Following on from all the excitement of the Conference and Awards, it's been back down to earth this week, readying the next issue of Service Dealer magazine for the printers.

Before that's published you can catch up with all the winners here and when the next edition does land on your desk, you'll be able to read a full report on the day's presentations and breakout seminars written by my colleague Martin Rickatson. Also coming soon, the team at TAP will be posting a round-up video, giving an overview of all that occurred, including interviews with speakers, sponsors and delegates. We'll give you a head's up on here when that's available.

Alongside all the formal speeches and interactive sessions at the Conference, one of the crucial elements that truly gives the day its life and makes it an essential return each year for many dealers, is the opportunity it affords peers and colleagues from dealerships around the country to interact with each other on an informal basis. Stories are swapped and experiences shared. 

Many delegates last week told me this was one of their most favoured elements of the day. There are not that many times throughout the year when this many dealers have the opportunity to get together and chat - so when those moments do come along, the chance to pick the brains of others who'll know what you've been going through, is truly appreciated.

For example one dealer who I won't name of course, was telling me last Thursday that they had been given the opportunity to take on a new franchise for their business - but they wanted to talk to some other dealers first, who already stocked this brand, to hear their honest take on the manufacturer. They told me this in the morning - and by the time I caught up with them again in the evening, I believe they had been able to gain some genuinely invaluable and helpful insight.

Alongside all the on-point content from the expert speakers, it's this extra benefit that dealers gain from having these off-the-record conversations with each other, that really adds to the Conference's overall DNA.

Warranty rates

One discussion area that came out of dealers talking with each other at last year's Conference that I'd like to revisit today via a short survey we're running, is the always contentious area of manufacturers' warranty rates. 

This cropped up last year when one dealer I spoke with had concerns over warranty work - specifically the discrepancies as they saw it, within the industry on the rates paid by different manufacturers.

This dealer's point was that some of the rates offered were quite simply far too low, making the undertaking of work economically unviable. And when we put this proposition to our wider readership last December, there was quite the outpouring of agreement.

Some comments we received from our dealer readers included:

• "Most implement, horticultural and handheld manufacturers pay ridiculously low hourly rates."
• "The main problem with warranty is that the manufacturers do not have any real understanding of warranty work and the time, effort and cost that goes into it." and
• "Warranty would be much fairer if they paid proper diagnostic times, admin times, more generous repair times and not this clinical surgery operation they all strive for."

And these were just the tip of the iceberg. Last year this survey was one of our most responded to we've ever run. It's fair to say that not one single comment we received from our dealer readers could be considered as praising manufacturers!

Therefore in this cost-of-living crisis that we are in the midst of, it'll be interesting to hear if the situation is any different today? We'd appreciate a few moments of your time to answer a couple of brief questions and to leave your thoughts on the subject. It'll be fascinating to compare the findings we receive to last year's.

As ever we'll publish the results and a selection of your comments in the next edition of Service Dealer magazine. Thanks in advance for your help.

TAKE THE SURVEY

Twelve young agricultural engineer apprentices from dealerships around the country, have recently picked up cash awards in recognition of their talent and dedication.

Presented at the recent Midlands Machinery Show, each received a £500 award, paid in £250 instalments over a two-year period, with most looking to spend the money on tools.
 
The Newark and Nottinghamshire Agricultural Society (NNAS) say they launched the Midlands Agricultural Engineering Apprenticeship Awards, led by former vice president Geoffrey Bond, in a bid to support young people as they develop their skills within the agricultural engineering sector.
 
NNAS deputy president Pat White, who presented the awards alongside farming YouTuber Olly Harrison, likened agricultural engineers to NHS doctors. “Without them, everything grinds to a halt,” he said. “They are vitally important. We need skilled craftsmen who are not worried about getting their hands dirty. These youngsters will be huge assets for the industry for years to come.”
 
Winners of the award were selected by NNAS and independent engineer Charles Szabo. Successful 2021 applicants, receiving their second £250 instalment were: Isaac Kirk, Ripon Farm Services; Zac Elsden, Chandlers; Kieran Snowden, Chandlers; Oliver Coupland, Ripon Farm Services; Stella Hubbard, Farol; and Luke Hatton, Russells.
 
