72 lawn care operators vow to manage fertilizer

Richmond, Va.-The Virginia Dept. of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has signed up its 72^nd lawn care and landscaping operator to a voluntary agreement to protect and improve the state’s ground and surface water by using proper fertilizing practices and recommending to homeowners approved lawn fertilizer use practices. Accomack County-based Advantage Lawn Care and Landscaping recently became the first on the Eastern Shore of Virginia to sign the voluntary water quality agreement with the DCR to implement nutrient management. Since the program’s inception, DCR also has received voluntary agreements from nearly a dozen state, local, and federal governments, school districts, home owners associations, and universities. According to agency officials, the program with Virginia lawn-care companies includes a review of the company’s fertilizer application plan to make sure that it meets Virginia’s standards to protect water quality by assuring that fertilizer applications are timely and in the proper amount, and that fertilizer spilled on sidewalks and driveways is cleaned up. By adopting approved management practices, they point out, lawn-care companies can make sure that fertilized turf efficiently uses the nutrients applied and the loss to the environment is minimized.