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and I are Kiwanis volunteers and I’m a past president. Besides a lot of volunteer hours, we provide the sweet corn for their annual family-friendly sweet corn festival. It’s great to be able to give back to the local community.”

Pine Island is growing the malting barley for the brewing industry. Chip says, “We’re wrapping up installation of an automated malting machine that’s come from Italy. We formed a new LLC, called Black Dirt Malt, with three partners and will be ‘malting’ barley starting in late 2016. Along with the Malt House, we’ll have an onsite Brewer. We expect to tie this all together with tours of the farm, the malting operation, and the brewery with tastings. We’re just a 90-minute bus ride from New York and the development of apple orchards, wineries and breweries has made our area a destination location.”

Pine Island also added the BigYellowBag. It’s a logical tie-in for their retail market and another point of recognition for shoppers. “Te Horizon Group runs the BigYellowBag program and coordinates the marketing for it,” Kelsey reports. In addition, Chip is involved in the Aqua-Yield Technology as a manager and partner. He says, “So it gives us another point of diversification.”

Making It All Work

Chip and Shari are partners as well as owners. Chip says, “Shari is vice president and Jill of all trades, able to handle any task. She ran the office for many years and can step in there. More often, she’s out in the field mowing or helping me pick sweet corn. She loves the exercise and the outdoors.”

Kelsey is a vice president, runs the office, and is on target to take over the business in the future. She earned her B.S. degree in communications and public relations from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. She says, “I had always worked at the farm, but wasn’t sure it was the path for me. So I majored in something I can use no matter where I end up.” She graduated about the time the bookkeeper of 30 years was retiring. She knew most of the accounting process and a short stint of mentoring provided the rest. She upgraded the aging system to Quick Books

TPI Turf News November/December 2016

2010, streamlining some processes along the way. “I handle the accounting and payroll, scheduling, and the email and phone correspondence. Dad and I still work together on the ordering and planning, but I’m about ready to take that on too,” says Kelsey. “I know what our customers want in sod and all the other items we offer. As our sales continue to grow, we’ll need another person in the office full time so Mom won’t have to be.”

A silhouette of four generations of the Lain family walking to greet the sunset. (Left to right) Charles Lain, Sr.; Charles Lain, Jr. (Chip); Kelsey Lain Gurda and Brayden Gurda. Photo courtesy of the Lain Family

Marketing is Kelsey’s responsibility, too. Her primary outreach has been online, through the company’s website, Facebook and Instagram. “We take part in several trade shows and I place ads in a couple small, regional newspapers,” she says. “Word of mouth is still the best venue we have.”

Kelsey’s husband, Brandon Gurda, owns and operates a landscaping business. Teir son, Brayden, is two. Brandon is experienced, efficient, and professional, just like the rest of the Lain family team. So, it’s not surprising that he also handles Pine Island’s sod installations, both directly for the end user and for landscape contractors. He has a class one driver’s license, so he can tackle the big rigs, too. “Te two businesses are sort of interwoven now,” says Kelsey. “When we’re really busy here, he’ll often come in at 4:00 am,

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