There's no denying that attending a trade show as a visitor can be kind of expensive.

You've got travel costs, accommodation if you are intending on going into the show for a couple of days, expensive food options - and possibly the highest cost of all, your time. Time away from your business at any point in the year can be costly in many ways, financially speaking only being the half of it!

However, I would argue, if you can organise a window of opportunity for yourself, the trade events which our industry is currently providing, offer genuine value.

This week Service Dealer has had to split itself in two again to be in both Harrogate and Peterborough for BTME and LAMMA. That perennial problem of these events clashing, shows no sign of changing. I spoke to several individuals at the International Centre, who were preparing to shoot off down the motorway because they wanted, or were required to, attend both shows.

Luckily Service Dealer could send our ag expert Martin Rickatson to cover LAMMA for us editorially, but in an ideal world these events would be at least a week apart. That way whoever wished to check out what was on display at both, or indeed man a stand at both, could do so comfortably.

But I suppose the issue is that as these event's primary target audience are two completely different sectors of end-user (greenkeepers and farmers), the organisers have little impetus to get together and make arrangements not to overlap.

Anyway, like I said I attended BTME and it seemed buzzing and well populated. It was smaller this year in terms of floor space with Hall Q which had been utilised for the past couple of editions, not in use. It was a bit of a ghost hall last year to be honest, with several people I spoke to glad that it was gone as it just didn't generate the foot-traffic as the rest of the halls did.

It meant that as you walked through the main entrance to Hall M, all the machinery big boys were in one place. It certainly made a lot more sense thematically to have Kubota in here this year, alongside John Deere, Toro, and Jacobsen - rather than tucked away at the back of the International Centre as they were last time.

In terms of big machinery news at the show, there were a couple of interesting developments announced.

Advanced Turf Technology (ATT), makers of the TMSystem and INFiNiCut premium sportsground cutting equipment, announced that they have sold out to MTD, owners of Cub Cadet. John Coleman MD of ATT and inventor of the systems, told the press that the machines would continue to be manufactured in Sheffield, but the machines would be marketed worldwide under the Cub Cadet brand,

Also announced at the show was that Price Turfcare, a newly established business founded by Ransomes Jacobsen's former International Sales Director, Rupert Price, has been awarded the UK and Ireland distribution rights for Ventrac all-wheel drive compact tractors. Supported by a group of former colleagues, Price Turfcare announced that they have bespoke warehousing and distribution facilities near Bury St Edmunds and shall be concentrating on expanding UK sales.

And Jacobsen themselves gave a presentation to the press on how Ransomes in Ipswich fits into the global structure of the company now that its had somewhat of a rejig. Under the umbrella of TSV (Textron Specialised Vehicles) Ransomes hold a key position worldwide in what they term the 'Equipment' bracket. Alan Prickett stressed how vital Ipswich remained to Jacobsen's worldwide profile. In the States production of Jacobsen turf care machinery is shifting from Charlotte to Augusta into a brand new, multi-million-dollar facility.

So once again I found a trip to north Yorkshire to be valuable, informative and enjoyable. You can read more details of products seen at the show in the next edition of Service Dealer magazine - where you'll also find Martin's LAMMA report.