Economic value and structure of the Tennessee turfgrass industry in 1991

The purpose of this study was to define the structure and estimate the value of the Tennessee turfgrass industry in 1991. The turfgrass industry in Tennessee encompassed the development, production, and management of specialized grasses for utility, beautification, and recreation. By using this definition, the structure of the industry was determined. There were fifteen components identified as relevant to this study and each of these were sampled by either list frame sampling procedures or random list frame sampling procedures. The fifteen components that made up the Tennessee turfgrass industry were: (1) airports, (2) cemeteries, (3) churches, (4) commercial establishments (industrial and motels/hotels), (5) counties, (6) golf courses, (7) home owners, (8) institutions (health agencies, hospitals, mental health agencies, and nursing homes), (9) lawn care companies, (10) multiple dwellings, (11) municipalities, (12) parks, (13) roadsides, (14) schools, (15) sod producers.

Mail questionnaires were used to gather the information needed for this study. Most of the questionnaires were designed to collect information on the total area of turf maintained and the annual expenditures to maintain this turf. There were also questions dealing with new equipment expenditures in 1991 and current and replacement cost of the existing equipment. Information was also collected about turf care problems, source of answers to turf management problems, and number of persons employed with turfgrass responsibilities.

After the data were collected, a sample mean was determined for each question on the questionnaire. This mean was then multiplied by the estimated proportion of the population that maintained a lawn. This product provided an estimate of the total amount of acres maintained or the dollar values expended in 1991. The total estimated turf acres maintained in Tennessee in 1991 was 889,382 acres. To maintain this turf, an estimated $360 million was expended by the fifteen components of the industry. Detailed information regarding sample means and confidence intervals are presented by expense categories for all fifteen components of the turf industry.