Firstly today, it is always a sad moment when we report on a dealership closing its doors for the final time.

Thoughts turn to the staff members who will have lost their jobs - and then also to the business owners who would have tried everything to keep the company profitable and afloat. 

But it's something we do again today, with the news regarding Suffolk Agri. As ever we hope that the team members made redundant aren't lost to the industry, finding placements elsewhere in the sector as soon as possible. Retention is hard enough as it is, without experienced people being forced out. We wish them all the best.

Potentially concerning news also from the AEA, who say that it has been a "relatively slow start to the year" for registrations of agricultural tractors. Their agricultural economist, Stephen Howarth, tells us that the number of registrations for the first two months is actually the lowest since 2001. He does caveat this though, by pointing out that January and February are traditionally quiet months for the tractor market. He says we should have a better picture once figures for March, typically the peak month each year, are available. Fingers crossed for some brighter news next month.

I did speak to our ag machinery editor, Martin Rickatson, about what he was hearing regarding the ag sector. He suggested there was some uncertainty out there surrounding prospects for the year ahead, with a natural sales drop-off after a couple of decent years compounded by uncertainties over government ag policy, plus stubbornly high farm input costs, a fallback in commodity prices and, perhaps most significantly for dealers, big jumps in the cost of kit. And following on from problems a year or two ago getting hold of machines from manufacturers because of component supply issues, Martin said that while it appears these have now been largely overcome, makers are now putting pressure on dealers to take into stock the backed-up production coming through.

It's a situation that needs monitoring as we progress through the year of course. Please though, always feel free to comment on here or drop us a line if you have thoughts you'd like to share.

Robotics

Talking of sharing your thoughts, we're looking for your opinions today on a subject that seems to have boosted prospects for some dealers these past few years - robotic mowers. We're running a short survey which we'd greatly appreciate your feedback on.

I checked back and the last time we asked for our dealer readers' thoughts on the robotic mowing market was all the way back in 2019 - in the before-times, pre all that oddness kicking off! It will therefore be fascinating to see just how - if at all - attitudes have changed in that time.

I may be wrong, but I feel that robot mowers are now a widely accepted and fairly normal part of grass machinery dealers' portfolios. Looking back at comments received five years ago though, from dealers discussing how they felt the technology related to their businesses, and there was a surprising degree of negativity.

Some quotes included:

• "I feel it’s generally over-hyped in a similar way to battery products which are also being pushed hard by manufacturers currently."
• "Have tried pushing on certain customer type but no interest shown at the moment."
• "Very few enquiries and so far and most of these have not gone anywhere."
• And the succinct, "Expensive gimmick".

There were of course, plenty of comments in favour of the technology too. Many dealers were telling us they were "the future". Well, it's kind of the future now, so it'll be interesting to hear if dealers who were sceptical for a variety of reasons in 2019, have been convinced to change their minds.

Certainly every grass machinery manufacturer wants to be in on the game these days. Advancements in technologies mean the tools are a slightly different proposition now as well. With RTK and GPS coming on in leaps and bounds, dealers installing cables in customer gardens, is not what it was.

So have changes like this meant a shift in consumer attitudes? And if consumer attitudes have shifted, does that mean more dealers are also now fully on-board?

We have a few quick questions today, the answers to which it will be interesting to compare to those of five years ago. Moreso perhaps, it's the thoughts of our dealer readers that I am keen to hear. Have your opinions changed; been reinforced; or something in between? Please let us know.

As ever, we'll publish the results and as many of your comments as we can in Service Dealer magazine. Thanks in advance for your help.

TAKE THE SURVEY.

According to figures released by the AEA, the relatively slow start to the year for agricultural tractor registrations continued in February.

Agricultural economist at the Association, Stephen Howarth, said, "While the monthly total of 477 machines was only 10 fewer than in the same month last year, it was 16% below the average for the time of year in the previous five years. That was a similar shortfall, compared with the seasonal norm, to that seen in January, although the year-on-year decline was much smaller than during that month."

The total for the opening two months of the year was the lowest since 2001, but Stephen points out these are traditionally quiet months for the tractor market.

"We will know more about the state of the market once figures for March, typically the peak month each year, are available," he said.

As STIGA approaches its 90th anniversary, the manufacturer has announced the launch of a new campaign called 'We Care, That You Care'.

The company says its goal is to support 90 community garden groups throughout the UK, honouring each year of their 90th anniversary, by empowering others with their garden products.

In a statement the manufacturer said, "STIGA believes that everyone deserves the chance to cultivate beautiful spaces responsibly, and during 2024 the team are giving away their eco-friendly garden products to community garden groups, up and down the UK, for free!"

