Kubota UK Tackling Rural Crime Head On

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Machinery manufacturer adopts Cesar for M Series Tractors: Kubota UK’s continued commitment and investment in the agricultural sector has been raised once again after the leading machinery manufacturer announced its adoption of the official CESAR Scheme for its M Series range of tractors.

Kubota UK Tackling Rural Crime Head On

The CESAR security and registration scheme is owned and managed by the Construction Equipment Association (CEA) and supported by the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA).  By utilising Datatag ID technology, CESAR is designed to increase machine security and deter tractor theft.

Dave Roberts, Managing Director at Kubota UK, commented: “Farm equipment is a popular target for thieves.  As a manufacturer, it’s our responsibility to do all we can to make our products as appealing as possible to our customers and less attractive to criminals.

“As part of our ongoing investment in the agricultural industry, I am delighted to announce that from 1st September, all of our M Series tractors will be CESAR marked.  Datatag ID is proven in protecting and reducing machinery theft as well as being an essential technology for recovering stolen equipment.

“Another key benefit of fitting this technology on our M Series is the fact that our customers will now have the opportunity to benefit from reduced insurance premiums from NFU Mutual, and other leading insurers, who offer significant discounts for CESAR registered equipment.”

This news comes hot on the heels of the annual NFU Mutual Crime Report, which identified the cost of rural crime at £40m p.a. and notes that regrettably rural crime is once again on the increase.

Chris Harrison, Sales Director at Datatag ID Ltd, said: “We have been working in partnership with Kubota UK for a number of years helping to protect its market leading range of mini-excavators.  It’s fantastic that the business has now decided to expand its support of CESAR for its M Series tractors.”

The Datatag ID system works by giving each piece of equipment a multi-layered ‘fingerprint’ that thieves cannot remove. Each Kubota M Series tractor will be fitted with four tamper evident registration plates with a unique registration number, RFID tags, Datatdots and forensic DNA.

CESAR operate a 24×7 call centre which the police and other enforcement agencies can use to establish the identity and ownership of CESAR registered equipment. CESAR protects over 250,000 pieces of equipment and the recovery rate for stolen CESAR registered machines is more than double that for unregistered equipment.

Karen Tipping, Kubota UK’s marketing manager, concluded: “As a business, we are always looking at new initiatives that will benefit our customers, particularly when it comes to machine security.  Rural crime is clearly a serious issue and Kubota is extremely proactive in supporting the police and making the farming community aware of the risks they face from opportunist and professional thieves.

“A recent initiative that demonstrates our approach is the partnership we have formed with Thames Valley Police.  With the support of Kubota, the police force was the first in the UK to introduce a RTV utility vehicle into its fleet to tackle rural crime.  This police liveried Kubota machine has been used extensively in rural crime situations and is regularly on display at agricultural shows to heighten awareness of rural crime and the recommended precautions which should be taken. Kubota and Datatag will be working together, in the coming months, to further promote crime awareness and prevention.”

For more information on Kubota, visit www.kubota.co.uk or call 01844 268000.

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Artificial Six-Hole Course Opens At Frilford Heath

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Artificial six-hole course opens at Frilford Heath: An exciting new course has just opened at Frilford Heath in Oxfordshire in the form of a unique synthetic artificial grass layout.

Artificial Six-Hole Course Opens At Frilford Heath

The Yellow Course sits alongside Frilford Heath’s three existing championship courses but what sets it apart is that it has been created using Huxley Golf all-weather surfaces.

The course is divided into two accessible loops of three holes each with the second loop slightly more challenging than the first.

It caters for all standards of golfer, but will especially appeal to beginners who want an accessible and gentle introduction to the sport, experienced players who want to improve their short game within 100 yards, and the rapidly expanding group of golfers that find it hard to find time to play regularly.

The brand new course was officially opened with an exhibition match featuring European Tour Professional Eddie Pepperell, previously a Frilford junior member.

Huxley Golf’s Will Alsop worked with Executive Chairman Alistair Booth and Head Greenkeeper and President of BIGGA, Sid Arrowsmith, to design and create the course.

Said Booth added: “Huxley Golf worked with us over a period of 18 months to turn an under-utilised area of woodland into this stunning new feature. In my opinion, the team skilfully created an exceptionally high quality facility that can be used by young and old, novice and professional.”

The Yellow Course’s six greens all measure 1350 sq. ft (125 sq. mtrs) but all are unique in shape and undulations.

There are 12 Huxley Golf Premier Nylon Tee Mats, two for each hole, creating a variety of approach shots from differing angles and length with increasing difficulty.

The light, bright course meanders its way through avenues of trees with bird boxes to encourage wildlife and natural grass fairways and approaches.

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Toro Lynx Effect At Thorndon Park Golf Club

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The Toro Lynx Effect At Thorndon Park Golf Club: The Toro Lynx effect continues at Thorndon Park Golf Club, as course manager Robert George declares it “absolutely perfect” after a season of putting it through its paces.

