If there's one subject that's guaranteed to offer up plenty of column inches and in-person chatter each and every year in our sector, that would be trade shows.

Ever since 2001 when I first started working on this magazine (thanks, I don't look old enough do I?) - and clearly way before my time as well - trade shows have been a banker of a subject for discussion.

Are there too many? When should they take place? Where should they be held? For how many days? Are they too expensive? And more recently, what value do they hold in an increasingly digital world?

One other question that gets tossed into the mix time and again, is why don't the organisers of these trade shows team-up for the benefit of attendees and exhibitors? Well, be careful for what you wish for (if you did), because that has happened this week. Sort of. And not with the two associations one might have first assumed.

New kids on the turfcare block GroundsFest and BIGGA of BTME fame have announced a new collaboration that they say is aimed at strengthening both events while bringing together professionals from across the grounds care, landscaping, and golf sectors. What it's not doing, both sides are keen to stress, is merging the shows.

In the announcement they speak of "attending and supporting each other’s events, hosting tailored educational content, and working together on joint marketing campaigns."

I feel this is a genuinely progressive move and should be applauded for its grown-up, sensible approach. With one being a summer outdoor demo event, and the other a winter indoors show including a significant educational element, it's a great idea for them to complement each other with some cross-pollination, mutual promotion. If word can be spread to members of the industry who might not have considered attending the other show, that must be to the benefit of the wider industry? Certainly exhibitors will be delighted if more punters are brought through either gate.

So, well done GroundsFest and BTME. 

However, I guess we do need to address the SALTEX-shaped elephant in the room. Where does this development now leave the GMA's long-established show?

For years all the talk was of the greenkeeper and grounds staff trade associations coming together to form one mega, all-encompassing turfcare trade show. I think they may have even got close to that coming into fruition on occasion. But that moment has seemingly well and truly passed.

With SALTEX now not part of the turfcare trade-show love-in, will they find their attendance and exhibitor levels impacted? I suppose only the evolving market can answer that at upcoming NECs.

From a dealer's perspective, I suspect they will want to know which events their manufacturer suppliers are choosing to invest in and, indeed, where their commercial customers are picking to visit - both of these factors being interlinked. Where customers gather and where the most valuable face-to-face interactions take place will be the shows that thrive. Who organises them, probably doesn't mean all that much to dealers?

The GMA were quick to release a statement after the news broke, pointing out that "every penny generated by the [SALTEX] show is reinvested directly into the grounds management industry, supporting the people that keep sport and community spaces thriving across the nation." A true and admirable fact. How much of an influence that has over businesses choosing to invest their increasingly tight budgets (and time) in multiple exhibitions though, we shall see.

The trade show scene is one that is continually evolving. In our current issue of the magazine we ask Craig Hoare of Toro UK, a company that's been a reliable presence at shows over the years, his thoughts on their importance in today's market. Tellingly, he says, "This is a question I know that myself and many of my peers are grappling with. For any business, you will always try to understand what return on investment you get for any activity and with shows, it can quite often be hard to quantify." 

Decisions are clearly being made in boardrooms across the industry regarding which shows to support. I suspect the days of every company wanting to show support to every exhibition, are long gone. Emotion aside, choices will need to be made that result in a bottom line benefit.

This week's news does feel like the start of a new chapter in the UK turfcare industry's trade show story. For how much longer that is a story that features three major characters, we shall watch with interest.