Landscape and Irrigation is read by decision makers throughout the landscape and irrigation markets — including contractors, landscape architects, professional grounds managers, and irrigation and water mgmt companies and reaches the entire spetrum.
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6 January/February 2017 Landscape and Irrigation www.landscapeirrigation.com EDITORIAL STAFF Group Publisher David Voll Associate Publisher, Editor John Kmitta (763) 383-4405; jkmitta@epgmediallc.com Products Editor Steve Noe (763) 383-4407; fax (763) 383-4499; snoe@epgmediallc.com PRODUCTION TEAM Art Director Jean Blackmer Production Manager Karen Kalinyak ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVES: EAST Chris Pelikan Senior Account Manager Phone: (763) 383-4408 cpelikan@epgmediallc.com MIDWEST Peggy Tupper Senior Account Manager Phone: (763) 383-4429 ptupper@epgmediallc.com WEST Leslie Palmer Senior Account Manager Phone: (763) 383-4460 lpalmer@epgmediallc.com DIRECT MAIL LIST SALES MeritDirect, Jim Scova, (914) 368-1012; e-mail jscova@MeritDirect.com REPRINT SERVICE Robin Cooper, e-mail rcooper@epgmediallc.com CIRCULATION For subscription inquiries and customer service questions, please call (763) 383-4491, or fax (763) 383-4497 customerservice@epgmediallc.com business hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. EST EPG Media & Specialty Information 10405 6th Ave. N., Ste. 210 Minneapolis, MN 55441 www.landscapeirrigation.com P u b l i s h e r ' s N o t i c e : W e a s s u m e n o responsibility for the validity of advertising claims in connection with items appearing in Landscape and Irrigation. Commercial product names are used for the convenience of the reader. Mention of a commercial product does not imply endorsement by EPG Media & Specialty Information, or preference over similar products not mentioned. VIEWPOINT Editor John Kmitta | jkmitta@epgmediallc.com What Happened in Vegas This issue of Landscape and Irrigation highlights the products that were nominated for the 2016 Irrigation Show New Product Contest in the Landscape Irrigation, Specialty – Landscape, and Landscape Lighting categories (see pages 8-15). The winners of the contest were Hydro-Rain for its HRC 400 B-hyve Pro WiFi Controller with Smart Meter Link (in the Landscape Irrigation category), Illumicare Group Limited for its LED MR16 single lens with replaceable optics (in the Landscape Lighting category), MiniTrencher for its GeoRipper in the (Specialty – Landscape) category. But our overview includes all nominees, as there were plenty of new product entries worth profi ling. But Irrigation Show 2016, which was held Dec. 7 and 8 in Las Vegas, was not just about new products. This year's show featured an interesting twist, as it was the fi rst time that Irrigation Show has co-located with the National Ground Water Association's (NGWA) Groundwater Week conference and show. The co-located shows welcomed almost 9,000 participants and 600 exhibiting companies from around the world. According to the Irrigation Association (IA), the jump in attendance was largely a result of the co-location with the NGWA event, and the partnership allowed attendees to access both show fl oors, the joint keynote presentation, opening night party, and more. "I couldn't be happier with the outcome of this year's show and the co-location with National Groundwater Week," said IA CEO Deborah Hamlin, CAE, FASAE. "Preliminary survey results support the practical feedback we received on site. The only question remaining is when will we co-locate again?" The co-located event featured more than 40 educational seminars covering agriculture, landscape and groundwater topics. Award-winning fi lmmaker Conrad Weaver screened his newest full-length documentary, Thirsty Land, during the show. Show fl oor sessions included an update on the Smart Water Application Technologies and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense program. And IA and NGWA hosted the second annual drought summit, which focused on technologies for a sustainable future. Also, "Pitcher's Mound," a concept modeled after the ABC TV show "Shark Tank," debuted at the show as an avenue to help inventors, entrepreneurs and businesspeople in the irrigation arena bring new products to market. During the General Session event, IA honored the following recipients of 2016 IA awards: ■ Crawford Reid Memorial Award: Andrii Gogolev, TerraTarsa ■ Industry Achievement Award: Inge Bisconer, CID, CLIA, The Toro Company ■ National Water and Energy Conservation Award: Texas Alliance for Water Conservation ■ Partner of the Year Award: Irrigation Training and Research Center ■ Person of the Year Award: Richard Allen, Ph.D., University of Idaho Kimberly Research and Extension Center According to IA, planning for the 2017 Irrigation Show is already underway. The 2017 Irrigation Show and Education Conference will be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Nov. 6-10, 2017 (with the show portion being held Nov. 8-9).