What a year we have had to say the least!

We have had one of the most challenging weather fronts for many years, with a very wet and cold spring , followed by a substantial hot and dry summer - it will be interesting to see what our autumn season brings. Hopefully in the next few weeks we should see some much-needed rain to soften up the ground conditions. This will help enormously, especially with sports clubs that are now implementing their end of season renovation work.

With the football and rugby playing seasons now under way, I am not sure whether I personally would want to play rugby or indeed football on many of the existing bone hard pitches until we have had enough rain to soften them up.

I am sure these pitches will recover quickly as soon as there is adequate moisture back in the soil profile. However, it would pay to invest in some renovation work to help their recovery, particularly taking the opportunity to clean out any dead material, undertaking some aeration work and overseeding.

I personally enjoy this time of the year, as you get the chance to reflect on what you have achieved during the main growing season and plan your winter work.

I also believe it is important to catch up with fellow practitioners and more importantly make an effort to attend our annual industry shows SALTEX and the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME) Harrogate.

Two fantastic sports turf industry shows, SALTEX this year will be held on Wednesday 31st October and the Thursday 1st of November at the NEC Birmingham, while BTME Harrogate will be held in January 2019 for three days 22nd, 23rd and 24 January.

SALTEX offers you a world of opportunities to discover the latest industry trends and innovations, enhance your education and learn from industry experts over two days for free.

BTME 2019 will feature over 250 hours of education including the Turf Managers' Conference, over 100 exhibitors showcasing the latest products and innovations plus superb networking opportunities. Last year's exhibition saw nearly 9,000 turf managers, golf club owners, managers and industry decision-makers pack into the Harrogate Convention Centre.

Both of these shows are, in my opinion, a must visit. Both offer a different show experience, both have in recent years focussed on the importance of education and training and provide a wealth of education platforms and workshops to attend. However, for me, their true value is the opportunity they afford to see the latest machinery, products and services on offer and tap into the wealth of knowledge these exhibitors bring to the shows. Without out their support and the fact they pay for the privilege to attend these events, the shows would not exist.

Steve Gibbs who edits our sister title, Service Dealer, agrees with me that there is great value in heading off to Birmingham and Harrogate each year. He said, “Of course any time away from your place of work can be difficult – but finding a couple of days every 12 months really can be invaluable. It’s hard to a place price on what a visit can gain you in terms of sharing ideas and knowledge with the wider industry – plus the social interaction side to the events can often prove to be one of the most productive aspects to your visit.”

I firmly believe all of us who earn a living working in this great industry should support these shows and make the effort to attend. We should also try and encourage our line managers, school bursers, headmasters and any local authority managers to come and see what our industry has to offer.

There are literally thousands of us who earn a living from working in this industry, however collectively only a proportion of some 18,000 actually make an effort annually to attend.

I also see no reason why we should not be encouraging more schools, colleges and universities to attend the shows, thus enabling the opportunity for their students to be introduced to the professionalism of our industry and the wide range of potential careers that exist within it. We also need to recruit new blood into our industry. Having said that, many of sports turf colleges do a sterling job and over the years have brought some outstanding students into the industry. I just think there is greater potential to bring a wider audience to our industry.

I am always blown away by collective knowledge and skills we have on offer and the vast diversity of our industry. Career opportunities are endless. Both shows have in recent years captured a lot of overseas interest and we are seeing more and more business opportunities abroad. These shows are our shop window, we all should take the effort to attend and support our industry. So next time you attend make sure you take the time to speak to many of the exhibitors as you can. You will be surprised, what you can learn from speaking to these dedicated people.

You may even find an opportunity to further your own career, that may take you on another interesting journey within this remarkable turf grass industry.

As for the future of our industry shows, there has been a fair amount of debate from a number of interested parties on whether we should have only one single show each year?

In their current format I do personally enjoy attending both events as they offer the opportunity for me to meet and connect with many aspects of our vibrant industry.

However, I do firmly believe there will come a time when we as an industry must consider the benefit of combining these two shows, while at the same time bringing on board some other major organisations, such as the RHS, APSE and BALI to enhance the show and bring in a bigger international audience.

The IOG have issued an official response to the recent USA law court ruling over the use of Glyphosate.