Toro Lynx Effect At Thorndon Park Golf Club

In 2008, Robert oversaw the installation of a Toro irrigation system across the 240-acre 18-hole course in Essex. The system featured 855S sprinklers back-to-back on the greens and surrounds and T7s on the tees, with a Toro Site Pro Central Control in charge of everything.

“That system was great and served us well for over a decade,” says Robert. “But the PC tower was on its way out, so when I was at BTME in Harrogate in January I decided to have a chat with Rob Green and Robert Jackson on the Reesink Turfcare stand about the Lynx system. I took a good look at the system which was on display and decided there was no need to look anywhere else, it had everything I was looking for.”

And what Robert was looking for was an increase in technological capabilities. “I wanted more information and more programming options,” confirms Robert.

Designed in conjunction with a top Google software developer, and in close consultation with greenkeeping and other turf professionals, Lynx’s key features and benefits include an intuitive interface that allows users to precisely customise the system to their course conditions and requirements.

It features reporting and map components, plus access to comprehensive information like weather and pump stations, sprinklers and intelligent control with two-way communication between the control system and decoders giving ‘live’ reaction and adjustments to current activated irrigation programmes.

And with a season of use under his belt, Robert says with conviction: “It’s perfect, absolutely perfect.

“It’s doing exactly what I wanted it to do and making my life easier. I’ve hardly had to touch it, we’ve had the odd decoder go, but you’d expect that. Making alterations, changes and adjustments is simple and it once again confirms my faith in the quality and technology of Toro.”

As a Toro machinery customer as well as an irrigation customer, Thorndon Park is a Toro Total Solution customer – and a very happy one from the sounds of things!

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Learning LIVE Signals Opportunity

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Learning LIVE signals opportunity: The SALTEX 2017 free education programme is set to inspire visitors at the NEC on 1 and 2 November.

Learning LIVE Signals Opportunity

With the full Learning LIVE programme set to be revealed in the coming weeks, the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) has released a few teaser seminars. The programme looks set to provide limitless opportunities and inspire and educate visitors from a wide range of sectors within the turfcare industry.

Now in its third year, SALTEX’s free-to-attend education programme has gone from strength to strength. Last year, Learning LIVE saw 53 unique seminars, 99 high-profile speakers and many key topical issues explored. For 2017, the programme will follow the same successful format developed over the past two years situated within four purpose-built seminar theatres on the show floor with state-of-the-art sound systems and screens.

Within the theatres a number of influential speakers will be on hand to provide updates and key advice. Mark Pover, facilities investment strategy manager at The Football Association (FA), will be participating in a panel debate entitled ‘Funding the future of natural turf.’ With so much money being invested into artificial turf, SALTEX visitors will have an opportunity to ask the funders if there is a danger of natural turf being left behind.

Commenting on the panel debate, Mark said: “We haven’t forgotten the fact that the majority of football matches in this country are played on natural grass. We have just shy of 800 artificial pitches on our 3G register suitable for affiliated matches and we are continuing to invest in these but there are approximately 23,000 natural grass pitches. Clearly these are very important, as is the quality, so we will continue to improve and use natural turf pitches to keep people playing and also attract new players.

“We are currently spending two million pounds a year on natural turf pitch improvements and I believe that SALTEX is the ideal place to update the industry so that visitors understand exactly what we are doing and the targets we have set. It is also a good opportunity to address some of the negative rumours that are circulated annually and reinforce our commitment to natural turf.”

For those visitors that are looking to progress their career, the ‘Career development’ seminar presented by Steve Chappell, head greenkeeper at the PGA Centenary Golf Course at The Gleneagles Hotel, should not be missed. Steve will be primarily focusing on how volunteering can significantly help improve job prospects.

“The thought process behind the session is to provide a little bit more of an understanding of how volunteering can help improve and embellish your CV,” says Steve. “It can help you stand out from the crowd and be more employable to a prospective employer.

“The seminar would be beneficial for younger people in the industry, and also maybe for those who feel they have become stuck in a rut. The message behind it all, is to use the opportunities that are out there to develop yourself because it can help you take that next step which will give you that career fulfilment you are looking for.”

Additionally, the seminar ‘Making your move’ will be beneficial in helping a visitor along their career path. Wayne Billing, head groundsman at Northampton Saints RFC; Stuart Kerrison, head groundsman at Essex CCC and Danny Beckley, head of estates and grounds at Harrow School, will all be on hand to reveal the secrets behind making it to the top within their respective fields.

For further inspiration, John Ledwidge will be documenting his rise from starting in an apprentice position through to being the current grounds manager at Leicester City FC in ‘From apprentice to grounds manager’. In a separate seminar John will also be joined by the rest of his grounds team in a session entitled ‘Building a team for success.’

