Last week LAMMA held their show at the NEC in Birmingham and was a great success. It even saw a young County Tyrone man, Daniel Broderick, win the 2023 Young Engineer Award.

This week it is the turn of BTME to showcase what is new in the turfgrass maintenance industry, including the latest machines that have come to market.

A lot of Irish groundsmen and machinery dealers travel to Harrogate each year to attend BTME. The timing of BTME suits groundsmen very well as it is that time when they are looking to upgrade some of their machinery. They will be finding out about the latest models and innovations on show and of course they will be bargaining for the best deal possible. 

With all that spending power from groundsmen and greenkeepers, shows like BTME offer opportunities for dealers to make sales. They are also places to make your presence felt. You will be making contact with potential new customers. It is important for them to be able to visit your stand so that they can talk to your sales reps and also to see, in real life, what machines you have on display.

The big question with attending these shows is ‘Is it be worth it?’ For the smaller dealer, renting out floor space at big exhibitions like BTME can be off-putting. You also have to take into account the meal and accommodation costs for your staff over the period of the show. The biggest dilemma one faces is if your competitors are exhibiting then you should  be as well. It is all about weighing up the advantages over the disadvantages before deciding what to do. Some dealers opt to exhibit every second year so as to spread the costs of exhibiting over the two years. Some of the bigger companies have gone for this option. 

While on the subject of costs, last week, Ireland’s hospitals saw record numbers of patients arrive on their doorsteps, especially in the Emergency Departments. Most of the patients were complaining of flu and respiratory related illnesses. 

I’m sure this had an effect on your business as some of your employees didn’t escape catching these illnesses or even Covid. It is bad enough having staff shortages, due to illness, but some of you may be also paying them while they are out sick.

The Ifac, Ireland’s farming, food and agribusiness specialist professional services firm, is advising employers to make sure their records are kept in order when it comes to employee sick leave and to budget for the additional payroll costs for the new statutory sick pay. 

New legislation, which came into effect on 1 January 2023, aims to improve the rights of employees who currently do not receive sick pay from their employer and/or are not entitled to illness benefits from the Department of Social Protection.

The Sick Leave Act requires employers to provide employees with up to three days of statutory sick pay in 2023, rising to ten days per annum by 2026.

To be eligible, employees must have worked for the employer for a minimum of 13 weeks and obtain a medical certificate. Employees who require additional sick leave after the statutory sick pay period expires may qualify for illness benefit from the Department of Social Protection if they have paid the necessary PRSI contributions.

Under the new legislation, the minimum standard of statutory sick pay that employers must provide is set at 70% of the employee’s wage, subject to a daily maximum threshold of €110. The Act does not prevent employers from offering more attractive sick pay benefits.

Employers who do not already provide paid sick leave will need to budget for the additional payroll costs of complying with the new legislation, while those who do provide paid sick leave should check how their existing employee contracts may be affected.

An agricultural engineer and entrepreneur from Co. Tyrone has won the 2023 Young Engineer Award at LAMMA, the UK’s leading farm machinery show.

Daniel Broderick (center) winner of the 2023 Young Engineer Award with runners up winners Connor Wise and Christopher Chavasse

Daniel Broderick, from Omagh, was revealed as the winner on day two of the show at the NEC, Birmingham (11th January 2023) for his Cubi-Care machine. The machine, which Daniel has been working on since 2013, makes the process of cleaning dairy cow cubicles much quicker and easier. 

It was the second time the organisers of LAMMA have teamed up with the Institute of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) to run the award. Daniel and the other two finalists, Connor Wise from Hereford and Christopher Chavasse from London, were shortlisted by a panel of judges with the winner decided through a combination of public and panel votes.

“After a lot of years’ hard work it is fantastic to be recognised with this award,” said Daniel. Inspiration for the machine came from seeing how laborious the process of manual cubicle cleaning was on his uncle’s dairy farm. “I decided there had to be a better way of doing it.” After developing a prototype which his uncle trialled on the farm, Daniel started to develop it commercially. “My ambition now is to start supplying farms across the UK via dealers and have already started working with a dealer in north of England and south Scotland.”

As well as helping with the promotion of his product Daniel, has appreciated the networking aspect of the award. “It was great to meet the other two finalists and hope we will stay in touch and maybe work together in the future. It was also great to be able to attend LAMMA as I haven’t been before. The size of the show is really impressive, and I would like to come back as an exhibitor next year

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Will Jones, Head of Marketing for award sponsor DF Capital said: “Sustainability, innovation and continuous improvement are all things we want to really focus on, so we were delighted to sponsor the award.”

