Coventry Hearsall Benefits From Reesink Finance

Coventry Hearsall Benefits From Reesink Finance: Coventry Hearsall Golf Club is one of the first clubs to benefit from Reesink Turfcare’s fixed term finance for irrigation.

Course manager Jonathan Oldknow says he is ‘delighted’ with the new Toro Lynx system including sprinklers for the tees, greens and approaches, which replaced a 40-year-old irrigation system struggling with constant leaks and breakages. In fact, Jonathan attributes the club’s ever-increasing reputation to the success of the ‘Total Solutions’ package it now boasts with its Toro irrigation system and fleet of machinery.

Coventry Hearsall Benefits From Reesink Finance

Jonathan says: “A new irrigation system is no light investment, but in this competitive industry we recognised the need for modern technology to stay at the top of our game. Miles ahead of anything we’ve ever had before, choosing the Toro Lynx system was a big statement from us saying ‘this is where we want to be heading.’”

Buying irrigation on finance takes away two of the biggest headaches Reesink Turfcare finds exist for those embarking on an irrigation installation: installation is sooner and there is less upfront capital outlay.

Brett Mander, Coventry Hearsall’s course chairman, explains further how the club arrived at the decision to go with Toro: “We launched a full tender evaluation, starting with a number of suppliers before whittling them down to three.

“UK distributor of Toro Reesink Turfcare won us over with its presentation, which gave us confidence that its package and aftercare support would best suit the needs of the club. Out of all the suppliers, Reesink offered the most flexible solution over a period of time that matches our investment and growth strategy at Coventry Hearsall.”

Gone are the days of fixing leaks, and with peace of mind that the club has water on demand: “The main beauty of the system is the accuracy it affords us,” says Jonathan. “We take moisture metre readings to identify where water is needed and adjust individual sprinkler heads accordingly, targeting areas with reassuring success.

“We are one step ahead with our new Toro system rather than on the back-foot with our previous one. As opposed to fighting fires just to keep the grass alive we are now able to focus on keeping the plant in optimum health, and will be able to do so for as long as I’m a greenkeeper, and then some.”

Flexible and transparent, Reesink’s strong relationship with a proven financial partner means it can offer some very competitive deals over one to ten years. Payment plans can be monthly, quarterly, or annually and clubs can finance through hire purchase (HP) or lease.

Alongside Toro irrigation, Coventry Hearsall plans to continue using Toro machinery long into the future, too. According to Jonathan: “Toro provides very useable machinery that is of the highest quality. With the best mowers on the market, we know we will always get the best results for our course.”

Brett concludes: “Our Toro ‘Total Solutions’ package has been instrumental in helping us to maintain and elevate our reputation as a premier golf club in the Midlands. Word is out about the quality of our greens and our membership is now full with a waiting list; put simply, the package has been successful in making us successful.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Successful APF For Jensen

Successful APF For Jensen: The UK’s largest forestry, woodland, arboriculture and biomass show came to Ragley Estate near Alcester, Warwickshire, again this weekend, with great success. The APF Exhibition, which takes place biennially in September, hosted 320 exhibitors over 3 days at the 6,000-acre estate, welcoming 18,500 visitors this year despite heavy rain and wind as a result of Storm Ali which pounded the site but not the spirits of visitors and exhibitors.

The Machinery Imports team were pleased to hold a large demonstration stand at the event this year, with Jensen woodchippers leading the charge complemented by the array of Groundcare machinery available from brands Ferris, Wright and Spider.

Successful APF For Jensen

With over 800m2 of stand space, the team were able to showcase a large range of machines including the ever-popular Jensen A530 and A530L towed woodchippers, with sub-750kg towing weights and 6-inch chipping capacity. Representing the range of PTO chippers were the A530XL and A540 models, with the A540 model boasting a 190mm capacity and 18m3/h output for powerful chipping with only a 40hp requirement.

For off-road, sloping or unstable terrain, Jensen presented the A540 Spider, a tracked woodchipper offering superb stability with independently controlled hydraulic tracks both vertically and horizontally, making it the most versatile machine of its type in the market.

