May is a month for appreciating the out-of-doors. Golfers hit the links. The sounds of softball games fill sports fields at schools and parks. Motorists cruise along roads bordered by newly green expanses of grass. Homeowners tend and cut their lawns.

Mother's Day, May 11, is often a time for outside barbeques. People gather for outside activities, in celebration of this beautiful state and its traditions, during Michigan Week, May 17-26. On Memorial Day, May 26, many Michiganians go on picnics. Some, especially in small towns, bring flags and flowers to grassy, green knolls of cemeteries. All these traditional rites of springtime are associated with a fascinating and little-known Michigan industry-the turfgrass industry.

Although you may not be aware of the turfgrass industry now, you will soon be able to review the details of the industry. The Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service (MASS), a partnership between the Michigan Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture, has been asked by the turfgrass industry, and by state and federal agencies, to create the first-ever turfgrass survey in Michigan.

Every year since 1919, when the state of Michigan made an agreement with the federal government to avoid duplication and collect timely agricultural statistics, MASS has collected, verified and analyzed agricultural data. Other states do the same. Thus America overall, and Michigan specifically, can make decisions about crops and understand exactly what and how much we are growing now, leading to decisions about what we need to grow in the future. Major crops and livestock are surveyed each year and annual reports are released.

To some people, statistics may seem challenging or a trifle dry. But to State Statistician Dave Kleweno, head of MASS, statistics are an intriguing picture of the work done by thousands of farmers and agribusiness people who fill out the voluntary surveys conducted by MASS throughout the year. "I give those folks special thanks and appreciation," he says. Dave directs a staff of 21 employees at the MASS offices in East Lansing, who work in conjunction with a telephone and field staff of approximately 150 interviewers throughout the state.

As agriculture in Michigan changes, so does the work of MASS. Part of the job involves listening to commodity groups and creating relevant, probing questions so that the data generated will meet the needs of changing consumer taste. As an example, Dave brings up the growing popularity of different varieties of Michigan apples. "Consumers like those Honeycrisp apples. Farmers need to know how many are being produced and if they need to produce more."

A dozen years ago the State Legislature established a survey structure to provide comprehensive updates of the fruit, vegetable, nursery and Christmas tree industries. For the first time ever, MASS in 2002 created turfgrass questionnaires, researched exhaustively to send them to all sectors of the industry, and followed up with the recipients to make sure that the survey had captured the whole picture. Now a complete report is being compiled that will offer the first comprehensive look at the Michigan turfgrass industry.

An expanse of grass on a lawn, in a sod farm, or in a park looks beautiful ... as if it were an easy task to create. But the reality is quite different. It is challenging to create and maintain turfgrass. There are many different varieties of grass, located in different places and for different purposes. Climates, environment and growing conditions vary dramatically.

Developing a turfgrass survey is also a complex task. Marty Saffell, a statistician with MASS, researched, then wrote nine different questionnaires for the turfgrass survey. MASS goes to this length because the information needed from the owner of a large golf course is quite different from information required from the manager of a small cemetery or from a sod farmer. One size doesn't even begin to fit all, in the world of statistics. Marty studied surveys from other states to help figure out his questions-in some cases Michigan is unique, and sometimes it shares characteristics with other states.

Gene Kenyon, another statistician with MASS, along with Linda Stoneman, general office assistant, worked to prepare and process all the lists of people and businesses that received questionnaires. For an original survey like this, it's particularly important that anyone who has a business connected with turfgrass is contacted. Marty and Linda waited as surveys came back, then followed up with mail, phone calls and even "field visits" to people who hadn't answered. 

As information flowed back, both Marty and Linda checked and edited responses before Linda keyed them into the electronic files. These electronic files are crucial to the successful use of the information and Gene refers to Linda as "the glue that keeps the project together." Once the data is entered electronically, Marty analyzes, summarizes, and prepares it for publications.

Now turfgrass, like the fruit, vegetable, nursery and Christmas tree industries, is part of the Michigan Department of Agriculture Rotational Survey program. Just how important is this turfgrass survey? The turfgrass industry is another example of Michigan's agricultural diversity. Hundreds of well-tended golf courses and other out-of-doors places attract tourists. Our parks, our lawns and our schools enhance the quality of life in Michigan. Turfgrass contributes extensively to Michigan's economy. MASS has collected exhaustive, accurate and reliable information on what is required to seed, grow and water this growing sector.

Marty, Gene and Linda are all Michigan Department of Agriculture employees. They spend many hours with data, in front of computers, and work on a variety of other surveys, such as the 2002 Census of Agriculture. All their meticulous work will result in a stronger and "greener" turfgrass industry in Michigan. For more information on MASS, click here.