Signs are looking good for the country to get back on its feet again as many of the restriction easings have been fast-tracked.
We are very close to a new government being formed. It has been over four months since the General Election, which resulted in a complicated result to say the least. It will be interesting to see how the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME’s) will be looked after, especially those businesses that came into hard times during the Covid-19 lockdown, which included many service dealers and distributors around the country.
Signs are looking good for the country to get back on its feet again as many of the restriction easings have been fast-tracked. GAA sportspitches will re-open for training this Wednesday, five days ahead of schedule. The five easing Phases have been reduced to four with Phase 4 to begin on July the 20th. This is mostly due to the co-operation of the public with fewer cases and deaths being reported. Thankfully, the peak of the virus is past us but there are concerns of fresh outbreaks occuring in Bejing. We must not drop our guard just yet.
It is hard to see how long the 2 meter distancing rule will apply for. There are suggestions from some businesses, such as small restaurants and pubs, that the distance should be reduced to 1 meter. Will the 2 meter distancing become the new normal and how will it impact dealership premises and workshops?
It is encouraging to see tractor and machinery factories reopening around Europe which, hopefully, will see dealers receiving machines and spare parts for delivery to their customers. However, as last April’s figures show, demand for tractors in Ireland has dropped since the lockdown. I was talking to one dairy farmer recently and he told me that the price he receives for milk has dropped, due to Covid-19. The reason, he said, was that there is less demand for dairy products, mainly because of hotels, restaurants and cafes remaining closed. These establishments are due to re-open next Monday (29th of June), with distancing restrictions in place. Some are of the opinion that tractor sales will probably pick up and will end up being the same as last year. Their reason is that even though demand dropped during the lockdown, the orders were still there, it was just that the factories producing the tractors were closed. These factories are now back in full production and are dealing with the back orders from last March and April.
It has been a different story, though, with domestic lawnmower sales. One dealer told me that, because they were closed during the lockdown, their lawnmower sales dropped dramatically, even though more people were out working in their garden. The fact that customers could not walk into a dealer’s premises to purchase mowers, especially second hand mowers, contributed to the downturn in sales. It was the online shopping that helped some dealers weather the pandemic.
There is one interesting element regarding the easing restrictions of Covid-19. Even though businesses have already re-opened, it is not what you would call “business as usual”. The cancellation of the agricultural shows around the country, the biggest being the National Ploughing Championships, has had a mixed reaction within our industry. These are places where tractor and lawnmower trade stands would be seen. Some dealers are of the view that the cancellation of these shows will make no impact on annual sales. One company representative even went as far as to say that it was a great relief for them that the shows were cancelled as it cost them more money on renting a stand than what they would get from the sales that were made there. Others say that the shows were great PR events, a place to meet existing customers and make new ones.
Whatever rules will be put in place after Covid-19 I don’t think life will be the same again. Don’t forget, Brexit is ready to greet us when the pandemic is finished.
The Toolkit has been created by The Ad Plain (TAP) with specialist dealer input & wide support from across the industry, to share practical tools and tips for dealers who are looking for support with their digital activity.
The toolkit has been created by content, social and web specialists The Ad Plain (TAP), with support from across the industry, to share practical tools and tips for dealers, who are looking for support with their digital activity.
Service Dealer owner, Duncan Murray-Clarke said, “It is completely clear that dealerships now need to have digital communications at the top of their list of priorities and for some dealerships, we realise that this might be a very daunting prospect."
Watch Duncan introduce the Toolkit below:
With modules covering everything from getting the basics right when setting up your social media channels to tips on improving the SEO of your website, The Ad Plain has worked with dealers to ensure the guidance is relevant, useful and easy to follow. The toolkit currently has six modules available with new modules to be added on a weekly basis over the next 4 weeks.
UK-based dealers James Hayes from Hayes Machinery, Chris Gibson from GGM Groundscare, Pete McArthur from Strathbogie Forest & Garden and Jason Nettle from Winchester Garden Machinery have all contributed to the toolkit and have shared their top tips and expertise throughout.
Duncan Murray-Clarke who also owns The Ad Plain (TAP) says, “With dealer support and direction, we have created this toolkit to give dealers the confidence to invest their time and money in digital activity.
“After several particularly hard years and with ever increasing pressures on running a business, there are ways that dealers can use social media and other digital marketing platforms to improve their bottom line and regain some ground from the online zero value giants. The toolkit has been designed to support entry level upwards and with topics including how to increase your followers, using Pay-Per-Click and setting up Twitter & Facebook ads, we feel that every dealer will be able to take something from it – whether complete beginners or those wanting to take their digital activity to the next level.”
The Dealer Digital Toolkit has been incredibly well supported by the industry, with sponsorship from 15 manufacturers. Service Dealer would also like to thank Keith Christian, Director of BAGMA for his support in its creation and social media guru Teresa Heath-Wareing for her contribution. But above all our award-winning dealers - James, Chris, Pete and Jason who have ensured the content is not “off the peg” but relevant to our amazing UK and Ireland dealer network.
