Nearly 40 assistant superintendents attended a Future Superintendents Academy (FSA) co-sponsored by Bayer Environmental Science and Toro distributor Smith Turf and Irrigation Co. (STI) held last month at Bayer’s research facility in Clayton, N.C.

The two-day academy featured sessions on aerification, chemical formulations, leasing vs. purchasing equipment, new product innovations in irrigation and sprayer maintenance and operation. Other highlights included an “Ask the Expert” panel comprised of North Carolina State University’s pest specialists Dr. Lane Tredway, assistant professor of plant pathology, and Dr. Rick Brandenburg, professor of turfgrass entomology, as well as Bayer’s Laurence Mudge. Attendees from across North Carolina also toured the Bayer research facility and were treated to an afternoon of golf, fishing and sport shooting.

As an added bonus for attending Bayer and STI/Toro’s first-ever academy of this kind, the two companies announced plans to sponsor each attendee in a one-year membership to the Carolinas Golf Association. The announcement followed a presentation by Trent Bouts, communications director for the association, which emphasized participation by assistant superintendents in their local GCSAA chapter.

The successful first-attempt of FSA had both Bayer and Toro representatives projecting that similar programs are a future possibility in regions across the country.