Greenkeeper Takes Up Role As ECB Pitch Adviser

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Falmouth Greenkeeper Takes Up Role As ECB Pitch Adviser. Cornwall Cricket is delighted to announce the appointment of Simon Johnson, Head Greenkeeper at Falmouth Golf Club, and Head Groundsman at Mount Ambrose CC as its new named ECB Pitch Adviser.

Greenkeeper Takes Up Role As ECB Pitch Adviser

Simon has more than thirty years’ relevant experience and has prepared pitches for Minor Counties’ games while at Camborne CC.

Kevin O’Kelly, who has been the ECB Pitch Adviser for the last five years, has agreed to stay on in an active role and assist Simon in his new position.

Simon Menneer, Cornwall Cricket CEO, said: “This is an excellent outcome for Cornish cricket. We have gained the services for the long-term of an outstanding and respected expert in his field, and retained the valuable services of our outgoing Pitch Adviser which will ensure continuity.”

The ECB Pitch Advisory Scheme is funded by Sport England and ECB, and represents the first governing body to address the issue of groundsmanship, in particular at recreational / non-professional level.

The project is to place 45 County Pitch Advisers across England and Wales and for their activities to be fully embraced into the work of County Cricket Boards.

Roles of a Pitch Adviser:

1. To advise on the quality performance of specific pitches / squares and produce recommendations (where necessary) for any improvements, which may include grant aid schemes (Prioritised Detailed Assessment).

2. To monitor the developments of any facilities on which recommendations are being implemented.

3. Available, if required, to assess pitches / squares in respect of various league criteria.

4. Create a response team for basic assessments.

5. Help build an effective Groundmanship Association.’

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Reesink And Aquatic Test The Waters With Free Irrigation Training Day

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Reesink And Aquatic Test The Waters With Free Irrigation Training Day – Positive feedback means this event could be the first in a series.

Reesink And Aquatic Test The Waters With Free Irrigation Training Day

Experts in turf maintenance equipment Reesink Turfcare and turf irrigation specialists Aquaturf Solutions held a free Turfcare Professionals Irrigation Training Day in Dublin this spring to teach course managers how to identify and understand potential faults in their systems, and to demonstrate best operating practice. And positive feedback determines this could be the first in a series of future training days.

Aquaturf’s managing director Stephen Daly says: “We teamed up with Reesink to deliver this collaborative event because of their expertise and in-depth knowledge of the industry and irrigation products. Both companies jointly acknowledged a skills gap in the industry’s knowledge of irrigation management, and with market feedback saying there’s a lack of training available to end-users, it was the perfect cue to stage the event.”

Robert Jackson, Reesink irrigation sales manager, explains why the day was needed: “Irrigation is a topic often left in the background until necessary. The result of this is when problems do arise, course managers don’t know how to rectify them and have to bring in contractors, costing both time and money. The aim of the training day was to provide information that can be applied to all brands of irrigation equipment, advise on the best sprinkler configurations for different areas of a course and to help end-users develop a trained eye to implement preventative measures against potential problems or ably respond to existing ones. We stripped everything back to the basics of sprinklers and hydraulics, to enable course managers to more confidently manage their irrigation systems and give them a degree of self-sufficiency.”

Irrigation designer and consultant, Adrian Mortram, gave presentations on auditing and evaluating irrigation systems, as well as basic irrigation design principles. He says: “Golf course irrigation in the UK and Ireland is very much a management tool performing two distinct functions: providing soil moisture when there is a deficiency of natural precipitation, and ensuring maintenance practices such as the ‘washing in’ of chemical products and seed germination can be carried out as and when necessary.

“Education and training on how to effectively audit, operate, maintain and understand the design of your irrigation system is therefore absolutely paramount to ensure it will perform to the best of its ability. The talks led on these subjects, and the training day as a whole, aimed and delivered on providing course managers with a fundamental understanding of all aspects of irrigation.”