The general business climate index for the agricultural machinery industry in Europe has further improved but continues deeply negative.
The general business climate index for the agricultural machinery industry in Europe has further improved but continues deeply negative at -47 points (on a scale of -100 to +100) after having dropped as sharply and deeply as it had not since the financial crisis of 2008/09.
According to the European Agricultural Machinery Association (CEMA), the current improvement of the business climate is primarily the result of less negative future expectations. Last month, 75% of the industry representatives were expecting a decreasing turnover, whereas in the meantime “only” 56% of the industry representatives expect a decreasing turnover within the coming six months.
Restrictions in the course of COVID-19 are still in place, but have been further reduced along the way to the end customer: on average of all companies participating in the survey, the production capacity utilisation is meanwhile at 83% of the level before COVID-19. The conditions on the distribution side have improved the most compared to last month. Overall, however, the distribution side is still causing slightly more problems than the supplier side, which is now again able to supply at 88% of the level before COVID-19.
With regards to the European market, the expectations of the survey participants have also improved, but there is still a clear majority of participants expecting turnover decreases from all regions except Scandinavia.
The entire CEMA Business Barometer report can be found here.
The GMA has said it is "highly encouraging" to see the support they have received from the industry regarding their decision to postpone 2020's event.
The GMA has said it is "highly encouraging" to see the support they have received from the industry regarding their decision to postpone 2020's SALTEX.
Speaking on behalf of the GMA Board, Geoff Webb, CEO at the GMA commented, “We would like to thank our exhibitors, visitors, partners and suppliers for their support and patience during this challenging time.
"It has been highly encouraging to see the industry come together and support the GMA’s decision.
“We feel we have acted quickly, working hard to secure these new Spring dates, in order to deliver the event the industry deserves.”
The GMA says their announcement has been well received by exhibitors and those working in the industry who have praised the timing of the decision.
David Cole, managing director of Reesink Turfcare, said, "We are pleased to see the GMA take decisive steps to deal with the growing doubt and anxiety about SALTEX going ahead in November. It would have been a difficult decision for a variety of reasons, but for us the right one to remove uncertainty and replace it with a forward date that we can look forward to with optimism. Early March keeps us in the ‘pre-season’ window to be able to give focus to the exhibition before the pressures of the season takeover."
David’s views were echoed by Caroline Shaw, European marketing manager for Trimax Mowers. Caroline said, “The decision to postpone the largest show of the year couldn’t have been easy but the decisive action, coupled with the determination to put the health and well-being of our industry professionals first, is something we are proud to support.”
Tom Shinkins, operations manager at GKB Machines, believes that the new dates could be advantageous, saying, “I believe the new dates will actually be more beneficial because we’ll be able to arrange demonstrations with prospective new customers straight after the show.
“With the show previously in November, we would meet lots of visitors on our stand but quite often we would not be able to carry out demonstrations for them until the new year due to the unpredictable weather. Now we will have the whole of Spring to visit SALTEX customers.”
Industry professional end users also had postive things to say about the move. Neil Stubley, head of courts and horticulture at the All English Lawn and Tennis Club, Wimbledon, said, "It’s a sensible decision which allows everyone to concentrate on the here and now and then focus for 2021."
Karl McDermott, head groundsman at Lord’s, said, “Sad news but the right decision. I always see SALTEX as a great way to finish off the cricket season but now it is going to be a nice warmup for next season. I’m looking forward to March 2021.”
SALTEX will now take place on 3 and 4 March 2021 at the NEC, Birmingham.
Organisers of recent Cereals LIVE - the online version of the arable event - have proclaimed it a "resounding success".
Organisers of recent Cereals LIVE - the online version of the arable event - have proclaimed it a "resounding success", saying it attracted over 10,000 visitors from all over the world.
Having postponed the physical event due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the organisers say they decided to deliver as much content as possible online to support the industry during lockdown. The result was a two-day online event on 10-11 June featuring a seminar programme, video demonstrations of machinery and new kit, crop plot tours and interactive chat with exhibitors.
“We have been overwhelmed at the reaction from the farming industry,” said event director Alli McEntyre. “Everyone has been really keen to get involved – and the response to the live webinars far exceeded our expectation. We had more than 9,000 live viewers, with the top session drawing over 800 attendees and every session producing some excellent questions from the audience.”
Visitors were also able to view machinery in action in the Syngenta Sprays & Sprayers Arena – where the Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year presentation took place. Scooping the top spot was Matt Fuller, who works at Heathcote Farms, Toddington, Bedfordshire.
The event offered an opportunity for visitors to collect BASIS and NRoSO points, as well as a plethora of technical advice from exhibitors and through the NIAB virtual event hub. There were also virtual crop walks and video from crop plots at the original Cambridgeshire site.
