Agricultural Careers Lawn Care Specialist

1. Agricultural Careers Lawn Care Specialist By: Dr. Frank Flanders and Anna Burgess Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office Georgia Department of Education June 2005 START

2. What does a Lawn Care Specialist do? • Discuss problems with clients • Assess the health of lawn to determine needed applications • Apply pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides using spraying equipment • Give client lawn care tips on watering and weed and insect control • Use environmentally-friendly procedures to prevent disease and pest infestation • Routinely check the condition of clients’ lawns to ensure the treatments are working effectively • Report to supervisor to document procedures

3. Qualities and Skills Lawn care specialists should enjoy nature and working outdoors. They should be self-motivated and independent in addition to having a good work ethic. Lawn care specialists should be able to give and receive orders. They should enjoy working independently and as a team. Physical Requirements • Ability to work outdoors in varying weather conditions • Ability to stand or walk for long periods of time • Requires ability to bend, kneel, crouch, or stoop repeatedly • No allergic reactions to weeds and pollen • Ability to repeatedly lift heavy equipment

4. Salary The salary for a lawn care specialist would typically be in the range of $10 to $12 an hour or $20,800 to $26,000 per year for a starting position with little previous experience. With experience, an individual could earn around $40,000 per year.

5. Work Environment • Work may be seasonal • Work is usually done with a team • Majority of time is spent outdoors • Environment may be noisy due to loud equipment • Potentially hazardous due to use of chemicals and equipment • Required to travel to various commercial and residential locations • Lawn care companies, government, self-employed, golf courses, and landscape architecture firms

6. Becoming a Lawn Care Specialist College courses in landscaping, environmental studies, horticulture, and forestry are beneficial for this type of career. A four-year degree in an area such as landscaping, turf grass management, or horticulture would probably be the most useful. Business classes would also be helpful if you are interested in establishing your own lawn care business. Those working within a lawn care agency can move up to supervisory or managerial positions. There is also the possibility of establishing your own company, working in a nursery, or becoming a landscape architect or technician with more education. The opportunity to write books and articles on lawn care is also available.

7. Career Resources Professional Lawn Care Association of America 1000 Johnson Ferry Rd. NE, Suite C135 Marietta, GA, 30068-2112 Internet: http://www.plcaa.org American Nursery and LandscapeAssociation 1250 I Street, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005 Internet: http://www.anla.org GreenNet Internet: http://greenindustry.com Lawn Care Tips Internet: http://www.lawn-care-tips.com/lawncaretips.html Agricultural Careers Internet: http://www.agcareers.com Agriculture Online Internet: http://www.agriculture.com