Gregg RobertsonNov 3, 2023
Two recent actions by Pennsylvania and Maryland are tightening controls on invasive plants in those states. Five other states in the Northeastern U.S. have laws…
The Obama Administration, now in its last year, is trying to push through a number of new regulations that will affect landscape contractors before time…
Gregg RobertsonNov 10, 2023
In my December blog, when I listed H-2B guest worker program reforms as one of Congress’ pieces of unfinished business for landscape contractors, I had…
This year was not a productive year for Congress dealing with issues important to landscape contractors. For that matter, 2015 was not a productive year…
Boxwoods have been one of the “go to” landscape plants for landscape contractors and homeowners in the Eastern and Midwestern U.S., but boxwoods’ days may…
If it seems to you that there have been a lot of new regulations coming from the federal government lately, you’d be right. The Obama…
New regulations proposed by the federal Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division could ratchet up your labor costs and make audits of your payroll records…
As the government relations consultant for the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association (PLNA), one of the most frequent calls I get is from members who…
The reaction to the recent announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it would publish as final the controversial “Waters of the U.S.”…
On May 27, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army said they are publishing final, new controversial regulations that define the term…
On April 9 Lowe's said it's phasing out shelf products that contain neonicotinoid-containing pesticides (neonics) and will work with growers over the next four years…
For many landscape contractors, having a good season depends on getting their H-2B workers on time and in the numbers they requested. This season has…
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have become controversial over the past couple of years as the science used to manipulate the genetic code of both plants…
Anti-pesticide forces are seeing some success in convincing local governments to ban “cosmetic” pesticides. The anti-pesticide activists define cosmetic pesticides as those used to make…
State and local governments are beginning to outlaw bamboo as a nuisance or are regulating how and where it can be planted. Bamboo has often…
On Nov. 20, President Barack Obama announced a series of executive actions that would defer deportation for an estimated 4.5 million undocumented immigrants currently residing…
Gregg RobertsonNov 9, 2023
As the 113th U.S. Congress comes to the end of its term in December, many are calling it the most unproductive Congress in history. Partisan…
For some months now, the Obama administration has been threatening to use presidential executive powers to fix the broken immigration system in the face of…
The class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids have been a boon to the landscape management industry. Chemically similar to nicotine, the “neonics” are effective and…
In June, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed bipartisan legislation designed to find solutions to the growing Lyme disease problem. Cases of Lyme disease are expected…
In my June blog, I expressed some hope a window had opened a crack to move immigration reform forward in Congress: House Speaker John Boehner…
Just when possibility for Congressional action this year on immigration reform seemed doomed, a small breeze came in through the window. Players on the Republican…
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) set off a firestorm of protest, especially with farmers, when on April…
Sarah PfleddererAug 3, 2018
The government is working against lawns. In fact, it’s assaulting them, Gregg Robertson wrote in a recent government affairs column for Landscape Management. Las Vegas…