The statement from the Institute read:

"The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) would like to remind all grounds personnel and contractors to ensure they carry out full risk assessments before carrying out any maintenance activity and to ensure appropriate control measures are in place.

"Where the use of a pesticide is considered then this should be in accordance with safety and usage information provided by manufacturers. Just as important is ensuring the plant and surface has been maintained using good working practices, especially cultural and physical, and the threshold for any pesticide application has been clearly documented within a formal Integrated Pest Management plan.

"The IOG will continue to monitor this case and any subsequent developments arising from it."

John Deere dealer New Forest Farm Machinery Ltd has opened a new turf equipment outlet at Cadbury Business Park in Sparkford, near Yeovil in Somerset.

New Forest Farm Machinery’s new turf equipment outlet at Sparkford in Somerset

The premises serve the dealer’s extended trading area that was initially established in 2014 after New Forest took over the professional turf business of Rochford Garden Machinery. The dealership offers John Deere’s full range of professional golf and amenity turf equipment including mowers, aerators, sprayers, tractors and Gator utility vehicles, as well as homeowner and construction equipment.

Based at Ringwood in Hampshire, New Forest Farm Machinery has been a John Deere agricultural dealer since 1979 and has held the turf franchise since John Deere’s commercial and consumer equipment business, as it was then known, started in 1986. New Forest currently employs 43 people altogether and sells to turf customers in the counties of Hampshire, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.

“As a long established, independent family-owned business we are always striving to improve our company offering, through focusing on customer support and investing for the future,” says managing director Ed Smales.

“The new premises at Sparkford are ideally located to cover our extended trading area and increase our presence in the marketplace.

“We intend to maintain our traditional high standard of product sales, parts and service support in the various turf equipment markets that we serve, and we look forward to welcoming both existing and new customers to the dealership.”

Dr David Greenshields from Barenbrug UK has warned that this summer’s relentless heat is likely to have far-reaching and costly effects on greens and fairways, if clubs don’t take action now.

Here he gives five tips for greenkeepers battling with the heatwave.

1) Beware a false sense of security

After a smattering of rainfall, lower-lying areas and perennial grasses (fescues, bents and ryegrass) are now greening up and demanding mowing once more. However, high spots and areas colonised with the shallow-rooted weed-grass Poa annua are mostly dead.

After several wet summers, these bare areas in many courses are extensive, as conditions have been conducive for Poa annua to thrive. The recent weather has redressed the balance and created a perfect opportunity to exploit.

If left alone, the bare areas will become green again, but do not mistake this for “recovery”. The new vegetation will most likely arise from new wind-blown Poa annua seeds, or worse, moss and other weeds. This is only a short-term fix and one that compromises playability and aesthetics.

2) What to do about it (and the hidden opportunity)

In dead areas, now is the time to act. Use this as an opportunity to establish drought-tolerant perennial turfgrasses, to prevent problems from happening again. Scarify and remove dead material as quickly as possible and overseed with a specialist mixture.

Do not sit back and wait for weeds to colonise; this is a race against time to get seedlings established before winter. Overseeding with so much space for seedlings to grow (versus a wet summer with a tight sward), is going to be a lot easier for healthy, robust grass to establish.

3) Convincing greens committees to invest

Course managers understand this is an obvious course of action, but convincing committees to overseed large areas can be challenging.

If budgets are prohibitive, target one or two really bad fairways and overseed these at an appropriate rate. This is a better strategy than spreading your efforts too thinly. Document the project and use it to your advantage the next time the issue arises.

Under a range of stress factors, these areas will demonstrate what can be achieved with investment. For example, ryegrass on tees and fairways will offer improved drainage in wet conditions over Poa thanks to increased root structure and less thatch build-up. On Poa-dominant greens, more bentgrass will improve year-round playability, aesthetics and disease tolerance.

4) Save now, pay later

If annual meadowgrass establishes between now and autumn, and we get another harsh cold winter, it will undoubtedly quickly die back again. Re-turfing before next playing season may be your only solution in this case. Overseeding now with a hardy mixture may well save your club having to pay for more expensive repairs later.

