The past week has been surreal here in Ireland. The cherry trees are in full blossom, birds are singing, blue skies, and people are out for walks in the countryside and on the beaches. One would think that life is normal. It is anything but. This coronavirus is dictating everyday life here and all over the world. We are now in lockdown mode with many restrictions.

I live in a rural area, which has its advantages. There are fewer people in daily communication, which reduces infections being passed to others. Up until Friday, in this spell of fine weather, I have been going on walks each day to keep myself sane. I saw farmers take advantage of the fine weather. They were out tilling the land getting the ground ready for spring sowing. It was a lovely sight in the fine weather. The ground was dry, ideal conditions for carrying out such tasks. For them life goes on regardless. However, for most of us, we are restricted to staying indoors or walking within 2km of our homes.

Lots of businesses have come to a grinding halt and many have lost their jobs as a result. The Irish government has asked those that can, to work from home. In today’s era of technology this is a real alternative but many industries are not ‘operate from home’ friendly businesses. Service dealers and distributors are perfect examples of such types of business. One cannot simply sell or demonstrate machines from home.

Speaking to several garden machinery dealers around the country, closing down is having a detrimental affect on their businesses. It couldn’t happen at a worse time as we head into the growing season. April and May is the time of year when most lawnmower sales are made and to see business owners shut down during this time is extremely hard for them and their employees.

One dealer told me “We have written April off as a trading month and hope that we don’t remain closed for May. Some of our employees decided to stay at home, which leaves us on a skeleton staff. However this will be all irrelevant if we are told to close down for a few weeks”.

Many of the tractor manufacturing companies in Europe have ceased production for two weeks.

However, most of the farming dealerships here in Ireland are still open for business but have adjusted their daily trading strategy. Some have developed a Call & Collect service only where the customer phones in advance to see if the part they need is in stock. If it is they pay for it over the phone and then arrive at the premises to collect their item, which will be left outside the door of the premises. If the part is to be ordered the dealer will contact the customer when it arrives.

The coronavirus doesn’t affect grass growth. Lawns and sportspitches will still need to be cut and groundstaff are still out and about maintaining their facilities, even if no one is around to play on them. The Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) have recommended that golf clubs close until April 19th. They do suggest that greenkeeping staff continue maintaining the courses. On their website they state:

For security and essential maintenance purposes, greenkeeping staff can still attend work.

All work must be carried out in strict accordance with government guidelines on physical (social) distancing. Clubs should divide course staff into two teams where possible and if one becomes unavailable, the other team will still be okay to work.

I honestly hope that, when the virus crisis is over that our industry can recover from it. Many will but I’m sure there will be some casualties. In the meantime stay safe and healthy.

For the most up to date information and advice on Coronavirus, please go to:

 
https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/c36c85-covid-19-coronavirus

hse.ie/coronavirus

gov.ie