunch & Learn + Visit Trade Show "
2:00-2:30 pm
Session 5
Marta Pudzianowska

Speaker

Environmental Concerns

Topic

Breeding Turfgrasses for Sustainability
2:30-3:00 pm
Mini Workshop
Mike Battaglia

Speaker

Turf Disease ID

Topic

Identifying Common Turfgrass Diseases in Arkansas
3:00-4:00 pm
Visit Trade Show
Friday - January 17, 2025 - Golf Session
9:00-9:45 am
Golf Session 1
Marco Schiavon

Speaker

Responsible irrigation on golf courses

Topic

Every drop counts (strategies to achieve high quality turf with the smallest amount of water
10:00-10:45 am
Golf Session 2
Aaron Patton

Speaker

Weed control on golf courses

Topic

New Herbicide Solutions for Golf Turf
11:00-11:45 am
Golf Session 3
Daniel O'Brien

Speaker

Updates from the USGA and new wetting agent research

Topic

Friday - January 17, 2025 - Lawn & Landscape Session
9:00-9:45 am
Lawn & Landscape Session 1
Aaron Patton

Speaker

Building an herbicide program for home lawns

Topic

Building effective Weed Control programs for Diverse Lawn Species
10:00-10:45 am
Lawn & Landscape Session 2
Anthony Bowden

Speaker

Pest management in ornamentals

Topic

11:00-11:45 am
Lawn & Landscape Session 3
Marco Schiavon

Speaker

Proper lawn fertility practices and interpreting a soil test

Topic

Soil testing friend or foe? Proper nutrition strategies for your lawn made as simple as possible.
Friday - January 17, 2025 - Parks & Sports Turf Session
9:00-9:45 am
Sports Turf Session 1
Marta Pudzianowska

Speaker

Bermudagrass cultivars for sports field usage

Topic

10:00-10:45 am
Sports Turf Session 2
Douglas Bradley

Speaker

Cultural and chemical management strategies for sports fields

Topic

Preventative vs. ProActive. How to manage your budget dollars.
11:00-11:45 am
Sports Turf Session 3
Mike Richardson / Will Green

Speaker

Alternative overseeding options in bermudagrass sports fields

Topic

2024 Conference Award Winners

Congratulations to each of our Award winners from the 2024 ATA Conference. We had 3 winners in different categories.
Featured

Speakers from our 2024 Conference

Latest Event

Our Gallery

Who to see at this year’s event

2025 Conference Sponsors

Our sponsors bring the best of the industry to this event

Title Sponsor

Education

Lunch & Learn

Snack/Break

Baggo Tournament

General Event Sponsor

2024 Baggo Tournament

Contact Us

Get in Touch

We’re here to answer your questions by phone or email

Call Courtney

General Inquiries
Phone.479-301-5534

Email Us

General Inquiries
ATATURFGRASS@GMAIL.COM

Mailing Address

Headquarters
P.O. Box 1862 Lowell, AR. 72745

Brigit Rollins  

brollins@uark.edu

Bugging Out: A Look at EPA’s New Approach to Pesticide Registration and the Endangered Species Act

Brigit Rollins grew up on the West Coast, with time spent between California and Arizona. She attended Sonoma State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in environmental studies. In 2016, she started as a law student at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. While at Lewis & Clark, she worked as a student clerk for the Western Resources Legal Center, where she worked on cases assisting small ranches, farms, and municipalities. During her time at Lewis & Clark, she also interned with the California Farm Bureau Federation, and worked as a law clerk for the Sacramento-based environmental law firm Somach Simmons & Dunn. Brigit graduated law school in 2019 and is licensed to practice law in Oregon.

Brigit began her work at the Center as a research fellow during her second year of law school. She joined the Center full-time as a staff attorney in 2019. At the Center, her primary area of research and scholarship is environmental law as it intersects with agriculture. She works on a variety of issues, including topics related to the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and pesticide law.

Michael Carlson

email: michael.carlson@greenkeeperapp.com
Twitter handle: remoteturf

Dr. Michael Carlson is the Research Manager for GreenKeeper App where he manages all of the contract and proprietary research. Dr. Carlson received his Bachelors and Masters from South Dakota State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Carlson’s research has focuses on precision turfgrass management, nutrient management, application of geographic information systems for golf courses, and soil wetting agents.

Kyley Dickson

Dr. Dickson is the Associate Director for the Center for Athletic Field Safety at the University of Tennessee. He is currently involved in many sports turf related studies. With that research focusing on improving athletic field performance and safety. Also, Dr. Dickson is the Executive Director of the A-LIST, the Alliance of Low Input Sustainable Turf.

Michelle is in her 7th year as North Arkansas College’s Agriculture instructor after a 14 year career working for the Cooperative Extension Services in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas. Michelle has worked with a Northark team to develop an innovative Turfgrass Management program which couples an Associate’s Degree with Department of Labor Apprenticeship opportunities for students. While she enjoys teaching all of the courses, her passion is for Pest Management and helping students learn to control weeds, insects and diseases in turf.