5) Another drought doesn’t have to mean disaster

This summer we’ve seen lots of customers seeing the benefits of previous overseeding investment. That’s because bents, fescues and ryegrass are far more tolerant than annual meadowgrass and will recover quickly after drought. With so many courses struggling to maintain playability in this heat, and talk of an Indian summer to come, now is the time to act.

Barenbrug’s Drought Guide can be downloaded here.

ISEKI have announced that Medland, Sanders & Twose (MST) are the latest dealer to switch from a competitive tractor brand and join the ISEKI family.

Robin Wearn, head of groundcare sales for MST, sitting at their head office in Tiverton

MST are a well-known and established dealer trading through Devon, parts of Cornwall and parts of Somerset with depots in Tiverton, Lee Mill and Yeovil. ISEKI say their Their joining complements the exiting dealer network.

Nigel Godefroy, Director of MST Group commented, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to serve our customers with the ISEKI product range, having been with a competing brand for the last 40 years we were concerned that this might be a big upheaval for us and our customers, but the transition has been really smooth and we have already had customers change orders from our previous brand to ISEKI.”

David Withers, Managing Director of ISEKI expressed his pleasure with MST joining ISEKI. “It is great to have MST on board and look forward to working with them in the future. Since launching the company in January this year it has been very encouraging to see the volume of dealers who would like to represent ISEKI and benefit for our growing sales and share gain across the sectors we serve.”

David went on to say, “We continue to have openings for dealers in some areas and are happy to discuss opportunities with interested parties who share our commitment to customer service and relationship building.”

GovPlanet UK, the vehicle and specialist equipment disposal service, have recently appointed Simon Morley, ex of JCB, as their new territory manager.

GovPlanet has been operating in the UK for the past 4 years and won a place on the NAPFM-sponsored national emergency services vehicle disposals framework in September 2017.

Since then the company has continued to grow and win business with the emergency services, local government and their fleet management companies.

Simon Morley says the company is now keen to demonstrate their capabilities to groundscare equipment OEMs, distributors and owners, to help them generate higher revenue from their vehicle and equipment sales.

He said, “We are keenly aware that shrinking budgets means owners want to achieve the very best possible return on their original investment.

“Typically, we can increase that return by 15-25% above more traditional auction routes.

“We do this by offering lower costs, selling to a global audience and through pro-active sales efforts. We tailor the method of re-sale to the customer’s needs.”

Simon said the company is interested in all sorts of equipment, having “previously sold everything from excavators to tractors and mowers and anything in between.”

“Our aim,” he said, “is to provide a great return for the customer and reduce the hassle and worry associated with disposals, at the same time.”

Anybody wishing to know more, have a chat or request a more formal meeting, can contact Simon on 07776 686287 or smorley@ritchiebros.com

DLF Seeds have announced that an agreement has been reached to acquire PGG Wrightson Seeds.

With DLF describing themselves as a leading seed player in the Northern hemisphere, and PGG occupying a similar position in the south, the combined business is seen as a significant strategic leap towards a significant global presence.

PGG Wrightson Seeds is an international player within forage and turf seeds, responsible for many of Europe’s top-rated bent grasses including Manor and Arrowtown, with activities in New Zealand, Australia, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil.

With DLF operating complementary business in terms of market coverage and distribution capabilities, the combined business will allow for continued investments to offer end-users better seed solutions through research and plant breeding.

DLF Chief Executive Truels Damsgaard said, “The world is changing ever faster with new plant breeding technologies offering quicker and better tailored solutions to diverse amenity conditions. To stay ahead of the competition, it is of utmost importance to gain scale in your business, to support biotechnology while minimising timescales and risk. With this acquisition DLF not only achieves such scale, we also gain a strong supply chain and market coverage in the Southern Hemisphere, which positions DLF uniquely in the global forage and turf seed space.”

PGG Wrightson Chief Executive Ian Glasson added, “The seeds business will benefit from being part of a truly global company with a diversified offering.”

The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close within six months.

Emerald Headingley Stadium in Leeds, home to both rugby union and rugby league, is currently in the midst of a £41m redevelopment and has made purchases of Cub Cadet INFINICUT® mowers - a ‘first’ for a rugby club in the UK.

However, these aren’t the only new additions for head groundsman Ryan Golding to contend with as the redevelopment includes two new stands.