Closing the event on each day was a virtual beer tent, where visitors could relax with friends, request live music from the resident DJ and pledge money to the charity partner RABI.
“Nothing can quite replace seeing friends, machinery and crops in person, but going online has enabled us to deliver a wide range of content and to reach a totally new audience,” said Ms McEntyre. “I’d like to thank all of our exhibitors, sponsors, speakers and visitors for contributing to such a successful event, and look forward to meeting you face-to-face next year.”
Kubota this week became the first tractor manufacturer to be double AEF certified with its combination of TIM M7003 Premium KVT tractor series and TIM baler BV5xxx series earning the certification.
Kubota this week became the first tractor manufacturer to be double AEF certified with its combination of TIM M7003 Premium KVT tractor series and TIM baler BV5xxx series earning the certification.
In the work environment, this will allow the M7003 tractor to communicate with the AEF certified implements, allowing the TIM baler or other AEF certified TIM implements to control tractor functionalities such as PTO, hydraulic, and vehicle speed.
The AEF (Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation) recently announced that both the baler and the M7003 tractor developed by Kubota have received the certification of the TIM conformance test. AEF, in its role as an international organisation dedicated to the technological innovation of agricultural equipment has the mandate to test and ensure that the manufacturers are following the protocol to be TIM certified.
Kubota say their TIM (Tractor Implement Management) enables bilateral communication between tractors and implements, allowing them to work in harmony and reduce the possibility of committing human error. On top of this, the TIM technology has the capacity to increase driver comfort by automatically performing the repetitive actions of the baling process and gives the tractor real-time information which means the driver does not have to check the state of the bales to complete baling. Once an exact bale diameter is reached, the tractor stops and discharges it, always maintaining the same compaction level, achieving the highest quality work.
The decision has been made to bring the robotic line marking company together as one around the world.
The robotic line marking company, Intelligent One, has changed their name to the U.S brand title, Turf Tank.
Until now, the company has been operating under Intelligent Marking everywhere outside of the United States. The decision has now been made to bring the company together as one, and this merge will also see the renaming of the GPS line marker which will now be known as the Turf Tank One.
This development at the Danish company coincides with the appointment of new CEO, Olav Jørgensen and COO, Morten Kaalund.
The company have also announced the launch of the latest software update that they say delivers "much-requested features" as well as improving both usability and reliability. This begins with the update process itself, which can now be done straight from the tablet.
Other major features of the 1.5 update include setting flags/points right from the tip of the nozzle, being able to rotate a field around its centre or in discrete steps (1/45/90 degree increments etc.), moving the field by pushing buttons next to the edge of the field itself and a new ‘select shape’ dialogue that makes browsing through route plans more intuitive.
Due to the ongoing uncertainties surrounding Covid-19, the directors of the UK's APF 2020 have announced they have postponed the event for this year.
Due to the ongoing uncertainties surrounding Covid 19 the Directors of the UK's APF 2020 have announced that they have taken the difficult decision to postpone the event this year.
The revised plan is to roll forward the forestry machinery show which was due to take place at Ragley Estate from September 24-26 this year, to the same venue on 23/24/25th September 2021.
On their website the organisers listed all the reasons why they felt they must reschedule the event until next year. These included:
The current ban on mass gatherings is still in place with no indication of if or when this restriction will be lifted.
Recognising that exhibitors need to order stock and equipment for the show, much of which has a three month lead time and avoid the risk of exhibitors buying stock for the show which is then cancelled at short notice.
The potential lack of availability of nearby hotel accommodation for APF staff.
The proposed restrictions and quarantining of anyone visiting the UK will severely affect exhibitors, their staff and visitors from abroad being able to attend.
Social distancing rules making it very hard for exhibitors to engage with visitors safely.
Not to place an unnecessary potential strain on local emergency services by holding a mass gathering and recognising that currently police, ambulance and St John Ambulance are not attending any such events, with no indication of when they might do so.
Exhibition secretary, Ian Millward is quoted on the show's website, saying, "It is with a very heavy heart that we made this decision, but taking all of the above into account it became obvious that there was only one sensible option and that was to postpone until September 2021.
"The show is the industry flagship event and everyone in the organising team is passionate about the show and want to make it the best we possibly can. We simply cannot stage the event this year to the size and quality our exhibitors, sponsors, visitors and ourselves want. We sincerely hope that in 12 months time the world will have returned to something much closer to normal and we can run the event as we and everyone else want.
"Although the decision to postpone will impact financially, we remain in a robust financial position and exhibitors will not lose their site fees. We will roll these forward to APF 2021. Any visitors who have already bought advance tickets can either carry forward their tickets to APF 2021 or request a refund."
The show is a biannual event and after APF 2021 orgainsers say they will continue with this two-year cycle so the next event would be 2023 then 2025 etc.