Successful 2022 applicants receiving their first £250 instalment were: Aaron Barlow, B&B Tractors; Arun Slaney, B&B Tractors; Ryan Lomas, Chandlers; Robert Ward, Farol; Craig Redfern, Sharmans Agricultural; and Evan Roberts, Ripon Farm Services.
 
Promoting apprenticeships through awards like this is vital, explained Andrew Walker, group aftersales manager at B&B Tractors - who last week walked away with the Service Dealer Awards Leadership prize. “We have 20 apprentices in various stages of training and try to take on a three-year apprentice every year across our four depots. We want to attract people with an interest in engineering,” he added. “They don’t necessarily have to be from a farming background. Having the opportunity to work outside rather than stuck in a factory or car garage could be an attraction.”
 
Young apprentices are the lifeblood of the agriculture, said Charles Szabo. “Food is the number one issue. We need a strong agricultural industry, and we can’t do that without young apprentices.”

Chandlers Groundscare have announced the appointment of long-standing St Neots-based agricultural and groundscare dealership Arthur Ibbett Ltd as a dealer for the range of Grasshopper ZeroTurn ride-on mowers, covering Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire.

Ibbetts horticultural sales team consists of Steve Rossin and Louise Danbury-Peters. Both said how pleased they are to be able to offer Grasshopper alongside their existing range of products.

Les Butters, Chandlers Groundscare dealer principal said, "We are pleased to welcome Ibbetts to our portfolio of Grasshopper Dealers in the UK and NI. I have known Steve for over 30 years, and I look forward to working in partnership with both Steve and Louise with the Grasshopper brand.”

Exhibitors gathered at the new Cereals Event site last week to examine their crop plots and discuss plans for the event.

The new location is at Thoresby Hall, Newark - a 60ha site protected by trees on the edge of Sherwood Forest.

“Everything about the new site is positive,” said arable project manager Jonathan Backhouse. “It’s easily accessible, very picturesque and has great facilities. The easy-working sandland makes for straightforward crop establishment and a free-draining show site,” he explained. “However, the flip-side of this means we could find ourselves watering regularly if we see drought-like conditions again next spring - fortunately Thoresby has excellent infrastructure in place for irrigation.”

Organisers say the crop plot area is larger than last year, with both returning and new exhibitors. Will Davies, agronomist at Ceres Rural, is overseeing many of the plots, and is pleased with how well they have grown away this autumn.

“Cereals is a good opportunity to see all of the varieties in one place and grown under the same conditions. You get an idea of what they look like under real conditions, not just reading statistics from the Recommended List.”

The Cereals Event will be held on 13-14 June 2023.

Southampton Football Club is the first club in the Premiership to invest in Toro’s all-electric Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 riding mower.

L-R: Mark Winder, David Timms and Graeme Mills from Southampton FC., at the Staplewood training ground, Football Development & Support Centre, in Southampton.

The club has purchased two, has plans to order two more - and according to head groundsman Graeme Mills, it won’t be long until other clubs follow suit

.

Like more and more clubs in the Premiership, Southampton FC has an all-encompassing sustainability strategy. Called the Halo Effect, the thinking is that by making the right choices now, it paves the way for a better tomorrow - and one crucial aspect is clean energy. 

Graeme, who has been at the club for almost 30 years, says, “It was a big investment for Southampton FC to purchase the two Toro eTriflex mowers and I personally believe this shows our commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of the company. I think it will encourage other clubs to follow suit. When I was looking into the Toro eTriflex, there were a number of other clubs doing so too.

“Battery technology has advanced in recent years, sometimes people are put off by battery-operated equipment - what if it runs out half-way through the job? It’s not like you can just add more fuel to get it going again! I had concerns myself at first, but I have been extremely impressed with the battery outputs of the Toro - they are more than sufficient to cover our daily workload.”

But it wasn’t just ticking the box for clean energy, Graeme says he had another problem on his hands - noise pollution. “With the old diesel machines, we were getting noise complaints when using them first thing in the morning, at weekends, or on bank holidays,” he explains. “The complaints were from local residents and coaching staff using the pitches close to where we were working. The Toro eTriflex mowers are very quiet when being operated and no noise means no complaints.”

Graeme went on to explain how he plans to bring further sustainable choices into his department: “As a department that uses grow lights, undersoil heating and irrigation systems, it can be hard to tick all the sustainability boxes but changing from diesel machines to electric/battery operated equipment is a way for us to reduce our carbon output.”

