Grigg Brothers Foliar Fertilizers has signed a leading agronomic light to its technical staff with the addition of United States Golf Association (USGA) Green Section senior agronomist Matt Nelson. Nelson, who spent three years in the Green Section’s Northeast office and the last nine at its Northwest headquarters, joined the Grigg Brothers team on Jan. 16.
Nelson can be reached in his Idaho office at 208-421-2512, matt@griggbros.com
"The Green Section's involvement with championship golf, turfgrass research and environmental programs contributed to a very rewarding experience there,” says Nelson, whose new role at Grigg Brothers is that of technical representative and agronomist. “From the thousands of people I've met along the way, and the opportunity to problem-solve at so many diverse golf operations across 6 U.S. time zones, I have nothing but positive comments with respect to my tenure with the USGA. If any organization in golf has its finger on the pulse of this industry, it's the USGA Green Section."
Nelson holds a bachelor’s degree from Willamette University in Oregon and a master’s degree in crop science from Washington State University. He worked on the maintenance staff at Whitefish (Mont.) Lake Golf Club and as a biologist with the U.S. Forest Service before joining the USGA.
“We are elated to have Matt on board,” said Grigg Brothers President and co-owner Mark Grigg. “We try to provide service to superintendents, to help them with their jobs and course conditioning. Matt will be one of our technical representatives. He will assist distributors in product knowledge, lead seminars and undertake some technical writing.”
Nelson’s duties at Grigg Brothers, he noted, will dovetail nicely with his co-ownership interest in a Twin Falls, Idaho-based commercial putting green sod operation called Magic Valley Bentgrass.
With input and testing from the country’s top turfgrass universities and researchers, brothers Gary and Mark Grigg introduced the firm's line of foliar fertilizers in 1995. The major advantage of foliar products is the speed at which turfgrass absorbs the material through its leaves, according to Gary Grigg, vice president at Idaho-based Grigg Brothers.
Gary Grigg, the company’s chief agronomist, will teach a seminar — alongside Roch Gassoin, PhD, Professor & Extension Turfgrass Specialist at the University of Nebraska’s Department of Agronomy and Horticulture — later this month as part of the GCSAA Education Conference in Orlando, Fla. The subject will be “The Science and Philosophy of Foliar Nutrients”; the seminar is scheduled for Jan. 30, 8 a.m. to noon.
The Griggs developed a line of granular, water-soluble fertilizers in 2005. Their granular products are built on the same proprietary protein technology as the foliar line.
For more information on Grigg Brothers products, foliar and granular, and a listing of distributors in your area, call 888-246-8873.