Even though I'm not a parent, my internal calendar still seems to work based around the school holidays (admittedly it could be something to do with being married to a schoolteacher - or more likely, based on my obsession with superheroes and space lazers, that I'm stuck in the past!).

Regardless, the end of August always says to me back to school - or rather in our industry, back to trade shows and dealer days.

Every year at this time, looking at the upcoming schedule of events will reveal a plethora of days all vying for your time away from the business.

In this Update today for example, we're mentioning next week's Tillage-Live which could be of interest for our agricultural machinery dealer readers. In a couple of weeks, there's this year's Glee, which lawn and garden dealers might find of interest. This is followed up in October by the IOG's SALTEX exhibition which professional turfcare dealers should find valuable. And for those who fancy a trip further afield, there's the huge GIE-EXPO in Louisville, Kentucky also in October.

That's not forgetting, the Service Dealer Conference and Dealer of the Year awards evening which follow in November.

Add into this mix, the various manufacturers and suppliers who are running their own dealer days, conferences and regional demonstration events throughout this upcoming autumn season and there's clearly a potentially very large pull on your time resources coming up.

The perennial debate which swirls around a timetable like this tends to focus on whether the inevitable disruption caused by being away from work for a couple of days is outweighed by the benefits afforded by attending? A difficult one, and one which frankly only you can answer - and even then the answer will vary depending on circumstances at any given time.

As I've stated before, I believe shows and demo days are undoubtedly, A Good Thing. The positive benefits which attending can afford in terms of expanding knowledge, networking, gaining expertise, sourcing new products etc etc is hard to deny.

However, let's be realistic, if you went to every single event you've received an invite to, or even just sent a representative of the dealership along, the pull on a small business's resources would be far too much. Therefore carefully picking and choosing appears to be the order of the day.

There might be an argument though, that this year of all years, is one where listening to new ideas, picking up some fresh thinking, sharing opinions and war stories with peers, is more valuable than ever? What with last year's well documented hardships and this one's roller coaster of fortunes, perhaps considering heading along to a few more industry gatherings in the next couple of months could pay off?

Say it quietly, but there appears to be a whiff of optimism in the air currently for the industry. I read a quote from the event director of the Glee show, Matthew Mein, who said, "The market is reporting a strong start to the 2019 season, with sales up 37% year-on-year.

"A combination of good weather, and consumers retreating to their homes in a time of economic uncertainty, has paid dividends for our industry. As such we move into the 2019 event with a sense of excitement regarding the future development and growth of our sector."

I also saw a mostly positive piece in the U.S trade journal, Rural Lifestyle Dealer, by Mike Horak who is the president of the outdoor products group for Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance. He wrote, ".. 2019’s first half has provided a solid foundation for lawn and garden industry performance. In addition to more favourable weather patterns this year, strong employment and consumer fundamentals are helping drive purchase activity." 

So perhaps, this upcoming show season is an ideal time to catch this burgeoning wave of optimism? Coming off a tricky period, now could be the time to find that new product line, try that new business method or mix things up a bit in the dealership.

Finding the time to attend could be the best decision you make this autumn.

It was announced yesterday (29 August) that Ernest Doe & Sons Ltd has purchased the business of Bartram Mowers. The company will trade from Bartam’s Norwich premises for three months before being incorporated into Doe’s North Walsham branch. The Ipswich branch has already been moved to Doe’s Framlingham branch. 

As part of the deal, Ernest Doe has also acquired Bartram’s established lawnmowersdirect e-commerce platform

It appears that Mark Bartram approached Ernest Doe to buy the Bartram Mowers business following notification that Ransomes Jacobsen were expanding Ernest Doe’s territory for their franchise to incorporate Suffolk and Norfolk. 

Ernest Doe’s Managing Director, Colin Doe, said: “The Bartram Mowers business is a good fit for Ernest Doe. We have three branches in Norfolk and three in Suffolk from which to support customers in the area. With our network of established branches in Norfolk and Suffolk, we are focussed on building on the high level of service Bartram have provided to their customers and are looking forward to fresh challenges as we enter this exciting new phase of our business.”

