The turf professional industry should be proud of the amount of opportunities for further learning it offers its members.

Trade associations and industry bodies should be praised for the breadth of educational courses available as well as for all the talks and seminars laid-on at exhibitions and conferences.

In today's Briefing we have information from both the IOG and BIGGA, illustrating their commitment to continuing professional development. Both the upcoming SALTEX and BTME exhibitions are dedicating ever increasing resources to providing delegates with knowledge-expanding experiences.

I suspect that in recent years, as these offerings have increased and diversified to include a wealth of subject areas relevant to turf professionals, it has been these educational opportunities which have proved more of a draw to visitors than the machinery and services exhibitions. Certainly, it makes it way more justifiable for professionals to spend time away from their workplaces if they are going to come back having learned something new – as opposed to just having kicked a few tyres.

SALTEX now has programmes running in four lecture theatres for each day of the show, whilst Continue To Learn in Harrogate runs all the way from Sunday to Wednesday.

And it's not just the two main trade associations who offer such experiences. Coming up next week on the 12th is the Amenity Forum conference which takes place at The Pirelli Stadium in Burton-on-Trent.

There are going to plenty of presentations on the day to stimulate and expand the thinking of turf professionals who work in the amenity sector. Subject areas being covered include 'Policy & Innovation' 'Research and its application' and 'Taking a more holistic approach to weed, pest & disease control'.

One of the speakers tackling this area for example, will be Dr Colin Mumford, Bayer Technical Manager. Dr Mumford will explain the importance of integrated management programmes, that use cultural and biological controls, ahead of pesticide applications, and how these methods are more effective than relying solely on chemicals.

“Using this management style will help reduce the amount of plant protection products used and therefore aims to prolong the availability of pesticides on the market,” he said.

Dr Mumford will also explain how Bayer is taking measures to bring new sustainable products to the market, through extensive research and development, which will allow users to continue to apply them for the foreseeable future.

So a visit to Burton-On-Trent next week, and indeed to Birmingham or Harrogate further down the line, are incredibly worthwhile for all turf professionals who want to keep learning and to benefit from the expertise of their peers.