According to Rob Green, Reesink’s senior technical support: “Users are sometimes hesitant to meddle with their irrigation systems due to an uncertainty over the outcome of any changes made. Unfortunately this tends to lead to a reactive (as opposed to proactive) situation, if or when an issue does occur. The two outdoor sessions I co-presented with my colleague Cevan Edwards brought a fully operating sprinkler system above ground. By having the whole sprinkler on display we were able to clearly demonstrate best operating practice, show what potential faults look like, and help people identify and deal with these problems in a proactive manner.

“Everyone involved was very engaged and it was brilliant to be speaking to a group of people who really wanted to learn about irrigation systems. There was a good turnout and audience members asked lots of questions throughout the event that we were hopefully able to address and help with. A group of attendees also kindly stayed behind to offer special thanks, saying the day was ‘fantastic’.”

Working in partnership Reesink and Aquaturf successfully delivered a worthwhile event and, while the training day gave a comprehensive view on the basics of irrigation, it only scratched the surface of a vast topic. This may well be the first of many free, in-depth irrigation training days to come.

Dennis G34D Praised By Doncaster Rovers

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Dennis G34D praised by Doncaster Rovers. James Davison, head of grounds at Doncaster Rovers Football Club has praised his new Dennis G34D cylinder mowers claiming they provide him with a finish worthy of Premier League standards.

Dennis G34D Praised By Doncaster Rovers

It is fair to say that not one day is ever the same for James and his four members of grounds staff. Not only are they responsible for the Keepmoat Stadium – the 15,000 capacity stadium which is home to Doncaster Rugby League FC, Doncaster Rovers Belles and Doncaster Rovers FC, but they also tend to a 500 seater stadium containing a six lane running track for athletics and maintain Doncaster Rovers FC’s training complex at Cantley Park.

“It is a unique set-up we have here,” says James. “Most days you’re not just coming in to mow the pitch – you might be trimming some trees or tending to the memorial garden – there’s a number of varied tasks which we carry out on a daily basis.”

With the pitch at Keepmoat in constant use by three sports teams, James and his team are kept busy and just last year their hard work was recognised when the RFL recommended them for the Institute of Groundsmanship’s (IOG) Grounds Team of the Year.

“Unfortunately we didn’t quite win it, but we were highly commended,” says James. “For the amount of games that are played on the pitch, I believe it is quite an achievement. We put a lot of dedication into what we do and have incredibly high standards.”

According to James, it is for this reason that he chooses Dennis mowers when it comes to maintaining the pitch.

“When the stadium was first built we had two Dennis G860 cylinder mowers. Soon we will be celebrating the stadium’s 10 year anniversary and throughout that time the G860’s have always done a first-class job. I’ve never had any problems with them so why change a brand when it does everything you want it to do?”

Based on his experience of using the G860’s, James purchased two of the new Dedicated G-Series range of mowers, which have been designed and built following the same concept as the Dennis G860 machine. Available in three different cutting widths – 26”, 30” and 34” – the mowers incorporate a large-diameter eight-bladed cutting cylinder to cater for a wide range of uses to leave a precision cut. The handlebar design makes manoeuvring easy and the wide adjustment makes it comfortable for all cutting heights.

“We wanted something which we knew we could trust and the finish on these mowers is immaculate. They’re not too heavy, you can move them easily, and for me they are everything – quite simply an excellent and vital tool to have in our armoury.  Whether you are in the Premier League or non-league – Dennis mowers are everywhere and that’s testament to the build quality, the reputation they have for customer service and the presentation of the pitch that they help the groundsman to achieve.”

James uses his G34D in his match day preparations which start with a double cut on a Thursday before a game, and then subsequent double cuts on the Friday and on the Saturday. He admits that a long-term element of superstition plays a part in three double cuts over the course of three days – but so far the results speak for themselves.