Bartram Mowers was founded in 1972 by Barry Bartram with an initial staff of of four. In the early days, the business focussed strongly on the distribution of Flymo products, but in recent years has added a wide range of domestic and professional turfcare machinery franchises.  In 1979, the company acquired its present 20-acre site in Norwich, and in 1988 added a branch sited on the Ransomes Industrial Park at Ipswich.  In 1999, Bartrams added a direct selling division, Lawnmowers Direct.

Founded in 1898, Ernest Doe claims to be the UK's largest groundcare, agricultural and construction equipment dealer operating out of 19 sites. Current managing director Colin Doe is the fourth generation of the family to run the business with his son, Angus, the current Service Director.

IT was announced by the Deere and Company Board of Directors on 28 August 2019 that John May has been appointed as the new CEO effective 4 November 2019

In 2018, May was named president, Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division Global Harvesting and Turf Platforms, Ag Solutions, Americas and Australia. From 2012 to 2018, May served as President, Wolrdwide Agriculture and Turf Division - Agriculture Solutions and Chief Information Officer

The previous CEO, Samuel R Allen will remain on the Board of Directors and servce as Chairman, stepping down as CEO on 4 November 2019. He has served as Deere and Company CEO since 2010.

Importers of secondhand agricultural, horticultural or forestry machinery need to be aware of regulations which say equipment needs to be free from soil and plant debris - that come into force from September 1st.

In an official post on the government's website, it states that from this date, machinery or vehicles that have been used for agricultural or forestry purposes will be subject to plant health regulations when imported from any third country.

The official statement says, "Importers must ensure that machinery or vehicles of this kind are accompanied by an official statement such as a phytosanitary certificate, detailing that they have been cleaned and are free from soil and plant debris."

The requirements do not apply to new machinery and vehicles.

All plant health import inspections of the machinery subject to control arriving in England and Wales will be performed by Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) Inspectors, and recorded on the Procedure for Electronic Application for Certificates system (PEACH).

Importers of regulated machinery should notify the Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate (PHSI) and register on the PEACH system. The government has issued guidance on notifying the PHSI and using the PEACH system which can be found here.

Machinery and vehicles landing in Scotland should be manually notified to the Forestry Commission’s Plant Health Service. The Forestry Commission will arrange an import inspection.

The Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes covered by the new legislation are:

• ex 8432 (Agricultural, horticultural or forestry machinery for soil preparation or cultivation; lawn or sports-ground rollers)
• ex 8433 53 (Root or tuber harvesting machines)
• ex 8436 80 10 (Forestry machinery excludes chainsaws 8467 81 00 00))
• ex 8701 20 90 (Used Tractors for semi-trailers (other than tractors of heading 8709):
• ex 8701 91 10 (Agricultural tractors and forestry tractors, wheeled, of an engine power not exceeding 18 kW)

Importers of the machinery subject to regulation, who need any further information or guidance, can contact the APHA PHSI (Plant Health and Seed Inspectorate) helpline on 01904 405138.

Cobra say they are proud to have teamed up with the Breast Cancer Now charity to produce a limited edition pink GTRM38P electric lawnmower with the aim to help fund the future of breast cancer research.

Peter Chaloner managing director of Cobra said, “We have colleagues, family and friends who have been effected by this life changing illness and so we decided that this would be a great idea to raise money for this excellent charity.

"Breast Cancer Now is the UK’s largest breast cancer research charity and are dedicated to funding research into this devastating disease."

The company donates £25 from every sale to the charity and the entire stock will be sold, making a total donation of £5000.

The electric machine has a 38cm/15” cutting width and a rear roller. Grass cuttings are either collected in the 40 litre bag or can be discharged as a mulch. It has seven different heights of cut and comes with 10 metres of electric cable

The machine has a two year guarantee and sells for £99.99 in specialist Cobra garden machinery dealers.

“We have been delighted with the customer support for our pink mower and plan to offer it for sale again in 2020,” says Peter. “We hope to make even more money for Breast Cancer Now.”

