worked with him since the dog would be at the schoolduring the day. I drop him off in the morning and hecomes home with me each night. Now I am not sayingthings went according to plan at the beginning. Therewere some problems but over time they workedthemselves out. Andy recognizes the commands and hasbonded not only with me but also with my father-in-law andmy wife and kids as well. The people at the school lovehim and treat him great, He's turned out to be a greatemployee who loves this job and takes pride in this work.Sure geese still fly over the fields daily and sometimesthey still try to land on them, but only for a brief secondbecause Andy had already seen them and is in hot pursuit

Now, I know that there are some out there whothink it might be more trouble than it is worth taking care ofa border collie. After afl it is a great responsibility not tomention time and commitment. Some may feel thathaving a company that provides a service may be a betteroption and I don't argue those concerns. In my case Ithought it was the best solution to a problem that many ofus face with our fields. As with anything, you shouldn'tjump in headfirst. You should take the time and do yourhomework before figuring on the best course of action. A

George Van Haasteren, CGM is an owner of Sports FieldM an agement Systems, /nc.

CropProduction

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Crop Production Services, Inc. 766 Rt. 524127 Perryville Road Allentoyrn, NJ 08501Piftstov"n. NJ 08867 {609i 259-7204

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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

QUESTION: I am currently working on a project torepair infields of various baseball fields. I waswondering if you could tell me where I could find a Specfor infield dirt. What we are trying to do is take soilsamples from the various fields and have a mechanicalanalysis done and then compare the results to a Spec,however we are unable to find a Spec for baseballinfields. Any information you could provide would bevery helpful. Thank you very much.

Michael Green, Neglia Engineering

ANSWERI Michael, lt is refreshing to see that youare looking to the Sports Field Managers Association ofNew Jersey for direction and assistance. Hopefullyother engineers will follow your lead. In reference toyour inquiry, The American Society for Testing andMaterials (ASTM) has recently completed publicationF21O7 "Standard Guide for Construction andmaintenance of Skinned Areas on Sports Fields". Thestandards provide a very broad specification and it istherefore necessary for you to have an understanding ofa few contributing factors and how they affect theselection of an infield mix for vour client. Some of thesefactors are:

1. Budget2. Level and intensity of play3, Level and intensity of maintenance

I have attached an article printed in our Marchnewsfetter that refers to publication F2107. You canacquire this publication by contacting ASTM directly at100 Barr Harbor Drive. PO Box C700, WestConshohocken, PA 19428-2959, 610-832-9585(phone)610-832-9555 (fax) or service@astm.org (e-mail); orthrough the website www.astm.oro

In addition, I am very pleased to inform you thatRutgers, Snyder Research and Extension Farm in

Continued on next paqe......

2frf.SPRINGIRRIGATION CO., INC.

Frx: 732-821-0130E-Mail: spring@ifu.net

P.O. Box 523, Dayton, NJ 08810-0523

Lrm I Ccnlnn PrduetrJ tittr{.,i,t.rxlrrgaa &if IA.

Mark HardekTenitory Sales Manager

Lofb Seed, Inc.9327 US Route 1Suite JLaurel, MD 20723

Office: 80&732-3332Far 61S5247047" ,_ i i i , r - l in. . i r r , l l

mhardek@comcast.net

Sports Field Managers Association of New Jersey 13 May/June 2003 Ph/Fax 908-730-7770

Pittstown NJ, in cooperation with SFMANJ is developinginfield mix demonstration plots, which will be utilized to aidpeople like yourself in making better decisions in theselection and maintenance of a quality infield mix. Theseplots will be ready at our October (date TBA) fletd day atthe Rutgers Snyder Farm in Piftstown, NJ which will beopen to the public.

Jim Hermann, CSFMSFMANJ, VP* Jim Hermann is a Certified Sporfs Field Manager andVice President of SFMANJ. He has over 24 yearsexperience maintaining athletic fields along with runninghis own maintenance business, Total Controllnc.

QUESTION: What should I tell my customers when theyask me about the dangers that lawn pesticides pose totheir cats and dogs?

ANSWER: You can assure them that their pets will notbe harmed with pesticide applications you make. Allpesticides are carefully tested before qualifying forregistration by the EPA and before they can be sold. Partof this testing includes determining possible effects onnon-target organisms such as pets. Pesticides that posean unacceptable risk to non-target organisms cannot beregistered. Of course, you should have your customersfollow the same re-entry proeedures for cats and dogs asis recommended for humans. Wait until the treated areadries (in the case of liquid application) and, for granularmaterials, comply with label directions for re-entering thetreated area.

Qt,ESTION: I had a close friend tell rne that buying will-fit hydraulic filters for my mid-sized riding mowers may€use damage to them. ls that true?

ANSWER: Your friend is correct. These can damageyour mower and will not provide the performance intendedby the manufacturer. The purpose of a hydraulic fllter is tomodify the mower's fluid. The two contributors thatdestroy hydraulic fluid are heat and contamination. Thecontamination will break down the ability of the oil tolubricate the components. This, in turn, wears down thecomponents and makes them less efficient. Filters alsomust offer the correct particle sizing to handle the flowcapacity of the mower's system and the pressure rating.The flow capacity of the filter is the amount of oil thatpasses through the media without the bypass valveopening. The filter should be correctly matched to theamount of oil that the system Eenerates. The filter mustalso be able to withstand a given pressure. lf youcompare filters they may have the same outsidedimensions but be totally different on the inside.

*Grounds Maintenance, February 2003MarkWelterlenMW ELT E R LE N @P R I M EDIABUSINESS. COM

Sports Field Managers Association of New Jersey

Also send your questions to Dr. Murphy,Dr. Koppenhofer and Dr. Hart.

E-mail us at hq@sfmanj.org

trMurphy's La#'Dr. James Murphy is an Associate Extension Specialistin Turfgrass Management for Rutgers, department ofPlant science. Ask Dr. Murphy questions concerningagronomics.

"Ask The Grub OraclettDr. Albrecht Koppenh6fer is an Assistant ExtensionSpecialist in Turfgrass Entomology, CookCollege/Rutgers University. Ask Dr. KoppenhOferquestions conceming your insect problems.

crTake it to HartttDr. Stephen Hart is an Assistant Extension Specialist inthe Plant Science Dept. at Cook College/RutgersUniversity. Ask Dr. Stephen Hart questions concerningweeds.

'olrrigation Backflow Basics"Backflow €n occur in two ways - back pressure and

back siphoning. Below are som fundamental causes foreach:

Back siphoning:. Undersized piping. Line repair or brake lower than the service

pointo Lowered main pressure due to high water

withdrawal rates.. Reduced supply-main pressure on the

suction side of a booster.Back pressure:

c Potable water connections to pressuresystems aren't equipped with backflowprevention devices

. Interconnection with another systemoperated at a higher pressure, like afertigation systern

" Booster pump designed without a backflowprevention device. A

'Landscape & lrrigation , March 2003Luke Frank

Established 1925

Fertl $stlSpecializing in Topdressing and Construction Soils

For Golf Courses and Athletic Fields

548 Rosedale Road

Kennett Square, PA 19348 610-444-0496

14 May/June 2003 PhlFax 9Q8-730-7770