Laboratory Contacts

Sam Ferro - President
Sam is responsible for the overall direction of the company. He is our technical manager, with duties including reporting, data review and evaluation. He provides client consulting related to soils, growing media, turf, materials testing, and soil drainage issues. He is responsible for research and development of new laboratory methods and techniques. He also assists with laboratory quality and safety issues. In addition, he is responsible for overseeing the administrative and business activities of the firm.

Mr. Ferro has a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Missouri and a Masters of Business Administration from the Keller Graduate School of Management. He started working for Turf Diagnostics & Design in 1998, and he has worked in laboratories at scientist and management levels since 1983.

Sam has made numerous contributions to industry publications, and is a frequent speaker at landscape and turf functions.

Duane Otto - Vice President
Duane is the quality manager for our laboratories. Mr. Otto has considerable experience with sports turf design and evaluation. He provides our customers with assistance & guidance regarding their landscape, golf and sports turf projects. His expertise includes field testing, new construction specifications, soil evaluation and diagnostics.

Mr. Otto joined Turf Diagnostics & Design as a consulting agronomist and soil scientist in 1996. He has performed GMax (field hardness) testing on sports fields throughout the country, and he is a leading expert in the evaluation of synthetic turf fields.

Duane received a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Agribusiness from Mid America Nazarene College while working as a laboratory technician for Turf Diagnostics & Design. He also performed graduate studies in Soil and Water Science at the University of Arizona. His thesis work involved the statistical evaluation of mathematical evapo-transpiration models.

Chip Halderman - Consultant
Chip is responsible for performing soil testing and reporting, and providing customer service and consultation. .

Mr. Halderman joined Turf & Soil Diagnostics in 2023. Before joining Turf & Soil Diagnostics, Halderman served as Superintendent at The Orchards Golf Course in Lawrence, KS. At the Orchards, he managed golf course operations and staff, including keeping top quality course conditions, and planning and scheduling maintenance activities according to assessment and agronomic needs.

Prior to working at The Orchards, Halderman held various laboratory positions with responsibilities including sample testing and personnel management. Chip is a Class A Superintendent with degrees in Sports Turf Management from the University of Georgia and Biological Sciences from Kansas University.

Kyle Lanham - Field / Lab Technician
Kyle is responsible for performing on-site and laboratory testing and reporting, and providing customer service and consultation. He schedules and performs Gmax and Permeability testing at sports fields throghout the country.

Mr. Lanham joined Turf & Soil Diagnostics in 2018. Since then he has performed testing on hundreds of fields. Kyle holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Washburn University and has a Sports Turf Management certificate from the University of Georgia.