Tillage-Live 2019 takes place next week on Wednesday, September 4 from 8.30am at Deenethorpe Airfield in Northamptonshire.

McCormick X7 Series tractors can be seen at Tillage-Live next week

Organised by the AEA, the one-day event focuses on options for establishing grain and oilseed crops by way of cultivation and sowing techniques that promote best practice for cultural weed control, minimising energy use, protecting soils and providing the best conditions to get crops underway.

The event attracts leading suppliers of arable implements who actively demonstrate their new and established equipment.

One of the tractor manufacturers who will be attending the event to support the demonstration of the arable implements will be McCormick. Adrian Winnett, managing director of UK and Ireland operations at McCormick manufacturer Argo Tractors, said, “We’re supporting Lemken, Ovlac, Pöttinger and Proforge at this event because it’s also an important shop window for the tractors needed to operate high-capacity tillage implements.”

McCormick dealers in the vicinity - Catley Engineering at Desford, Leics; A Downing Agricultural Engineers near March, Cambs; and the newly-appointed Northants dealership Venture Farm Machinery at Kettering - are also supporting the event with demonstration tractors.

The flagship McCormick X8 VT-Drive will be working at a Tillage-Live event for the first time, with three models spanning 264hp to 310hp.

McCormick X7 Series tractors will also be in action, giving event visitors the chance to compare the VT-Drive stepless and new P6-Drive transmissions, the latter serving up more powershift steps and a greater number of ratios than previous versions for better control versatility.

E.P. Barrus has extended its sales team with the appointment of Gary Bowness as area sales manager covering the North West and Midlands.

Gary brings over 15 years of sales experience specifically in garden tools, gloves and accessories. Before joining Barrus, Gary previously represented some key brands within the industry.

“I am looking forward to joining E.P. Barrus and utilising my 15 years of experience to contribute to the on-going success of its leading brands,” said Gary.

Mark Hewett, divisional sales manager for E.P. Barrus, added, “We are thrilled to welcome another member of staff to Barrus and feel that Gary’s expertise is sure to make him a valued member of the team. Our priority is to continue to provide our customers with high levels of support and excellent service.”

Interactive parts catalogues and operators’ manuals for KUHN machines up to 20 years old can now be accessed through the company’s MyKUHN online customer portal.

Any owner or operator can now obtain essential information for maintenance and repairs, by registering a machine’s serial number on the site, even when purchasing used equipment.

“There’s perhaps a tendency to assume services such as MyKUHN apply only to the new machinery buyer,” says KUHN UK managing director Siân Pritchard, “but the facility is arguably even more valuable to those purchasing a used machine. Having instant access to a user-friendly parts catalogue and up to date operator’s manual should give buyers greater confidence and make any ongoing servicing a lot easier and more cost-effective.”

The MyKUHN online customer portal was first launched in the UK in 2018 and is free to access via any PC, smartphone or tablet where there is access to the internet. In addition to 24/7 technical support, the portal improves KUHN’s post-sales customer service by offering a click and collect genuine spare parts service through local dealers. It also provides a wide range of associated advice and guidance and advanced notice on special offers, product improvements, events and new machine launches.

Once registered to use MyKUHN, customers can tailor the type and level of information they receive by customising their own preferences according to their areas of interest. In this way, users will be able to build their own library of content and will only receive information that is of specific relevance to their machinery fleet or applicable to their farming operations.

In the last 10 years Teesside Golf Club at Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees has undergone the biggest transformation of any club in the area, both on and off the course, which has been altered dramatically with the introduction of new tees, ponds and bunkers and the planting of more than 30,000 trees.

The 18-hole parkland course is situated on what used to be the old Stockton racecourse, while the clubhouse was originally a granary to which ships coming up the Tees delivered their grain. This has been fully renovated and extended, and future plans include improvements to both the practice and course facilities. Additional significant investment has more recently been made in new drainage, irrigation and John Deere course maintenance equipment to take the course and its presentation up to the desired level.