Charlie Nicklin, Chief Executive of IAgrE said it was important to support young engineers coming into the industry, which needs new entrants.

“There are so many vacancies within agricultural engineering despite it being an engaging, rewarding and fulfilling field. We need to support and reward entrepreneurs with novel designs and to encourage others. The Young Engineer Award at LAMMA is ideal for this purpose.”

Nicola Bell, Head of Events at Agriconnect which organises the show, agreed: “At LAMMA we love to celebrate innovation in agricultural engineering. Encouraging and inspiring new talent is extremely important to us and to the wider industry, and we are delighted to do that through this award.

“Daniel was a very worthy winner with his Cubi-Clean product which is already making a difference to the efficiency and productivity of dairy farms. We wish him every success with developing it further in the future.”

Kubota (UK) Ltd has introduced a new range of auto-steer options for its M-series tractors following an agreement to partner with Topcon Positioning Systems throughout Europe. 

Topcon distributors LH Agro and Topcon Ireland will supply the auto-steering solutions through the Kubota dealer network, along with providing warranty, service and support of the auto-steer kits. Installation will be through Kubota dealers, and will also include access to the complete Topcon portfolio.

“This agreement provides Kubota customers with an extensive suite of guidance options for M-series tractors, available directly through the Kubota dealer network,” explained Henry Myatt, Kubota’s product manager for M-series tractors. “There are a variety of kits available to suit the steer-ready M7 Premium models, and non-steer ready tractors in the M-series.”

Henry continued, “This agreement also provides a great solution for the M6002 series, where customers are looking for greater sophistication and increased efficiency with field work. With these Topcon auto-steer options, we can provide solutions for all M-series tractors from the 66hp M4-063 through to the 170hp M7-173 KVT Premium.”

This partnership follows the news Service Dealer reported in 2021 that Kubota Corporation, Topcon Corporation and Topcon Positioning Systems Inc, entered into a collaborative research agreement, to work together to innovate for future commercialisation through mutual research in the field of smart agriculture. 

Kubota says the companies, each having its own technical knowledge, are working collaboratively to move forward with research and development in smart agriculture. This includes the collection of agronomic data using various sensor technology; research on crop cultivation solutions utilising big data; fleet management and automation technology.

Lemken and the South African company Equalizer have reached an acquisition agreement.

L-R: Lemken CEO Anthony van der Ley, owner Nicola Lemken and Equalizer managing director Gideon Schreuder

As a result, the German agricultural machinery specialist say they will be significantly expanding their product portfolio in seeding technology.

With a focus on minimal ground disturbance to no-till farming, the Equalizer product range includes precision planters with up to 36 rows and seed drills with a working width of up to 24 metres. The acquisition is expected to be completed by spring 2023, once regulatory approvals have been obtained.

Lemken CEO Anthony van der Ley says he believes that the Equalizer portfolio complements their seed drill segment and constitutes an important building block for further growth.

“There is no overlap in our portfolios. Equalizer offers solutions for customers and markets that Lemken has not been able to serve so far. In terms of our growth strategy, the Equalizer planters and seeders - also in combination with air carts - close a current gap in our product range.”

Equalizer seed drill with Air Cart

An additional, benefit arises for Lemken precision seeding technology, as the Delta-Row technology developed by themselves is complemented by single-row technology established by Equalizer.

Equalizer, which is also a family business, was founded in Cape Town in 2000 and currently employs 180 people. The company serves not only its South African home market, where it is the market leader in precision seeding, but also Australia as its most important export market.

Gideon Schreuder, Equalizer’s founder and managing director, added, “We see great potential for new products with Lemken on our side, and we look forward to our future collaboration. At the same time, we are proud that this agreement reaffirms the success and hard work of the entire Equalizer team and our local dealers over the past 22 years."

The first definite project is the expansion of spare parts logistics in 2023. All of Equalizer’s experienced local staff will be retained. Equalizer will continue to be led as an independent subsidiary by its current management, and the brand name will be preserved. 

New Holland Agriculture recently reached beyond its core farming audience to show the wider world what they are doing in terms of innovation and technology.

Last week, from January 5th to 8th, saw the company attend the Consumer Electronics Show 2023 in Las Vegas, USA with Touchcast and Microsoft, showing off a powerful simulation of a commercial customer experience in the metaverse featuring its T4 Electric Power tractor prototype.

Visitors at the event were able to see the tractor due to Touchcast, a company who create immersive experiences in the metaverse, with technology powered by the Microsoft Cloud.

New Holland say the Touchcast platform lets vehicle manufacturers reimagine the customer journey by creating a photorealistic digital twin of their showroom and displaying their vehicles in real-time 3D. Potential customers can then browse, customise, and purchase their desired vehicle inside the interactive virtual showroom directly from their browser, with no VR headset or specialized software required.