By attending any of these seminars within the programme, SALTEX visitors have the opportunity to enhance their CV as IOG and Basis CPD points are available for all Learning LIVE sessions. Attendance at the seminars can be recorded by picking up a CPD form from the IOG Hub (Stand C180) and can contribute towards the minimum requirement of 35 hours in 12 months in order to qualify for the IOG’s Certificate of CPD Achievement.

After being motivated by the Learning LIVE seminars, visitors can visit SALTEX 2017’s new feature – the Job Clinic. Located on the IOG Hub, industry expert Frank Newberry will be hosting 15-minute one-to-one sessions covering CV writing to interview techniques. To book an appointment with Frank, visitors are advised to go to the IOG information desk on the IOG Hub as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

Located in the centre of the UK, whether you are travelling from overseas or within the UK, the NEC is incredibly easy to get to by car, rail or air. No matter what route you take, one thing is certain – opportunity awaits on November 1 and 2 at SALTEX 2017.

The full programme of SALTEX events will be regularly updated via www.iogsaltex.com.

Visitor registration to SALTEX 2017 is free. To confirm your attendance visit www.iogsaltex.com

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Maintaining High Standards At Sandburn Hall

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Maintaining high standards at Sandburn Hall: Sandburn Hall Golf Club, a 6700yd par 72 parkland course with a heathland element situated in Flaxton in the beautiful Vale of York, opened just 12 years ago but already hosts major amateur and professional county events.

Maintaining High Standards At Sandburn Hall

Getting the fairways and greens to that high standard, and maintaining it, has been the responsibility of the club’s golf course manager Brian Hall and his son Andrew, who is deputy manager. They have been at the course since its inception, and their main choice of machinery from the start has been John Deere, supplied by dealer F G Adamson & Son.

The original fleet package delivered when the course was being prepared for play comprised a 2653A surrounds and rough mower, a 3235B fairway mower, a 3245B rough mower and a 2500B greens mower. There was also a 4115 compact tractor, a 1200A bunker rake and an Aercore 1500 tractor-mounted aerator.

“We look after the equipment and have our own mechanic, Chris Clark, and a grinding machine for cylinders and bottom blades, so we can keep the machines going for a long time,” says Brian Hall. “However, when fairway and rough mowers get to around 10 years old they need replacing to keep up with the latest technology. The machines had proved to be reliable and we have a good working relationship with F G Adamson & Son, who provide excellent after-sales support.”

To keep the course maintenance fleet up to date a rolling replacement policy was instigated with dealer area sales manager Andy O’Neill in 2012, in which all the machines are bought outright. “This enables us to minimise our annual outlay, as we know how much to budget for the next machine,” adds Brian.

Replacement machines have included an 8700 fairway mower, a 2653B utility mower, an 8800 rough mower and a 2500E hybrid electric greens mower to complement the 2500B, which is still going strong in its role as a back-up mower and for verticutting the greens.

The latest new John Deere machines to arrive at Sandburn Hall are a 2027R compact tractor complete with a 60in mid-mounted rotary mower deck, and a Pro Gator utility vehicle equipped with an HD200 low-profile amenity turf sprayer and TD100 fertiliser spreader. A 4710 compact tractor has also replaced the 4115.

The 2027R compact tractor is fitted with a three-point linkage so, in addition to cutting the secondary rough and around the trees on the course, it is also used to aerate the greens. The 4710 is fitted with Galaxy tyres and powers a rotary topper for the rough and a trailed fertiliser spreader. It also tows a set of gang mowers on the driving range. The new Pro Gator is commended for its low centre of gravity and even weight distribution when carrying the sprayer and top dressing with the spreader.

Both Brian and Andrew Hall like the John Deere equipment’s build quality and operator comfort, and highlight features that they say help make the greenkeepers’ job easier all the time and improve the quality of cut – all helping the Sandburn Hall team to create a golf course that is already recognised as one of the best in the area.

“The fairway tender conditioners’ recycling action means there is no mess when cutting wet grass,” says Brian. “The Quick Adjust single point height of cut and blade to cylinder adjustment system is fantastic, and the backlapping facility is also very handy.”

On the benefits of the 2500E hybrid electric greens mower, Andrew adds: “As well as being quieter and minimising the chance of any hydraulic oil spillage, the offset cutting units are a major feature, as there’s no tracking when cutting the perimeter of the greens. Operating costs are also lower, as the 2500E has the same clip rate as a conventional mower but at two-thirds the revs. In addition, the weight transfer system means that it maintains the same height of cut whether the grass box is full or empty.”

In summary, Sandburn Hall director James Hogg says: “We have enjoyed trading with F G Adamson & Son since we bought our first John Deere tractor in 2001, well before the golf course was even completed. They have always looked after us with fast, reliable parts delivery and excellent new machines, and we look forward to doing business with them and John Deere for many years to come.”

For more information, visit: www.JohnDeere.co.uk

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