Head groundsman at Emerald Headingley Stadium in Leeds, Ryan Golding

“Myself, and my team of three, have our work cut out with a busy schedule of play as we’re home to both Leeds Rhinos rugby league, and Yorkshire Carnegie rugby union clubs. On top of multi-use rugby, we also host academy games, externals events, training and more,” explains Ryan, who has been at Headingley for 15 years. While the facility is happy to invest where it’s considered to be required, when it comes to new machinery, Ryan must justify a solid business case.

“Our previous mowers were starting to cause us a lot of problems, so we looked at some alternatives. I’ve demonstrated the INFINICUT® previously and had been impressed with it, and after a few conversations with Vinny Tarbox of MTD, it was evident the mowers could make a big difference to the quality of our playing surface. The fact the INFINICUT®’s can be powered electrically went a long way in making a viable case. The reduced noise, as well as emissions, it produces have meant that despite our inner-city location, we have been able to mow earlier in the mornings and therefore cope better with the recent hot conditions.”

Following their delivery in June 2018, the mowers are in use three to four times a week, including in the build-up to games, thanks to the cleanliness of cut and quality of finish they produce. With the work ongoing and play continuing throughout, Ryan’s favourite feature however, is something else. “It’s the simplest of things but the Cub Cadets have quick-release, demountable wheels which are a god send when transporting the mowers 300yards from our stores to the pitch. Now, even navigating through a building site, has not been a problem.”

In the space of just a few weeks, Ryan is already impressed with the benefits the mowers have delivered. “Presentation and quality of cut have improved, with the back-up from Vinny and Jonty great too. The lads have liked the mowers ever since they tried them on demo, so together we’re all delighted with our decision.”

When it was time for a hole four refresh at Bedfordshire’s John O’Gaunt Golf Club the par three hole on the John O’Gaunt course was enhanced by a 1500m2 lake with two Otterbine fountains and eight Toro Infinity sprinklers.

Course manager Nigel Broadwith explains the reasons behind the renovation: “Constantly improving the two courses is of paramount importance to the long-term success of the club. The fourth hole on the John O’Gaunt course has always been a picturesque hole, however, its location on a floodplain meant it was susceptible to flooding. The

renovations included raising the fairway level to take this into account, as well adding to its beauty with a new lake.”

Nigel, and head greenkeeper Kevin Armstrong, chose two Otterbine Sunburst aerating fountains, from UK distributor Reesink Turfcare. Both are three horsepower units but one has a one horsepower impeller for the smaller end of the lake and the other has a two horsepower impeller for the wider end. The reasons for these choices were primarily aeration, to the keep the water clean and clear all year round, and secondarily for aesthetic purposes.

Nigel continues: “We wanted to make this lake a feature of the course and therefore wanted an aerating system with the capabilities to present a fountain. The lake is in a slightly windy position and what appealed especially with the Sunburst is the fact that the fountain has a heavier droplet, which means the wind wouldn’t blow the droplets away and disrupt its presentation. It’s a lovely addition not just to the hole, but the course.”

Four years ago, John O’Gaunt’s Carthagena course had its irrigation system updated to Toro Lynx and Golf Decoder Controller irrigation system, operated with dual trajectory series full or part circle sprinklers, and as that concluded it became the turn of the John O’Gaunt course. This time Nigel chose Infinity:

“The system on Carthagena has performed brilliantly,” he says. “It was always the plan that we would move straight on to updating the John O’Gaunt course sprinklers after Carthagena, and as we finished Infinity launched in the UK. I was immediately impressed with their accessibility for maintenance and made the decision that we should try this new technology on the John O’Gaunt course.”

The addition of four Infinity sprinklers on the fairways and four on the greens too, means that Nigel is half way through renovating the 18 holes on the John O’Gaunt course with Infinity. Nigel says he aims to have the remaining nine updated within the next three years.

According to Robert Jackson, irrigation field sales manager at Reesink, this is a classic example of how the little things can make big differences, he says: “The inclusion of a fountain in a new or existing lake can so easily elevate it to being a beauty spot. Similarly, the John O’Gaunt course installation shows how innovation through renovation can be easily and gradually applied to an irrigation system.”