The new Amazone GPS-ScenarioControl terminal software application for automating complex headland switching operations received the 'Farm Machine 2023' award at the recent SIMA 2022 show in Paris.

L-R: Matthieu Schubnel (journalist, Material Agricole), Bettina Dreyer, Christian Dreyer (Chairman of the Board/Owner of Amazone Group), Florent Guilleman (Managing Director, Amazone Auneau, France)

The award is presented to the agricultural machinery sector by an international jury consisting of industry-leading journalists. Amazone, with its GPS-ScenarioControl, is the winner in the software category.

The precise application of mineral fertilisers just where they are required plays a critical role in saving costs and utilising resources. In this context, various border spreading procedures are used to provide legally compliant fertilisation. The GPS ScenarioControl system is used to automate certain functions on the Amazone fertiliser spreader based on a previously plotted scenario, preventing operator errors during subsequent applications.

When applying fertiliser, drivers have to juggle various tasks. Firstly, they need to ensure optimal lateral distribution of the material to be spread, as well as maintaining the desired application rate of the fertiliser. Secondly, they must ensure that the most appropriate border spreading procedure is used alongside ditches, footpaths or field boundaries to guarantee legally compliant and precise fertilisation. This can lead to operator errors, especially when changing drivers, as the right border spreading procedure is not activated or deactivated in the right place. Lack of driver knowledge can also lead to non-compliance when applying fertilisers. In addition, there may be frequent discussions about carrying out the correct application between the employee and the manager, taking up valuable spreading time.

When crossing the field for the first time with the fertiliser spreader, all the switch points, driving route and driving direction can be automatically plotted by an experienced driver by pushing the record button and using GPS ScenarioControl. The switch points are clearly marked on the map and the driving direction is visualised with arrows. The fertiliser spreader offers border, water-course and side spreading, as well as one-sided spreading inside the field boundary on headlands (HeadlandControl). GPS ScenarioControl is integrated in the AmaTron 4 ISOBUS operator terminal and can be viewed and operated via the AmaTron Twin display extension.

In future, GPS ScenarioControl will also be compatible with other Amazone Isobus machines. This route function is already available for crop protection sprayers from the company, where it considerably reduces workload here as well.

CEMA’s business barometer survey for November shows that the general business climate index for the agricultural machinery industry in Europe has shown its strongest improvement since the sharp declines in the course of the Russian war against Ukraine. In November, the index increased from 12 to 23 points (on a scale of -100 to +100).

The survey also shows that the volume of orders corresponds currently to a production period of 6.8 months, which is another all-time high ever recorded within this survey. Despite order books at record levels, manufacturers have been still faced with a dynamic order intake, especially in September. At the same time, price increases and bottlenecks on the supplier side continue to challenge the industry, but some slight easing is observable, so that manufacturers are increasingly able to realise their orders.

The survey concludes that the manufacturers' turnover is therefore expected to remain at a high level for the coming six months at least. With regard to expectations for the coming order intake (an indicator which does not feed into the general Business Climate Index), by contrast, skepticism has solidified among industry representatives.

In order to provide young STIHL fans with a child-friendly power tool experience this Christmas, STIHL has added a battery-powered toy chainsaw, toy blower and toy brushcutter to its range of merchandise for  kids who love the outdoors.

Suitable for children from three years old, the design of the new battery-powered toy chainsaw is based on STIHL’s popular MS 500i chainsaw model, helping to unleash the future arborist within. Featuring a moving, interchangeable child friendly chain and an LED battery level indicator, this model looks and sounds just like a real MS 500i!

Also available within the range is the new battery-powered toy blower, which boasts a light blowing force and a removable blower tube that can be adjusted at three different lengths.The removable battery, start/stop switch and safety trigger playfully reflect the operation of the BGA 57 leaf blower, allowing kids to help out with the leaf blowing.  

Finally, STIHL has added a new battery-powered toy brushcutter with a light up “PolyCut” cutting tool, so kids can imitate trimming the grass with their parents. With a removable battery, length adjustment and an adjustable handle, this brushcutter is just like the real FSA 57 – providing hours of fun for any child this Christmas.

For more information on STIHL's extensive range of children’s clothing and toys, please visit www.stihl.co.uk. 

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