They say the campaign is aimed at a diverse array of community groups, from schools and hospital gardens to urban gardens, food bank gardens, community gardens and guerrilla gardeners. They believe each one of these groups represents a unique opportunity for them to engage, help and empower local communities.

Communities and individuals associated with the community group can contact STIGA through a dedicated web page, where information about their project will be collected and products selected that will benefit their project. This process, says the company, ensures every aspiring group has an equal opportunity to be chosen.

STIGA are now asking anyone responsible for any non-profit, community group or charity that looks after a green space and would like to receive products from their garden product range for free, to register on the wecare.stigauk.com website.  

The company's judging panel will assess applications and will notify successful parties, stating the free products that will be donated to their community group.

Milwaukee Tool has announced its intention to increase its market share in the outdoor power equipment (OPE) sector in 2024, saying they will offer more battery-powered solutions for gardening, landscaping and horticulture professionals.

 
The company has said they are set to heighten their position in the market with both new and updated releases of its cordless products.
 
Rhys Adams, national sales manager OPE at Milwaukee Tool UK, said, “Our mission in 2024 is to ensure our expansive range for cordless equipment proves its value to professionals in the OPE sector by providing a one-stop-shop for the solutions they need.
 
“To help increase our share of the OPE market, we’re bringing a variety of new products, as well as enhancements to our existing product ranges, to help ensure users have the right solutions to complete the task at hand with ease and efficiency when compared to more traditional alternatives - something that has always been at the top of our agenda.”
 
Rhys continued, “Our battery platform has been tried and tested in some of the world’s harshest and most demanding environments to ensure that no matter how challenging the job might be, or how difficult the terrain, our solutions are up to the task. The same technology, battery platform and power is put into our OPE range to support more and more professionals in the sector, and we’re excited to be able to provide the industry with even more solutions which we’ll be announcing very soon and throughout the remainder of the year.”
 
The company say amongst the tools to be released this year are the 46cm steel deck, dual battery self-propelled lawnmower and their first dual batery backpack blower - both of which utilise the company's M18 Fuel battery technology.

Organisers of the Cereals Event 2024 have announced they will welcome visitors to a new site at Bygrave Woods, Newnham Farm in Hertfordshire on 11-12 June, alongside its brand-new co-hosted event DirectDriller@Cereals.

Hosted by Alex Farr and his cousin Edward Wainright Lee, both events will be held on the Farr family’s 45-ha outdoor event space - one of the 900-ha arable farm’s diversifications, complete with established trackways and amenities. Cereals say its 10 years as a large event venue means it is well-placed to host the 20,000+ visitors the events are set to attract.

“We love welcoming people to Bygrave Woods - it’s great to be the host farm for Cereals after attending it over the years,” said Alex Farr. “The event offers such breadth of information and technology; the progress in robotic technology is always something that gets our attention - and it never gets old meeting new and old friends.”

As ever, Cereals will showcase the latest developments in arable agronomy, machinery, technology and business advice; with over 450 exhibitors, 200+ live demonstrations, two days of seminar programmes, and several hundred individual crop plots on display.

New to 2024 is the co-located event - DirectDriller@Cereals. Co-hosted by Cereals and Direct Driller Magazine, its theme is ‘Regenerating farm profit’, and it will focus on how regenerative agriculture can make large-scale arable farms more commercially successful. It will comprise a full conference programme including seminars curated by BASE UK, and a schedule of demonstrations - which organisers say are soon to be announced.

The sales team at Toro U.K. Limited recently hosted Russells Groundcare Ltd at the Spellbrook, Hertfordshire head office.

 
The two-day sales and product training focused on predominantly the Landscape Contractor & Site Works portfolios. Despite the inclement weather conditions, the team managed to view a number of products.

Matthew Coleman, sales manager, Professional Landscape Contractor & Site Works Equipment - UK Direct Market, said “I am proud to be able to host this training for our long-established dealer, Russells Groundcare. The training made for a great opportunity to focus Russells’ pro sales team on the extensive Toro portfolio.

"The visit covered the benefits and features of Toro products for the commercial customer; a tour of our Spellbrook factory; an insight into future developments and the chance for Toro U.K and Russells to spend invaluable time together as a team."
 

Whatever Wheels, situated in Blackburn, have recently taken on Yamaha's utility ATV range in the North West.

Luke Davis

The business was initially founded in 2009, specialising in motorcycle sales. The company progressed into ATV sales in 2014 and sold a variation of ATVs before committing to Yamaha solely in 2019. The partnership began with the sports range of bikes and then in 2020 it began selling Yamaha's Leisure range. The Utility range has now completed its offering.