(Front left to right) Teesside club captain Dave McGuinness, dealer Alastair Briggs of Greenlay, head greenkeeper Gary Evans (seated on mower), greens chairman Tony Foster and John Deere territory manager Richard Charleton with (back row left to right) greenkeepers Chris Clemmett, Lee Cameron, Liam Barker, Richard Harvey and Nathan Wood.

Supplied as a John Deere Financial lease package by dealer salesman Alastair Briggs of Greenlay at Cramlington, the latest equipment includes a new 9009A rotary rough mower; a used 3235C fairway cylinder mower that was specified for the practice area, but also fills in as back-up fairway mower; 2653B & 2653A tees & surrounds mowers, the latter an older machine that was refurbished as part of the deal; and a 2500B greens triplex mower.

Greens chairman Tony Foster joined Teesside Golf Club’s committee last year, and straight away consulted with long-serving head greenkeeper Gary Evans over the choice of new equipment and supplier. “Downtime is an invisible but huge cost,” says Tony. “We don’t want our greenkeepers to be in the workshop, we need them out on the course, which is our most important asset.

“Repairs and breakdowns were becoming uneconomic, not only in terms of the maintenance expense but also the time it was costing the club - it was not cost-effective for us to keep having to repair an ageing fleet. It had got to the point where it was simply unsustainable, so the timing was right to bring in some new kit.

“We’ve bought a few John Deere machines over the years, and we did look at other makes, but no-one did as much as Alastair and Greenlay to get the deal. They put on a robust series of demonstrations, which showed off all the key equipment and their capabilities really well to the greenkeeping team. They also spent a lot of time with us on the different finance options and quotes, to get the deal just right for the club.”

Gary Evans picks up the story: “There’s a huge amount of grass here, with big areas of rough to cover,” he says. “We’re cutting around 160 acres across 18 holes, compared to a normal average of about 120 acres - plus I like to cut the grass as often as possible, to keep it tidy and clean, so there’s a lot of work involved to achieve this.

“Therefore, the first machine we considered was the 9009A TerrainCut, as the rough was what we were really struggling with. It needed two men and machines before, but the John Deere did the job on its own in different cutting conditions, with no problems. We then went for the 2500B greens mower with QA5 cutting units, and the 2653B utility mower was the final choice - the older model has never failed us, so that was a no-brainer.

“It’s all about making the team more efficient and giving us more flexibility to cope with the course conditions, weather and timing of operations. The better the cut quality and finish, the better the course is for the golfers, it’s that simple.”

“Greenlay and John Deere gave us the confidence that they could provide the right back-up and support, which is the basis of a good working relationship,” Tony Foster adds. “Their whole approach to delivering a complete package of advice, equipment and training also meant we could promote the investment to both our members and new golfers as a really positive benefit to the club.

“I’m a great believer that you need the right tools to do the job, and with these John Deere machines we have them.”

Argo Tractors has announced that they have invested in the development of digital resources for Landini and McCormick dealers in the UK and Ireland.

The company say that "digital transformation" is so critical to success that it has made significant investments, introducing high-tech tools to expand commercial networks and enhance customer service performance.

"The investments made and the projects launched aim to provide dealers with all the tools they need to work in the best possible conditions, reducing operating costs, increasing profitability and boosting their image", said Antonio Salvaterra, marketing director of Argo Tractors.

The company has developed an application called Easy Sell that allows the sales force to present customers with products, technical specifications, brochures and videos, as well as to manage the prices of tractors and accessories to compile quotes on farm. It is also possible to share materials with the sales team, manage the CRM (Customer Relationship Management), view reports on visits, approve offers, use Google Maps, store minutes of meetings with customers, archive documents.

"This exchange of information within Argo Tractors has improved the sharing and updating of information", says Antonio, "thereby allowing all branches, importers and dealers to optimise their offers. And all this is complemented by the portal for used machines designed to allow our sales network to provide maximum visibility to products available anywhere on the planet, exponentially increasing the visibility of each tractor".

Argo say the digitalisation project also involves social networks. "For this reason we've planned training  sessions for all dealerships to promote widespread communications that can simply and quickly amplify dealers' messages, thus enabling them to spend more time offering services directly to the customer," said Antonio.

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