“It seems to work and I’ll continue to do it all the time it is working,” says James. “Dennis mowers provide you with that wow factor and it also means that for a club with our resources we can still achieve a finish like any of the Premier League clubs.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visitwww.dennisuk.com

Campey 3 Day Pitch Renovation At Greenock Morton FC

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Campey Turf Care Systems three day Mini Pitch Renovation at Greenock Morton Football Club open to all. Campey Turf Care Systems are carrying out a three-day mini pitch renovation at Scottish Championship side, Greenock Morton Football Club, from Tuesday 30th May to Thursday 1st June.

Campey 3 Day Pitch Renovation At Greenock Morton FC

Campey would like to extend an open invitation to all groundsmen and greenkeepers who wish to attend the event, with those who do advised to RSVP to Richard Heywood (richard.heywood@campeyturfcare.com) or via the Campey website.

The renovation of the Cappielow Park pitch will use the latest sports turf maintenance machinery with the KoroÆ FieldTopMakerÆ with UniverseÆ rotor taking centre stage. The heavy-duty fraise mower is used for removing unwanted surface matter such as poa-annua, thatch, weeds or the entire surface to a depth of 50mm.

This leaves a clean and clear surface to work with and allows the KoroÆ RecyclingDresserÆ, Raycam UniRake and Aeraseeder along with a Vredo Overseeder and Dakota 412 Turf Tender to work to the best of their abilities in providing a first-class pitch.

Over the three days the importance of carrying out a meticulous renovation will be shown and attendees will discover how small improvements during the process can lead to long lasting results throughout the season.

The entire renovation process will be on show throughout the three days with visitors welcome to observe the full action, or come and view the stages they feel are most relevant to them.

For further information on this and all Campey Turf Care events and activities visit www.campeyturfcare.com

Council Tax Bombshell

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Ban on common weed killer could create £228 million council tax bombshell

Council Tax Bombshell

Research made available to the Forum has concluded that:

  • A local authority ban on common weed killers used in the professional amenity and garden sectors which contain glyphosate would add £228 million to council tax bills each year
  • This has been calculated as a cost equivalent to current funding for 11,438 adult social care workers
  • The ban could force some UK councils to spend considerable sums in capital outlays to replace conventional spraying systems with alternative approaches

New economic figures unveiled today reveal the cost to the local taxpayer of banning common weed killers to keep pavements, parks and public places weed free.

The figures come at a time when no less than 30 local authorities are being lobbied by some in their communities to ban the same weed killers that are used in amenity areas and gardens throughout the UK.

The research shows that a ban on weed killers containing glyphosate would add £228 million to the UK’s council tax bill each year.

The additional tax requirements for funding the alternatives would require an increase in the average household council tax bill of £7.80 – half the band D rate increase in 2015/16.

Amenity Forum Chairman, Professor John Moverley OBE, commented:

Weed killers are used by local authorities for management of public spaces, including pavements, parks, schools and local authority play areas. The non-chemical alternatives to treating roads and pavements for weeds have a place in an integrated approach to weed management but, as extensive research has shown, cannot currently compete with weed killers in normal day to day operations on economic or effectiveness grounds.

“At a time when Local Authorities are faced with acute budget pressures, it is important that decisions are based upon science and evidence. Nobody working in the professional amenity sector would wish to do anything to endanger public health and safety and always makes use of all options available. Anyweed killer coming to market undertakes rigorous testing before it is released and during its use.

Weed killers used in the amenity sector have been proven time and time again to be safe – no less than 28 independent global regulators and thousands of scientific studies over 40 years back this up. They are used across the diverse and important amenity sector as part of an integrated approach, keeping our railways running, maintaining our world class sports surfaces, for woodlands and much more. This research has just highlighted the costs of keeping pavements weed free. The total amenity cost would be substantially more.

As the voluntary initiative for the sector, we seek to provide an independent voice promoting best practice in all aspects of weed and pest management. We recognize concerns can arise but, in dealing with them, we need a rational debate based upon science and facts. The management of weeds and pests in amenity impacts upon every UK citizen’’