Consumers can interact with a real adviser, ask questions, explore new features, take a virtual test drive, buy their vehicle, and return anytime for post sales support.

New Holland, Touchcast and Microsoft ran live demos at the show, featuring a large LED wall creating a simulation of this metaverse experience and connecting consumers with the brands featured.

Carlo Lambro, brand president New Holland Agriculture said of their display, “It’s a new way of experiencing the personal touch of a human dealer without having to physically travel to a showroom and it opens endless possibilities for us and for the farmers."

Silvia Candiani, general manager Microsoft Italy said, “Industrial Metaverse offers unique opportunities for companies to reimagine the entire customer journey and combine a digital-first experience with the personal touch of a human concierge, all at a fraction of the cost of a physical showroom. It’s exciting to see New Holland Agriculture with the contribution of Touchcast, creating a new experience to its customer, showcasing its cutting-edge electric tractor in an innovative way.” 

Following the record-setting attendance and sell-out of exhibit space last year, the organisers of Louisville, Kentucky's Equip Exposition say that in 2023 the event will expand on its success by offering new, advanced education, additional entertainment and events including a new arena concert, expansion into the West Wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center, and improved logistics and food options.

"Equip Expo has evolved into a unique, week-long experience for a range of interconnected businesses including outdoor power equipment, landscaping, hardscaping, tree care, design, lighting, irrigation and more," says Kris Kiser, President of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, which owns and manages the trade show. "And just like our industry is ever-evolving, so is the trade show that serves them."

Show attendees each year gain access to the latest equipment, technology and software, as well as education and connection with their peers. "But they should also expect new and improved experiences," says Kris. "So when attendees speak, we listen. Our philosophy is 'same show, new show, every year'."

New 2023 show experiences being planned include:

• A new arena concert at the Yum! Center featuring headline band, Third Eye Blind.
• A return of the New Product Showcase.
• A Welcome Party at the downtown Kentucky International Convention Center with a concert from Expo house band, The Crashers
• An keynote speech by Polar Explorer and master storyteller Ben Saunders who completed the longest-ever polar journey on foot.
• The debut of the Equip Exposition Equipment Museum to showcase the evolution of the industry.
• The addition of a business lounge, meeting spaces and expanded seating areas at the KEC.
• Landscape education for young people sponsored by the TurfMutt Foundation. Children ages 12 and up may attend the show.
• Improved shuttle bus, rideshare and transportation logistics.
• More coffee shops and food offerings on-site, including breakfast options.

Also returning for 2023 are education and connection events for dealers and landscapers, live in-tree climbing demonstrations, Mulligan's Fun Run & 5K, the UTV Test Track, the Drone Zone, and Mulligan's Mutt Madness, a national dog adoption event, sponsored by the TurfMutt Foundation.

"We sold every inch of both indoor and outdoor exhibit space last year, and, in fact, had a waiting list," said Kris. "I encourage anyone seeking to participate in this year's show to act quickly. In fact, book your hotel room early. If you're going to fly, book it today. I can't stress this enough."

Equip Expo takes places from October 17-20.

Agriconnect - parent company of LAMMA Show, CropTec Show and Farmers Guardian - has announced a new event for 2023.

The Future Farming Expo Scotland event will be held over two days on Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th of October 2023 at P&J Live in Aberdeen.

Organisers say it is their intention for the show to help producers prepare for the future, become more sustainable and manage innovation for change.

Nichola Bell, head of events for Agriconnect said, “Our aim is to provide attendees with ideas and inspiration for their businesses, as well as a clearer path forward during a challenging time both in Scotland and globally.”

Centred around a series of hubs, debates and with over 100 exhibitors, organisers say Future Farming Expo Scotland has been developed after research with Scottish farming businesses. 

“This will not be another run-of-the-mill conference where visitors will be talked at,” explained Emma Penny, event producer, Future Farming Expo. “Instead, it will be dynamic, practical and offer attendees the chance to bring their own issues forward for in-depth, one-to-one discussion with other farmers, exhibitors and experts.”

Claire-Lena Miller-Davis, exhibition sales manager at P&J Live says: “It’s great to launch a new trade exhibition in Aberdeen that focuses on one of the region’s most prominent sectors, agriculture. The organisers are very experienced at delivering successful events throughout the UK including LAMMA which is held in NEC Birmingham. This will be their first Scottish event, and indeed the first large scale dedicated farming event to happen out with the Scottish central belt.”

To find out more about the event, including the featured hubs, visit their website.