Tucked inside one of the meeting rooms at The Classic Center in Athens, Ga., Lawncology 2025 brought agronomists, technicians, lawn care experts and other turf pros together for three days of networking, education and more.
Hosted by Greene County Fertilizer from Feb. 5-7, the event kicked off with a welcome dinner, followed by lawn care discussions covering everything from herbicides to marketing tips and even a tour of Greene County’s Greensboro headquarters.
“The goal this year was to introduce some new lines of service and to open up some new opportunities that some of these guys maybe haven’t had access to in the past,” John Perry, CEO and founder of Greene County Fertilizer, said. “That, I think, landed very, very well, and we’re going to see everybody who is here have a pretty good increase in revenue from their businesses.”
Now in its 11th year, Lawncology benefits turf professionals through education and problem-solving with expert presentations and industry partners, such as Nufarm and Numerator Technologies. However, Perry says the casual discussion format really shines, allowing attendees to openly bounce ideas and experiences off each other.
“We’ve always done it this way because it creates more of a peer atmosphere,” Perry said. “If there’s one person in there that’s got the problem, half the people in the room have had that problem. We’ve tried to guide it that way and let the expertise of the people in the room help build up other businesses.”
One attendee who enjoyed the open discussion model is Jason Thomas, owner of BugBros Pest Control and Don’s Lawn and Weed Control in Oklahoma. After an impromptu discussion on AI in business was quickly set up, Thomas stepped up to share his insights with the group.
“I love the open forum we’ve had,” Thomas said. “It feels more like a mastermind, like we all have the same common goal in mind, and we’re all helping each other get there, and it’s very different than a lot of similar types of conferences.”
Perry adds that Greene County tries to keep the conference fresh every year by rotating conversation topics and presentations to stay up to date with the latest industry trends so returning guests can learn something new each time.
One popular presentation this year was by Rob Treppendahl, executive coach of Treppendahl Executive Coaching and owner of Treppendahl Landscape in Baton Rouge, La. His topic focused on an in-depth look at marketing through Facebook ads, and he explained how to maximize ROI and gain more customers through effective advertising and tracking basic marketing metrics.
“The first thing I want to do is tell people that Facebook is a really powerful and effective tool for your business. A lot of people in our industry hate it, and they don’t know how to use it,” he says. “I wanted to teach them that they need to track those certain basic metrics, teach them that Facebook is a good tool and then I opened my books and showed them some of my best ads. I’ve never been that honest or that open with the public about what’s working on Facebook, but I figured it’d be good to give some value to people.”
Treppendahl began his presentation with his history of business endeavors that didn’t pan out as he’d hoped. But, he told attendees, with some help from peers, he was able to turn his luck around.
“(It’s a) great event; I’ve been a few times,” Treppendahl says. “The stuff that’s presented is good, but the relationships that you make are much more valuable.”
The final day involved a short Q&A at The Classic Center before attendees traveled to the Greene County Fertilizer headquarters for a tour. Perry said it was a nice opportunity to see behind the curtains and stands as a fitting way to top off the event.
“(The facility) just gets bigger, and there’s more stuff happening. There are more employees, and we’ve been adding to the building,” Perry said. “Everything is getting enhanced every time, and I think it’s a good look behind the door.”
Outside of Greene County Fertilizer, the event also provides a good way to meet some of the partner companies that team up with the event. Rod Marquardt, warm season lawn care market manager at Nufarm, says he’s formed a lot of great relationships in the 10 years he’s been going to Lawncology.
“It’s a good event with a lot of quality lawn care company owners, managers, things like that,” Marquardt said. “I look forward to this every year, and I’ve made a lot of good friends here.”
