Last year was a great year for LSMP and this year we will be adding two additional issues, bringing you 10 magazines in 2006 filled with tips and topics of concern for the in-house landscape superintendents across the nation.

In 2005 we conducted the first ever LSMP readership survey, which was completed by about 100 readers. That might not seem like a lot, especially when you consider that LSMP reaches more than 35,000 Landscape Superintendents across the country. However, considering that only eight issues had been distributed before the survey, and that you had to go to LandscapeOnline.com to complete the survey, it was a great success for us.

And speaking about great . . . Surveys are a great way for us to figure out what you need to see in the magazine that might assist your efforts.

For instance, we found that 37% of you were working at universities or school systems, 26% were at a city, county or state park system, and cemeteries and municipalities both came in at 13% . . .

So . . . This year you will see an issue dedicated to university maintenance, an issue dedicated to park maintenance, an issue on cemeteries, and an issue on municipal work. While some of these issues may not specifically address your workload, IÕm pretty sure you will find bits and pieces in each that you can plug into your day-to-day operations . . .

More than 95% say you do landscape maintenance (duh . . ), while 87% do arbor care, 85% do turf care , 78% do chemical applications, 72% do pest control, 67% do irrigation installation work, 66% work erosion control and more than 50% are working their sports grounds with an on-site staff.

So . . . LSMP will be running a regular column on Tree Care, and one on Turf Care, both with an emphasis on fighting disease, killinÕ bugs and working with other chemicals of interest . . . There will also be a monthly column on irrigation issues. Oh yeah, weÕve also dedicated one whole issue to sports turf and athletic fields, and another issue on T&O (Hey Mom . . . That means Turf and Ornamental chemicals) . . .

73% of you work at facilities with more than 50 acres, 29% work on more than 250 acres. 39% have 2-5 lawn mowers, 28% have 5-10 lawn mowers and 24% have more than 10 mowers in the stable . . .

So, watch for the October ÒMowerÓ issue, and for equipment reviews on both Walk Behinds and Zero-Turns . . .

Anyways . . . I think you get the picture and hopefully you like what you see!
Remember, though, that we are only here to serve you. So, please feel free, in fact we beg you let us know what we havenÕt covered and we will do our landscape best to get it in the magazine.

To review the full LSMP editorial schedule go to LandscapeOnline.com and follow the ÔResearchÕ links to view and/or download the 2006 LSMP Editorial Calendar.

Keep in mind that we are always looking for articles. So, whether you are a superintendent who has won an award for your work or are just plain proud of the work of your crew and facility, we want to hear from you. If you are a vendor with a cool new product or service that will make the job easier for Landscape Superintendents, we want to hear from you too . . .

You know what they say . . . Opinions are like noses . . everybody has one. So please let us know yourÕs by:

A) writing to LSMP at 14771 Plaza Drive, Suite ÔMÕ, Tustin, CA 92780 or:

B) giving us a call at 714-979-5276

2006 is going to be a great year and we look forward to seeing you at any one of the dozen trades shows weÕll be exhibiting at or, if not there, somewhere out there on the job . . .