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EDITOR'S BLOG

BUSY & BUZZY BTME
Networking opportunities aplenty in Harrogate
by TurfPro Editor, Laurence Gale MSC, MBPR

A busy show, with some interesting new product developments, afforded me the opportunity to mix with the great and the good of our industry.

Last week I enjoyed a busy three days attending the annual BTME exhibition in Harrogate. For me, the show seemed busy on all three days, with initial figures released stating that there were 3300 in attendance on day one of the show, an increase on last year.

BTME is always a popular annual event providing a wealth of educational programmes and five exhibition halls - plus the town provides exceptional hospitality. The networking opportunities, after-show drinks and celebration parties are well attended. Myself, work colleagues and industry professionals were invited to various events where it is good to catch up with friends and acquaintances.

BTME Harrogate

Having spoken to many of the exhibitors they seemed happy with the footfall on their stands and spoke of many good business leads.

Busy halls

Throughout the week at various receptions several turf professionals were recognised for their services and dedication to the industry. I was pleased to hear that Dean Cleaver was presented with the Outstanding Contribution award sponsored by Jacobsen, in recognition of a half century of commitment to supporting his fellow greenkeepers.

Dean Clever, left, receiving award

You can read who else scooped top prizes at the BIGGA Celebration here.

One of the other winners was Dudley Golf Club who received Greenkeeping Project of the Year. Whilst at the show I was introduced to Stewart and have organised to go and see him and his team in March.

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It was great to also meet up with many old friends and colleagues. Amongst others I bumped into Keith Porter HG at Leigh Sports Village who had brought along some members of his grounds team; Jim Buttar, HG Twickenham; Darren Baldwin; Chris Hague; Chris Parry, Loughborough Schools; Cris Lane Wolves FC; Keith Exton, Perfect Pitches; Ian Smith, St Albans School and Vic Domain Durham CCC to name a few

Keith Porter and staff from Leigh Sports Village

Vic Domain, Durham County Cricket Club

As for new products that stood out to me, Campey unveiled to a packed press call their new Bellonmit BM40 professional scarifier with fixed blade collection. The company says the rotor guarantees excellent work in all conditions, even when the cutting edge of the blade is not in optimal condition. In addition, the collector with hydraulic discharge on the ground allows the material removed from the ground to be collected in a single pass. The high ventilation created by the rotor also allows it to be used also as a leaf vacuum.

Campey's Bellonmit Scarifier

Foley Grinders have patented a new grinder that allows large pedestrian cylinder mowers to be reground whilst in situ. You basically push the mower onto a platform connect the drives and begin sharpening the blades.

Foley's new grinder

I also caught up with Glen Kirby from Syngenta who offered me an update on their latest Turf Advisor app that enables greenkeepers, turf managers and agronomists instant access to a wealth of key information and advice to help make better decisions for day-to-day actions and planning.

Glen Kirby

Uniquely, it displays both the historic weather data for recent days that will have impacted on current turf health and quality, along with the forecast information for the coming days, helping turf professionals understand where they sit in a weather pattern, helping them to make management decisions.

This app could be a valuable tool for many practitioners and I will be myself giving it a try.

I also enjoyed catching up with Daniel Lightfoot on the R&A stand to talk about his new role in promoting sustainable agronomic practises for golf, whilst also talking to other members of the new Agronomy team Simon Weston, Alister Beggs and Paul Woodham.

Myself and Daniel with the Ryder Cup

Having the chance to meet so many people at the show has resulted in a busy and interesting schedule for me in the coming months. I have manged to secure several golf club visits, a few stadium visits and some roadshow demo days - for example a visit to Kidderminster Carolians RFC, to attend one of several Campey Pitch Renovation events that are taking place around the country.

NEWS

GREENKEEPER HONOURED FOR DECADES HELPING PEERS
Career celebrated

Dean Cleaver and Jacobsen's Simon Rainger

In our first WEB ONLY story, prize presented to former head greenkeeper who spent 30 years building a network of turf professionals across Europe.

CLUBS WILL GROW . .
And more people will play

Watch Laurence Gale speak to Ted Mitchell

In our next WEB ONLY story watch TurfPro editor Laurence Gale speak to national facility development manager of the RFU, Ted Mitchell, about facilities and infrastructure investment.

METICULOUS ATTENTION TO DETAIL
Amenity sprayer operator awarded

Winner praised for adoption of new technologies to assure accurate application.

Professional spray tech, Dan Waring, has won the title of Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year (ASOOTY).

Dan Waring

Managing all the turf and amenity spraying at the JCB Golf and Country Club in Uttoxeter, he was praised for his meticulous attention to detail and adoption of new technologies to assure accurate application.

Dan’s ASOOTY award presentation was made as part of the BIGGA industry awards at BTME last week, along with the competition’s other finalists, Conrad Cavill of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon and Bryan Ramsey of Complete Weed Control, Scotland South East.

The ASOOTY awards highlight best practice and experience in the role of ensuring accurate application on all amenity surfaces.

Sponsored by ICL and Syngenta and managed by the Amenity Forum, the awards seek to share top tips and advice that will raise the standards of spray application across the amenity industry.

Having worked for six years at JCB Golf, Dan has been the full-time spray tech for the past three seasons. One of the keys to his success has been continuous professional development, including a year in the US on the Ohio State programme with an intensive focus on application skills.

Dan said, “I would urge all sprayer operators to undertake as much training as possible, to gain more knowledge on the products being used and the application technology. That will enable people to be more confident in what they are doing, and give the spray tech’s role the credit it deserves.”

One of Dan's top tips he says, would be to lay out all the products required for the following day’s spraying, in the order they will be mixed, before leaving - so they can be methodically checked again and then added to the tank quickly and efficiently. He will also half fill the tank with clean water and pressure test for any visual leaks, before adding any chemical.

