2020 IS BEHIND US We now look forward to 2021 by Service Dealer Ireland Editor, Alan Mahon
With a Brexit deal signed and vaccines being rolled out the start of a new year brings a lot of excitement and anticipation
I hope you had a great Christmas, despite the restrictions that were imposed upon us.
Christmas, for me, was very pleasant. In a normal year my mother would arrive to our house for Christmas dinner but this year she stayed at home and had dinner on her own. It didn’t bother her in the slightest. She is a very practical person and has taken all the restrictions in her stride. As long as she is able to get out for her daily walk she is quite content. Her positive outlook is refreshing.
I did feel sorry for those who were unable to travel home from abroad to spend Christmas with their families. We are back in full lockdown again for at least another month. Not a great start to the year. Hopefully, 2021 will see an end to Covid-19, now that the vaccines have started to be distributed and administered. However, it will take many months before the entire nation has been vaccinated. The past two weeks has seen a huge spike in coronavirus cases so there is still a long way to go before we are rid of the virus.
It was great to hear that a Brexit deal was eventually finalised, agreed and signed. It seems that most are happy (or more likely relieved) with the deal. However, those in the fishing industry are not happy with it. We will have to wait and see how it all pans out, especially in our own industry. At first glance it looks like that there will be little or no tariffs on goods coming in and out of the UK. There are over 1200 pages in the Brexit deal document so there is a lot to digest.
A sign of things to come? Three cargo ships wait their turn to enter Rosslare Europort on New Year’s day. (Photo Alan Mahon)
One of the things I would like to see in 2021 is the reduction in farm fatalities. Up to the 13th of October, 2020, there were 17 farm related fatalities in Ireland. The total number of fatalities on farms recorded in 2019 was 19, representing 48% of all work related fatalities. As sellers of farm and horticultural tractors, machinery and equipment, we have a responsibility to make our customers aware of the dangers associated with these machines and to inform them of the safety precautions needed to ensure their safe operation. No family wants to get a knock on the door telling them that their loved one has been killed in a farm accident.
The start of a new year brings a lot of excitement and anticipation. We look forward to new machinery being introduced and the development of new and innovative technology. Already we have seen technology entering the tractor cab with GPS guidance systems used for spraying, fertiliser spreading, mowing, seeding and much more. Robotic mowing for garden and professional use on sportspitches has increased substantially in 2020. I’m sure this will continue in 2021. What new developments await us in 2021? I can’t wait to find out.
To finish up, I would like to wish you and your families all the very best for the New Year. I hope it will be a year that, above all, will keep you safe and healthy.
If it goes ahead, the event is reported to take place in the open air and will have a three-day format.
The Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA) is planning to host a large-scale farmer event during the second half of 2021.
“We will make a final decision at the end of March,” confirmed FTMTA chief executive Gary Ryan.
FTMTA's Grass & Muck 2020 show was forced to cancel
Continuing, Ryan said, "If it goes ahead, the event will take place in the open air and will have a three-day format.
“There is a huge appetite amongst the general public for a traditional machinery event. And FTMTA members feel likewise.
“Our planning for 2021 is wholly dependent on the Covid-19 situation. If the vaccination programme is seen to be working, then it will be so much easier for us to plan head.
“We have also to work through the format option for an event in 2021. Will it be focussed on static machinery or will it be run along lines similar to those followed for the FTMTA Grass and Muck events?
"These are decisions that we have to make over the coming weeks."
Ryan noted the commitment made by a number of organisations to host virtual machinery events over recent months, adding:
“But farmers still want to see the items of machinery they are interested in close up. They need that touch-feel experience.
“For their part, machinery manufacturers and dealers value that all important, one-to-one contact with potential buyers.
“It’s all about making the deal, which they can’t do courtesy of a virtual event.”
Reflecting on a very topsy-turvy year for FTMTA, Ryan said that it was with great regret that the decision to cancel Grass and Muck 2020 had been taken.
“Initially, I was pretty convinced that we would have had the opportunity to push ahead with an event in August, following the decision to postpone in May.”
