Hopefully everyone has now received their latest copy of Service Dealer magazine? We do not enjoy being late and hope readers understand why there was the delay in publishing this time around. I promise it won't happen again (fingers crossed).

But there's no rest for the wicked and we're deep into production on our next edition - which surprise, surprise, is once again a right cracker! There will be plenty for dealers to get their teeth into, including round-ups of the summer ag shows and a look forward to the autumn turf care machinery exhibitions.

Elsewhere there's a helpful feature for dealers from industry expert Keith Christian, explaining the latest apprentice funding rules. A complex subject, Keith takes us through the changes under this new Government that everyone needs to know. As Keith puts it himself, "My hope is that more smaller employers in our industry will look toward employing apprentices and take advantage of the funding that exists and pay attention to the potential changes that are being proposed by our new Government to extend the funding to non-apprenticeship training." 

There's also a fascinating piece by our friend and editor of TurfPro, Laurence Gale (subscribe for free to receive every Monday at noon). Loz looks at a subject that dealers will take a keen interest in - and that's how the new generation of outdoor powered machinery tech, is being received by commercial end-user customers. Loz has opened his little black book of contacts and asked around, to get a sense of what commercial practitioners think of robotic tools and battery powered equipment.

It's a great subject for discussion, because there's absolutely no doubt that this is the route that manufacturers see the industry heading - supported by legislative trends. But is it what the turf professionals want right now? Because want those guys want, will presumably be what the dealers will want too.

Loz reports a spread of opinions in his piece which, not to spoil anything, finds that some grounds staff and greenkeepers are more in favour than others. Where we hear of some reluctance expressed regarding converting to the new power systems, it tends to be due to a fear of a too limited run time.

One turf professional tells Loz, "We are happy to move with the future, however we aren’t going to get rid of all fossil fuel equipment overnight. This will be over a long period of time when machines need replacing."

To complement this piece from Laurence in the upcoming mag, we also have an in-depth Q&A with a major supplier on the battery-powered machinery scene. As well as talking about what they offer their network and their new equipment developments, they also address some concerns with the power source in general that dealers have expressed to us recently. Because it's undeniable that some of our readers do hold reservations about the direction the industry is moving in.

That's not to say they are King Canutes, trying to hold back the tide of technological development. Rather they will simply know their own business and the requirements of their own customer base.

Whilst there still remains the purchasing choice for end-users, between petrol and battery powered products, dealers will likely fulfil those options for their customers. 

For how long that choice remains on the table though, well, that's another matter . . .