Luke Davis, business manager at Whatever Wheels, said, “The area in which we are in lends itself well to the Utility range. We are located in Blackburn, but we are surrounded by a very large rural community in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and then we deal with Greater Manchester area too. We have a mixture of customers at the moment and the farming community is an area we would like to grow the business. Yamaha is the perfect partner for us to do this as it has a specifc product for these purposes.” 

Chris Embleton, area sales manager, Yamaha ATV UK added, “Whatever Wheels has grown from strength to strength since the partnership with Yamaha first began in 2019. We are looking forward to seeing the opportunities that the addition of the Utility range will give the business with our full support."

Organisers of the Equip Exhibition that takes place in Louisville, Kentucky from October 15-18, say that outdoor power equipment dealers can develop their skills and take advantage of new trends impacting their industry due to expanded educational opportunities this year.

Exploring new business opportunities is a main focus of the show, which drew more than 27,000 participants from 46 countries last year.

“Equip Expo’s mission is to help landscape, contractors and equipment dealers, advance their businesses,” said Kris Kiser, President and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, which owns Equip Exposition. “Come to Louisville to see the latest and most innovative equipment and leave with a new perspective and greater knowledge that you can immediately apply.”

Equip says the Dealer Management track will help outdoor power equipment personnel think through whether it’s smart to open a new location, how to exceed sales goals, keeping departments working together smoothly, and delivering great customer experiences.

The dealer education will be provided by the Equipment and Engine Training Council and Bob Clements International.

Registration for the show is open now and you can find out more about the education programme here.

Cobra has announced the launch of two new lawn tractors powered by Loncin V-Twin engines into the range for 2024. These collection and side discharge models have been added to the already comprehensive line-up which features models aimed at helping those with larger lawns to mow with ease and comfort, at an affordable price. 

The range starts with two rider models. These have a particular focus on manoeuvrability, allowing gardeners to flow and mow around the gardens, taking into account garden beds, curved edges and obstacles such as trees, patios and planting schemes as well as any other intricacies that make UK gardens so unique.

The two compact LT62 rider models each have a 24” cutting width and comfortable seat. Being smaller, these models have great manoeuvrability coupled with a 75cm turning radius. The LT62 is available with either manual or hydrostatic automatic gear change transmission, with the latter offering smoother usage and even greater manoeuvrability.

For larger gardens and paddocks to mow, there are now eight ride-on tractors available. With cutting widths ranging from 33” up to 42”, and choices again being manual and hydrostatic gear changing, as well as a twin cutting blade and the option to collect the cuttings, release them back to the ground or turn them to mulch. They also offer enhanced comfort with an ergonomically designed padded seat, easy electric key starting and new for 2024 V-Twin Loncin engines.

In launching the new ride-on mowers, Henton & Chattell has tapped into its 1500+ dealer network and utilised the companies’ unique position in the industry to gain an understanding of what customers want and ensure that the products are expertly based exactly on the needs of UK gardeners. 

Discussing the lawn tractor range, Peter Chaloner, managing director of Henton & Chattell, commented: “We’re so excited for this next chapter for Cobra. We’ve been developing the new range of ride-on mowers for some time now and it’s a significant step in the brand’s history. We can’t wait to hear what customers think of them! We have further plans to keep expanding Cobra over time with more products already planned for the year. To support this and accommodate our growth plans, we have also doubled our warehousing facilities in Nottingham which will also help us to ensure that we continue to create business opportunities for our dealers.”

For more information on Cobra visit: www.cobragarden.co.uk 

or to become a Cobra dealer, please contact Andy Marvin on: 07771 581 296 or call our sales team: 0115 986 6646 today.
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For a limited time, customers can receive up to £1,000 additional trade-in bonus on all Kodiak ATVs* and up to £1,750 additional trade-in bonus on all ROVs*. This offer provides an excellent opportunity for riders to trade up to a brand new Yamaha ATV or ROV at a significant value.

“We're thrilled to offer this limited-time trade-in bonus to our valued customers,” said Gareth Sloane, Manager of Power Products at Yamaha ATV UK. “This is a great opportunity to get behind the wheel of a new Yamaha ATV or ROV and experience the thrill of off-road adventure.”

Don't miss out on this limited-time offer! Visit your local Yamaha ATV UK dealer today to learn more and take advantage of this incredible trade-in opportunity.

Contact atv@yamaha-motor.co.uk

*Please see your local Yamaha ATV UK dealer for complete offer details and eligibility requirements.

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