TURFGRASS AND AGRONOMIC CONSULTANTS

Science Based • Client Focused

ATHLETIC FIELDS • GOLF COURSES • EQUINE TURF • PARKS • SOD • SOIL AND COMPOST

For over twenty-five years, DCS Agronomic Services has provided personalized, site-specific, unbiased consultation to park and athletic field managers, golf course superintendents, contractors, growing media developers, landscape architects and specialty growers. We’ve built our reputation on science-based agronomic advice and strong client relationships.   

DCS imparts a holistic, all-factors-in approach to turfgrass and greenspace management. Together with our clients, we consider sunlight availability, soil physics and biology, fertility, compaction, irrigation water quality, topography, plant varieties and neighbouring vegetation. We help generate budget-minded, goal-oriented, sustainable solutions. 

Our diverse team allows us to provide a range of services including nutrient recommendations, growing media design and construction specifications, project management, quality control, training, product trials, and equipment selection.

Experience and Science-Based Consultation

Our hands-on team works with you, from field to lab to spreadsheet, creating a site-specific, goal-oriented plan to improve and maintain plant health as well as growing media quality and function.  

Laboratory testing is built into our consulting programs. This includes soil, growing media, water, tissue and environmental testing. We maintain relationships with a number of accredited labs and a diverse network of expert agronomists and scientists to ensure we can provide up-to-date unbiased advice. We keep our clients’ preferences, budgets and expertise in mind to develop nutrition and cultural management programs that fit.

Please click for more information on the following areas of specialization

Our Team

Dave C. Smith, P.Ag. — Principal Consultant

David C. Smith is a Registered Professional Agrologist (P.Ag) with over forty-five years’ experience with turfgrass management and specialty horticulture. Dave is a Qualified Plantsman, Ontario Certified Horticulturist and maintains pesticide application certification. He was a Certified Golf Course Superintendent (CGCS) for over 25 years. He is a graduate of The Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph, with an Ontario Diploma in Horticulture. David is a registered Qualified Agronomist and Consultant with the Amplify Network of Agronomic Consultants and Brookside Laboratories Inc.

In 1996, Dave established DCS & Associates, an independent consulting company that provides analytical services and consultation for turfgrass establishment and maintenance as the primary scope of practice. DCS & Associates serves clients throughout Eastern Canada, including Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. DCS has developed nutritional and cultural management recommendations for over 100 golf courses, 3500 acres of sod production and approximately 500 athletic fields, equestrian facilities, park land and horticultural projects. In addition, David has provided construction and grow-in recommendations for numerous golf courses and athletic field projects.

David is past President of the Ontario Turfgrass Research Foundation and has been active in several golf superintendent associations. He was a Sports Turf Canada committee member during development of the Athletic Field Construction Manual and has been a speaker at several provincial and national conferences presenting to golf courses superintendents, athletic field turf managers, arborists, and general landscapers. David has authored articles for industry publications such as Green Master Magazine and speaks on subjects such as: Specialty Growing Medium Design, Holistic Approach to Turf Grass Management, IPM, Trends in Golf Course Management, Product Inputs for Turf Management, Basic Soils, Green and Athletic Field Site Evaluations, and Soil Management for Trees.

Before establishing DCS & Associates, David gained over 20 years of experience in the golf and sports turf industry. In that time, he acted as a Golf Course Superintendent throughout Ontario including four years as Coordinator of Outdoor Sports Facilities with the City of Hamilton.

Twitter: @DCSturf

Steve Mann, A. Ag — Consulting Partner

Steve Mann of SJM Consulting, is an I.S.A. Board Certified Master Arborist with extensive experience in evaluating the specific health, safety, and environmental importance of individual as well as more significant stands of trees in both urban and rural settings.

He specializes in large-scale tree inventory, evaluation, management, research, & impact studies. He has managed hundreds of projects related to the identification of important natural features and the significance and/or sensitivity of these features to development. He has developed numerous master plans, arboricultural management plans and replanting plans related to Golf Course properties.

Steve’s extensive industry involvement, of over 20 years, has enabled him to interact with numerous provincial as well as municipal officials on matters regarding tree conservation and large-scale planning applications.