He continued, “But the government’s decision, effectively banning public gatherings of 5,000 and more people until at least September, superseded that postponement.
"Assuming that we have the opportunity of pushing ahead with our own plans in the second half of 2020, it will then be two years since a large-scale machinery has been held in Ireland.
Ryan concluded, “Thankfully, Irish machinery dealers were officially recognised as essential and have been allowed to trade uninterrupted throughout 2021.
“Our members fully recognise that businesses in other sectors were not provided with this opportunity.
“Our hope and expectation is that the country will return to some form of normality during 2012, holding out the hope that it will be business as usual for manufacturers, dealers and farmers.”
Started in 2018, The Nenagh Christmas Tractor lights parade has become a much loved annual event - however, 2020's was forced to be different.
Started in 2018, The Nenagh Christmas Tractor lights parade has become a much loved annual event. However 2020's event, due to Covid-19, was instead shown online at 7pm on the 19th of December.
The uncertainty of the moment and the need to protect each other encouraged the event organisers to think outside the box on how to bring the magic of the ‘Christmas Tractors of Nenagh’ safely to the community. This year’s celebration was filmed ahead of time in Nenagh and viewed virtually, available to family and friends around the world. ‘This year’s virtual celebration gave a great opportunity for members of our community who did not live locally or were unable to travel home this Christmas to participate in this unique tradition’ commented event organizer Albert Purcell. “Proceeds are split between Embrace FARM and Billy Goulding, Billy’s recovery, for the local little lad there from Cloughjordan that would melt anyone’s heart,” continued Albert. So far over €13,000 has been raised for the two charities.
Embrace FARM, founded by Brian and Norma Rohan, supports a network of farm families who have lost a loved one or suffered serious injury in a farming accident. "Supporting the farming community is so important and we see it’s direct impact with the ‘Christmas Tractors of Nenagh’ where farmers are coming out to support their local town and community. Now more than ever that sense of community is extremely important, so we are delighted to be a recipient of the 2020 ‘Christmas Tractors of Nenagh’ fundraising efforts," said Norma.
Proceeds from the ‘Christmas Tractors of Nenagh’ will also go to Billy’s Recovery to support the care of Billy Goulding who was tragically left paralysed after contracting a virus at a young age.
Abbey Machinery and other local businesses supported the event in raising funds for Embrace FARM and Billy’s Recovery. “The ‘Christmas Tractors of Nenagh’ production brought much needed cheer to the community while raising funds for Embrace FARM and Billy’s Recovery, organisations extremely important to the Abbey team” commented Abbey Machinery Managing Director, Clodagh Cavanagh. Santa’s sleigh cost €3,000 to make and Abbey Machinery kindly paid for the cost of this.
The Agricultural Contractors of North Tipperary had worked on their tractors and displays for weeks preparing a spectacular event filled with classic tractors, Christmas lights and plenty of cheer. Entries to the run were limited to members of the Agricultural Contractors of North Tipperary resulting in remarkable, long planned, festive displays for the community to enjoy.
For those interested in viewing the showstopping spectacular you can view below.
The 2020 ‘Christmas Tractors of Nenagh’ was streamed live on Facebook and YouTube on Saturday 19th December at 7pm on the ‘Christmas Tractors of Nenagh’ page.
Unfortunately statistics show that one farmer is killed almost every two weeks in Ireland. Over 290 lives were lost in the last 10 years alone.
One of the organisers Albert Purcell explains how people can donate:
“This year obviously we couldn’t have any bucket collections like we’d normally have so we set up a GoFundMe page on our Facebook. On that you can donate but also Embrace FARM have a great idea, they’ve set up a text. You can text the word FARM to 50300 and every text you donate €4.”
BIGGA says the event, called the Festival of Turf, is intended to bring together the greenkeeping and turf management industry for two days of innovation, exhibition and entertainment.
Taking place at the Warwickshire Event Centre on 8 & 9 June 2021, the Festival of Turf will feature two full exhibition days with a wide range of trade stalls. BIGGA says this will be the first opportunity to interact with vendors and meet face-to-face with industry peers since before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
The Warwickshire Event Centre is located on the outskirts of Leamington Spa, close to Coventry. Centrally-located, the Association believes the venue enjoys good access to all transport networks, along with 2,000 free parking spaces.
