Five Questions: Casey Hurd

Casey Hurd (Photo: Seth Jones)

Casey Hurd

Manager member
Greenscapes LandCare, Worton, Md.

1. How big is your family?

I have a wife, two daughters and a big 100-pound yellow lab. My family keeps me organized and on my toes. With two young kids, you have to stick to routines to make things less hectic. Quinn is 4, Tessa is 1 … Gomer, the lab, is 8. He’s my hunting buddy and male companion.

2. What’s the best thing about living on a farm?

The ability to get away and the peacefulness. We live on a 330-acre farm with lots of ponds and wildlife. I do a fair amount of hunting out there. My business used to be on the farm right next to me, but I moved it to give me room to just be myself.

3. How do you see this industry changing, and what have you done to try to adapt?

I don’t know if it’s smaller companies, but definitely less employees … but the good news is you can do more with less employees now. The mini skid-steer alone has proven that the technology in our industry is improving to help us get the job done faster and with less labor. We’ve even got better hand tools now to make us perform more like a construction company at times.

4. If I asked your crew, what is the one thing that they would tell me you say to them all the time?

I thought the answer to this was “be careful.” But then I asked them, and they said the thing I say to them every day is “good morning” and “thank you.” I kind of knew it might be good morning, we do 15 minutes of training each morning, and I always say good morning then because I might not see them again that day. I feel like I’m always saying, “be careful and do your best.” We have 19 people working here when things slow down, and we staff up to 28 to 30 at our busiest. I rely on these people. I do try to tell everyone “thank you” when they leave for the day.

5. Fill in the blank: I love my job because ________ .

Because of the different things I get to do each day. I love the challenges and all the different people I get to meet.