Mike Goatley

Rachel Duval, Va Conservation Assistance Program Coordinator for the Va Assoc. of Soil & Water Conservation Districts kicks off this year's @VCEMG Healthy Virginia Lawns Volunteer Training discussing the role of Turfgrass Mgt as a Conservation Effort. @VACoopExt @vtspes @VTCals

🌱We’d love to see where turfgrass grad students are located across the community 👇 Drop your university and research focus in the comments We’ll start: 📍Penn State: sports field performance and athlete-surface interactions @AvaVeith @ASA_CSSA_SSSA

Virginia's turfgrass industry lost a long-time spousal stalwart w/ Ginger Brooking's passing: virginiacremate.com/obituaries/ric… Ginger & Louis were quite the couple representing Brookmeade Sod Farm. @VTTurfgrass appreciates all their support & friendship over the years. May she RIP.

The first 2026 ABW reports. From @lejodelpozo on March 13: This has been a really cold winter -living by the beach has spoiled us around here. You might expect these colder conditions to negatively impact insects throughout the landscape. Unfortunately, several pests are well adapted to survive these harsh conditions. Annual bluegrass weevil (ABW) adults were observed this past week (on March 9th) walking on greens in Central and Eastern Virginia. We first found adults in Virginia Beach last week, and now we found them in the Richmond area. Consistent early- season presence of ABW may result in higher densities in the early part of the year. Historically, higher early-season densities have usually led to earlier peaks of activity. As in previous years, ABW activity is expected to vary by geographic location. And although I have said this before, it is worth repeating: scouting will be essential to determining the peak activity of ABW in your area. In addition to your scouting efforts, Weeviltrak offers an excellent alert system to keep you informed about ABW activity both locally and regionally. Proper documentation of these activity peaks will improve the efficiency of controlling this devastating pest. Timing applications at the activity peak will aid to reduce ABW populations moving forward into the season. The 2026 field season has started! March 12 Update from @TomKuhar: No sign of ABW adults in Blacksburg right now. #vaturf

Final stop was @CCPSCCHS for the @VirginiaFFA Central Area Rally. Connected with HUNDREDS of young folks to highlight careers in @GCSAA, @FieldExperts, @TPITurfTalk, & #lawn care; and share opportunities in our @VTTurfgrass degree programs for these (hopefully) future #Hokies!

Check out our latest blog post, The state of artificial turf in 2026, by @envpsychmike to learn the latest on artificial turf research and regulation! turf.umn.edu/state-artifici… 📸 M.R. Barnes

Volunteer recruitment is open for the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Championship at The Federal Club (Oct 5-11,2026) We need 20+ volunteers to help prepare and execute tournament week. Ryan Holbrook- rholbrook2686@gmail.com Robert Starcher robert@federalclub.com

Celebrating 10 years of the Virginia Turfgrass Research Classic Golf Tournament & Field Day! Don’t miss it… register and view sponsor options: vaturfgrass.org Thank you to our committed 2026 sponsors and vendors as of today: @HarrellsLLC @LandscapeTurf @SiteOneSupply @SyngentaTurf @BASF @JRMTurfProducts and more to come

Time to visit my Virginia schools with #Turfgrass CTEs. First stop is Louisa Co. HS to reconnect with @VTTurfgrass alum Logan Horne and the Jungle Turf Crew. Logan’s one of the best at leading & teaching young folks - the #JTC manages nearly all the @LCPSchools athletic fields 💪

Another timely question from our @VACoopExt CTPs from our March 2026 monthly meeting: "Are you seeing damage from ice melt this year and if so, what can be done about it"? The answer is yes based on what is seen around campus. As to what to do, the fixes won't be easy. Unless you're growing a creeping grass like KY BG or Bermuda these areas are either going to have to be re-established (seed or sod strips) or they will be soon be occupied by summer annuals (at least those weeds will provide some soil coverage). A quick soil assay indicated total soluble salt levels remain slightly higher than normal in the areas sampled around campus, but it's anticipated that rainfall amounts in our area will effectively dilute/flush the salts away over the next few weeks. These areas are certainly going to be more problematic than normal given how much ice melt had to be used in the winter of 2025-26. #vaturf

Great questions from our @VACoopExt Certified Turfgrass Professionals in the final Continuing Ed Program of 2025-26 on 3/10. "Forsythia is either at or past full bloom in most areas of VA; average soil temps well above 55 F for 5 days. Is it too late to apply a PRE?" Consensus of audience and @VTTurfgrass team was that with forecast for cold weather in Va the week of 3/16, there will be quite a bit of sacrificial crabgrass this year that will be removed by temps in the 20s (but keep in mind there's still plenty more crabgrass from where that came from). So there is still time to get the PREs out for most situations. #vaturf

The @VTTurfgrass team is looking for its newest team member to serve in the role as the @vtspes Turfgrass Research Center Manager. The job description and particulars on completing a job application can be found here: jobs.apply.vt.edu/jobs/turfgrass… #vaturf

320 plugs of Poa later, the ALBA appears to be highly accurate at 1.7 and 3.9 mph.

We are doing some high-tech spraying this morning at Virginia Tech.

Thank you to the 1,000+ attendees who joined our two-day Pesticide Recertification Webinar with the Virginia Turfgrass Council and Virginia Tech Turfgrass Science. Special thanks to everyone who presented and organized. Education remains our industry’s biggest differentiator.

The @VTTurfgrass team appreciates @VirginiaSFMA President @WillColeRSTurf, CTP, for giving us a little International exposure in the Dominican Republic. Check out Will & his SFM colleagues' efforts on the field @ Juan Marichal Stadium on 3/4 at 2 pm for Tigers vs DR exhibition

Go show this account some love! Stay tuned for great content 🌱🤩

🌱 Introducing the C5 Graduate Student Committee! We are committed to supporting student growth through professional development, leadership, and community. Follow for updates, opportunities, and helpful tips! @ASA_CSSA_SSSA

.@VTTurfgrass PhD Candidate @ecakitchin discusses "AI, Turfgrass, and You" at the 2026 Virginia Turfgrass Roadshow in Fredericksburg. @TheVTF @VaTurfCouncil @VACoopExt #vaturf

Many thanks to UMDs @gjrinehart for coming down to speak at the VA Turfgrass Roadshow in Fredericksburg today. Geoff detailed NTEP testing and how to use the data. @TheVTF @VaTurfCouncil @VACoopExt #vaturf