When taking an Agriculture course at North Arkansas College, Michelle Buchanan will tell you that if you learn one thing in her class that she wants you to know that where you are from does not define you, but instead you can use it to shape who you are and where you are going. She is using her background in Agriculture and Horticulture to help shape the future for Agriculture students at Northark. Michelle and her husband, Mark, live on a cattle farm in Searcy County. They have two children, Ashley age 13 and Jacob age 10.

 Eric DeBoer

twitter @GreauxGrass. Email is edeboer@agcenter.lsu.edu

Eric DeBoer is an assistant professor of turfgrass management in the School of Plant, Environmental, and

Soil Sciences at Louisiana State University. He graduated from the University of Arkansas with a master’s

and doctorate in horticulture in 2018 and 2023. Eric’s research interests include sustainable turfgrass

management and quantifying the ecological impacts of managed turf systems.

Brigit began her work at the Center as a research fellow during her second year of law school. She joined the Center full-time as a staff attorney in 2019. At the Center, her primary area of research and scholarship is environmental law as it intersects with agriculture. She works on a variety of issues, including topics related to the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and pesticide law.

Seth Dunlap

 Pest Control Program Manager

Regulatory Services Section

Plant Industries Division

Arkansas Department of Agriculture

Started with the Arkansas Department of Agriculture in April of 2009. Has worked in the Pest Control Program at the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and has held the following positions:

  • Pest Control Inspector
  • Pest Control Inspector Supervisor
  • Pest Control Program Manager (Current Position)

Seth manages the Pest Control Program of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. The Pest Control Program administers Arkansas Pest Control Law and Regulations as they are set forth in the Circular 6. This entails licensing commercial and non-commercial operators, businesses and operators in classifications ranging from residential general pest control to treating stored food products for pests. The program’s biggest consumer protection service is the inspection of homes at the request of property owners. This is a free inspection to the property owner and can range from termite damage dispute, allegations of misapplication, or just general questions about a pest problem the property owner’s pest control company has not been able to control.

 

Jason Davis

Cell: (501)749-2077

Email: jdavis@uada.edu

Dr. Jason Davis is an Assistant Professor of Remote Sensing and Pesticide Application with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. He has provided state-wide educational and technical assistance to county extension agents, producers, and applicators on application equipment selection, calibration, and drift mitigation in row-crop, pasture, turf, and specialty crop production systems with the Division for nearly 10 years. Additionally, he assists with the adoption, use, and development of Remote Sensing and GNSS technology, GIS applications, and precision agriculture equipment across these production systems.

Dr. Mike Richardson

mricha@uark.edu
479-841-6169 (cell)
Twitter handle: @ArkansasTurf

Dr. Mike Richardson is a Horticulture professor at the University of Arkansas, where his research focuses on management of warm- and cool-season turfgrass systems. Much of this work has been focused on golf course systems, but he has also worked in sports turf, lawns, and sod production. Over the past decade, his work has also included research on enhancing biodiversity in turfgrass systems and restoring native grassland habitat in the prairie regions of Arkansas.

Marshall AR High School graduate

University of Arkansas Fayetteville grad Landscape Horticulture w/ minor in Agriculture Business

Ewing Outdoor Supply 21 years focusing on most all aspects of our industry; specializing in turf (real and fake, pesticides & fert), lighting (low voltage, patio/bistro, Christmas), drainage, erosion, water features, sports fields, landscape supplies, ice melt, irrigation, outdoor living (grills, hardscapes, lighting), etc. 

I enjoy working in my church, time with my family, and working in the green industry helping with business development & efficiencies.  My time with my family consists mainly of working in my church and long walks / floats on the Buffalo River.  

Ryan Neal

Ryan is from Rogers, Arkansas where he has worked as the Horticulture Agent for the Cooperative Extension Service in Benton County since 2017.  He spent several years working at Lost Springs Golf and Country Club some of which was on the groundskeeping crew.  Ryan graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2005 with a Degree in Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science and later with a Masters in Business Administration.  After graduation he managed crop production for Heifer International and now runs a family berry farm.

Hannah Wright-Smith

Hannah Wright-Smith is an Extension Weed Specialist for turf and specialty crops with the University of Arkansas. She attended Mississippi State University for her B.S., the University of Arkansas for her M.S., and the University of Georgia for her Ph.D. Hannah has been with the Extension for a year and strives to connect specialty crop growers and turf professionals with relevant and timely research so they can make the best weed management decisions. She resides in Little Rock with her husband, Tyler, and their dog, Doug. 

James Diaz

James is a District Sales Manager at NDS, Inc. In this role he is responsible for managing and growing sales in Oklahoma and Arkansas. James has over 25 years experience in leadership positions involving sales, project management and training responsibilities. In his prior roles he has gained extensive experience on issues involving stormwater management, onsite wastewater management, and alternative construction technologies. He is a graduate of The University of Central Oklahoma

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