John McGuire — Technology Specialist

John specializes in technology for precision agriculture, turf maintenance, and advanced data collection and analysis. Throughout his twenty-year career in soil, seed, fertilizer and crop science, John has had his finger on the pulse of new technologies aimed at providing growers and turf managers with better tools and data for record-keeping, decision making and precision management.

John has partnered with DCS in various spatial and elevation mapping projects including RTK GPS mapping of undeveloped land, sports park facilities and golf courses. Data is used for the design, development and renovation of park and golf course features as well as irrigation and drainage systems, and for better facility management.

Sean G. Gault, B.Sc. — Equine Racing Specialist

Sean has been actively involved in the Ontario thoroughbred racing industry for over 40 years. Much of that time has been with the Woodbine Entertainment Group in Toronto, most recently as Director of Racing Surfaces. In that role, Sean was responsible for maintenance, development and management of all racing and training surfaces, ensuring safety and consistency throughout the facility. 

Sean led the team that converted the existing traprock Standardbred track at Woodbine to a natural turf racing surface. The scope of the project included course design, growing media development, drainage design, seed cultivar selection and sod production, irrigation system and pump station design, turf rails and construction scheduling.

In 1994 Sean was involved in the complete renovation of all of Woodbine’s racing surfaces which included the building of the one and a half mile E. P. Taylor Turf Course which still ranks as one of the top turf racecourses in the world. It also included the building of a 7/8 mile Standardbred race track which made Woodbine the only track in North America to host both Standardbred and Thoroughbred racing programs, one after the other, on the same day. In 1996 Sean was a member of the Woodbine team that hosted the Breeders Cup, the annual Olympics of Thoroughbred horse racing. 

Sean graduated from the University of Guelph with a B.Sc. (Agr.) in 1977 and completed the Turfgrass Short Course at Guelph in 1980. He and his wife Helen reside in Richmond Hill, Ontario and have two adult sons.

Contact Us

Telephone:

705-571-3171  

By Mail:

DCS Agronomic Services

60 Breisacher Rd. Huntsville, Ontario, P1H 2N5

Email:

General Information - info@DCSturf.com

David C. Smith -  Dave@DCSturf.com

Steve Mann - Steve@DCSturf.com

Contact us today to discuss your project or property needs. 

Q: I’m shipping a sample to DCS. How much material should I send?

Q: How do I take SOIL samples?

Walk or drive the sampling area, and with your trowel or soil probe, collect 10 or more 6” deep soil cores. (We generally recommend 6” cores, but you should adjust your sampling depth to capture the root zone or plough depth, avoiding the subsoil below.) Make sure to obtain a good representational sample of the whole area. (See diagram.) Put the composite sample in the paper bag provided. If your area is larger than ten acres, or if you are interested in learning about variations in the soil throughout the area, collect multiple composite samples of the same field. In some cases, you will need a rubber hammer to push the probe deep enough into the soil.

For golf courses: Sample Greens, Tees and Fairways separately, pulling several 4” to 7” inch deep cores from each feature. (We generally recommend 6” deep cores, but you should vary your sampling depth to capture only the root zone, avoiding the subsoil or drainage sand below.) Label the bags with the feature type and hole number, i.e. Green 6, Green 11, Tee 12, Fairway 4.

Q: How Do I pack and ship the samples?

Samples should be packed together tightly so they don’t move around in the box. Use two standard paper bags, one inside the other for each sample, rolling each bag and sealing shut with an elastic band. If using laboratory-issued paper sample bags, only one bag is required per sample. Alternatively, use zip lock bags.

Label samples clearly with your name and/or the name of your farm or facility and sample identification. Use a permanent marker to write directly on the paper bags. If using a plastic bag, include additional paper labels inside the bags, as the marker tends to rub off plastic during shipping.  Pack into a cardboard box and use newspaper to pack tightly. Ship samples to:

DCS Agronomic Services

60 Breisacher Rd.

Huntsville, Ontario 

P1H 2N5

Please send us an email to let us know the samples are on their way. Don’t forget to include contact information with the shipment.

Q: Can I send smaller samples to save on shipping?

For cost-effective shipping, allow your samples to dry out before packing. Using your hands or a rubber hammer, crush and mix the soil cores from each sample bag, and reduce each sample to one and a half (1 ½) cups of soil, removing any stones, roots, thatch, plant matter or other debris. Make sure each final processed sample is a well-combined representation of each original core sample.