"BIG CHANGES" PROMISED FOR 2024 EDITION
Of major trade show

New experiences promised this year, intended to give visitors "more of what they want.".

Equip Exposition, the trade show for the international outdoor power equipment industry, will once again take over the city of Louisville, USA, from October 15-18, 2024. “Only this year, we’re making some fundamental shifts and improvements that will elevate the show to the next level,” says Kris Kiser, President and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), which owns and manages the show.

New for this year, 2024 attendees can expect:

A Tuesday evening Welcome Reception at Churchill Downs, which is marking the 150th anniversary of the Kentucky Derby this year
A special happy hour in Freedom Hall at the Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC) starting just after the show closes on Wednesday.
A Thursday evening arena concert at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville featuring multi-platinum entertainer and musician, Trace Adkins.
The return of the successful and well-attended Women’s Reception.
More opportunities to connect in-person with social media influencers at events like the Morning Show at Expo..
Improved logistics, including a shuttle bus drop-off at the West Wing which will improve parking lot congestion.
Kevin O’Connor from This Old House as keynote speaker.
Expanded Spanish-language education focused on helping crew leaders become better managers.

Kris continued, "We’ve listened to our attendees, and are adding new experiences to give them more of what they want: Being with their peers, talking about business struggles and getting real answers.

“There’s no other place where landscapers, equipment manufacturers and dealers can come together to talk to each other, peer to peer, in such a supportive environment. Whether you need help with people, products or processes, the answers to your questions are at Expo.”

Equip Expo features over a million square feet of exhibits and a 30-acre Outdoor Demo Yard. The 2023 show brought together more than 27,000 participants from all 50 U.S states and 46 countries. Landscape contractor registrations increased by 20 percent over the previous year, and dealers were up five percent.

“We’re always in expansion mode," said Kris. "Due to space demand last year, we opened up the West Wing to exhibitors to great success. And we’re going to improve the exhibitor experience there in 2024 by making the West Wing a much larger hub of activity, including putting our pet adoption event Mutt Madness, and the main food offerings there, as well as the Drone Zone, a golf simulation and an attendee lounge.”

The show takes place every October and brings more than $21 million to the city. “Louisville is a fantastic place for us; it’s the home for our global industry event," explained Kris. "But since we take over Louisville for four days, I’m giving one word of advice: book your hotel and airline tickets early if you want to attend this year’s show. Those two things will grow scarcer with every passing month. And you won’t want to miss Expo - not this year.”

Registration for the 2024 show is now open.

EXPOSED CONDITIONS OVERCOME
Improvements in visual merit and plant health

Course manager at Cardigan Golf Club, Stuart Adams, says the exposed location and sandy loam soil profile means the links course is subject to harsh conditions.

The exposed location and sandy loam soil profile of Cardigan Golf Club mean the links course is subject to harsh conditions, yet the greens and fairways have never performed better according to course manager Stuart Adams – who attributes the improvements in visual merit and plant health down to a new bespoke seed programme.

Steeped in over 100 years of Welsh history, the hilltop location of the 18-hole links course offers picturesque views over the Teifi Estuary. “Our clifftop position leaves us extremely exposed to the elements, meaning we tend to dry out very fast with the warm sea breeze we experience in the summer,” explains Stuart, who heads-up a greens team consisting of two full-time and three-part time greenkeepers, together with an artisan worker.

“When it comes to seed selection, we have to find cultivars that will suit our site and predominately choose hard, strong and slender creeping fescues.

“Our fairways have a track-record for struggling from insect damage and the stresses of longer, hotter summers so I discussed options with my DLF technical manager Ian Barnett, who suggested a mixture based around Johnsons J Fescue with the inclusion of additional Hard fescue to suit our situation.”

Stuart continued, “Our fairways look remarkable and are showing incredible improvements in sustainable management. We get consistent, strong and healthy grass, even in our high traffic areas, and our greens simply speak for themselves!

“Not only has our overall quality improved, but we’re building up increased resilience to the range of stresses we now have to overcome from the climate and ongoing reduction in chemistry at our disposal.”

KIOTI ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERSHIP
Offers official endorsement

Manufacturer endorses fitment of security system across their entire line-up of vehicles.

Kioti has announced a new partnership with ATVTrac, official endorsing its security tracking device.

Kioti’s Patrick Desmond said, “We’re pleased to be able to endorse ATVTrac for fitment on our entire line-up. Theft is an ever growing issue for machinery, so we were keen to be able to make a recommendation for our users by way of an official endorsement. While there are many types of security products on the market, we believe that tracking provides the only truly credible solution. The team at ATVTrac have proven their credibility over many years, in a wide-range of circumstances, so we were delighted to partner with them.”

As well as Thatcham approved security that protects owner’s machines via GPS, GPRS and Radio Frequency technology, ATVTrac utilises the same technology to keep workers and riders safe too, with functions like ATV Over, that can text or email a colleague or loved one, should the tractor, ATV or UTV topple over with the ignition turned on.

The system's onboard technology is backed up by a Secure Operating Centre (SOC), who monitor movements 24/7, seven days a week, liaising with owners and police should a theft occur. And on top of this, can deploy Securitas agents to secure a stolen machine in tricky recoveries too.

ATVTrac’s Rupert Archer Smith added, “We’re extremely pleased to add yet another high-end manufacturer to our list of endorsed partners. Kioti offers products for many different sectors of industry, much like we do, so it’s great to be acknowledged and endorsed. We’ve worked hard to make ATVTrac a truly useful asset, enabling single users and large estate operators to make use of its additional functions too.”

Kioti say that their official UK dealers will be able to offer customers more information on the fitment of the ATVTrac unit.

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