The Warwickshire Event Centre can accommodate up to 200 exhibitors and is capable of welcoming 3,000 visitors a day through its doors. It is set in a 30-acre site with both indoor and outdoor exhibition areas.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic BIGGA say they have been in regular conversation with regulators, golf’s governing bodies and central government and they are confident that a successful event can take place in June 2021. BIGGA also believe there is a keen desire among commercial partners and industry professionals to provide an event that enables the industry to move forward and begin the process of rebuilding so many key relationships that have been eroded through the distance imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
BTME, BIGGA’s annual trade exhibition that was due to be held this month, has been cancelled, however their education programme, Continue to Learn, has moved to an entirely-online format and will be held across two weeks in January.
BIGGA CEO Jim Croxton said, “I’m excited that BIGGA is finally able to launch the Festival of Turf to the industry and bring some much-needed hope for a brighter future. The Festival of Turf is a hugely welcome opportunity to reunite our industry, which will have been forcibly separated by the global pandemic for nearly 18 months by the time this event takes place.
“The industry has survived brilliantly despite all the challenges it has faced, due in no small part to the resilience and adaptability of BIGGA members and the network of commercial partners and who have supported us all throughout the pandemic. There has been a clear groundswell of opinion that members, other turf professionals and commercial supporters want the opportunity to celebrate our achievements and put this whole terrible ordeal behind us - and that’s where the Festival of Turf comes in. The event will be an opportunity to reconnect at a time when personal connections have never been more vital.”
To give customers access to new products in advance, Pöttinger has used a modern communication tool to exhibit its products virtually on a digital platform.
Because it is not possible to physically visit agricultural machinery trade fairs currently, agricultural machinery manufacturer Pöttinger has launched its new products for the 2020/2021 financial year directly to customers.
Virtual exhibition of what's new for the 2021 season
"The high quality and easy-to-use interface create a new trade fair experience that can be visited anywhere and at any time," said Gregor Dietachmayr, spokesperson for the management team, pleased about this innovation.
The visitor can get precise information about machine details, watch videos and find out more. The company says the platform will be updated regularly with new product details, information and interactive features.
John Deere has confirmed partnerships with in the U.S and Europe with The Ladies Professional Golf Association and the Ladies European Tour.
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has announced a new three-year official marketing partnership with John Deere.
John Deere equipment at work on The PGA Centenary Course during the 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland
With the agreement, John Deere becomes the LPGA Tour’s official golf course equipment supplier and will support the LPGA Foundation’s efforts to introduce more girls to the game of golf.
Additionally, the Ladies European Tour (LET) announced a three-year extension to its longstanding partnership with John Deere, which began in 2007.
Kelly Hyne, chief sales officer for the LPGA said, “We look forward to building upon John Deere’s strong history with the LET and Solheim Cup, bringing experience across both Tours and growing participation in the game of golf.”
Emma Allerton, LET commercial director, added, “We too are delighted to be extending our successful partnership with John Deere, continuing to work together towards shared goals and enhancing opportunities across women’s golf.”
John Deere has also signed on as the official golf course equipment supplier of the 2021 Solheim Cup at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. John Deere will work closely with agronomists for both Tours, with the goal of producing exceptional playing conditions across multiple continents.
Manny Gan, director global golf sales & ,arketing for John Deere said, “Through this agreement with the LPGA and the extended agreement with the LET, John Deere equipment will play a key role in providing a great playing experience at top courses around the world, and at the 2021 Solheim Cup.”
Finally, John Deere will support the LPGA Foundation’s Renee Powell Grant, which was established in 2020 to provide need-based grants to LPGA USGA Girls Golf programs that are inclusive of black communities as part of their initiatives. Earlier this year, five Girls Golf sites in the greater Toledo/Cleveland area were selected as the inaugural grant recipients. In 2021, participants from these five sites will participate in the Solheim Cup Experience presented by John Deere, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a special part of the week’s celebration and competition.
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