Jensen are the only manufacturer of woodchippers in the industry to offer the option of a turntable chassis for all their woodchippers between 8” and 12” capacity, and to highlight this at the APF visitors to the stand could see an A540 turntable road-towable chipper. The 270° turning ability offers the perfect solution for anybody working alongside highways and paths where safety is paramount and space is limited, enabling the users to turn the woodchipper to face an alternative, safe direction.

As well as static displays of the models on offer, the Jensen team were able to practically demonstrate the power and versatility of the range including the huge A231 model, the second largest disc chipper in the Jensen line-up and the largest feed roller aperture available of any brand in the market. With a 310 x 240mm aperture, 30m2/h chipping capacity and 75hp engine the A231 is truly one of the most powerful and robust chippers on offer today.

Complementing the Jensen line up at the APF Exhibition were a range of Ferris, Wright and Spider mowers, including the Wright Stander I and Sport I models – the original zero-turn stander mowers in the industry, and Spider Mini, ILD01 and ILD02 remote-controlled, robotic slope mowers.

From Ferris, visitors could see a variety of pedestrian, ride-on and stand-on mowers including the new-for-2018 Ferris 400S with 4-way deck discharge options; larger models including the stand-on SRS™ Z1 and ride-on, zero-turn IS®700Z, IS®2600Z and IS®3200Z models. For those who prefer walk-behind grass cutting, the popular pedestrian mowers, FW25, FW35 and FW35 Flail were available to view, offering 18.5hp and 26hp petrol engines respectively and deck sizes from 36” to 52” for all mowing situations.

Bill Johnson, Business Manager for Jensen in the UK, found the show to be hugely successful for Jensen, commenting “I am delighted with the enthusiasm and loyalty shown by the Jensen users from around the UK and abroad who visited our stand and shared their Jensen stories with us. A particular highlight was meeting a terrific Jensen owner who happily uses his 31-year old Jensen A111Z woodchipper almost daily with no problems – a testament to not only his care for the machine but the durability and longevity of our premium chippers.”

“The 2018 APF Exhibition was hugely successful for us, giving us the opportunity to speak to industry professionals about the USPs of the Jensen brand as well as offering demonstrations to see the machines in action again on home-turf and welcoming visitors to enter our competition to win £1000 of arboricultural equipment, a great talking point with which to further engage customers.”

Clive Carter, General Manager for the Ferris, Wright and Spider brands in the UK, was also happy with the outcome of the event, adding “As an arboricultural-focused event we knew that the principal brand of interest would be Jensen however we were delighted to not only showcase our range of groundcare machinery which may be of interest to many woodchipper users too, but also to show our support for the Jensen brand which is growing ever more popular in the UK. We’re looking forward to seeing many visitors again at demonstrations and site visits which were organised as a result of attending the exhibition.”

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Get Straight With Glyphosate

Get Straight With Glyphosate: Glyphosate has been in the news again recently, and as groundcare professionals look to their 2019 weed control programmes, Roundup Technical Development Manager Barrie Hunt gives an update on legal and best practice information to help plan ahead.

Q. What is the legislative situation with glyphosate at the moment?

A. Glyphosate was formally re-Approved on 12th December 2017 by the European Commission.

Get Straight With Glyphosate

Q. How long has glyphosate been approved for and what does that mean for Roundup products?

A. Glyphosate, as an active substance, has been approved for a period of 5 years. The second stage of the process is the reauthorisation of the individual glyphosate products and this is currently ongoing. Both Roundup ProVantage and ProActive have been submitted for reauthorisation and we expect that process to be completed by the end of the year. In the meantime, both products continue to be fully available.

Q. Are they stocked by the same range of distributors?

A. Yes, there have been no changes to distribution agreements and you can still order Roundup products from your usual merchants.

Q. Are there any new restrictions on using glyphosate products?

A. The major change to product availability affected glyphosate products containing POE-t, also known as ethoxylated tallow amine, which is a surfactant to help wet the leaves. Since the end of June 2018 products containing POE-t are no longer authorised for use or storage. No Monsanto amenity glyphosate products contain POE-t.

We are not aware of any changes of use or label restrictions and in our product re-authorisation applications we have applied for the full range of existing uses.

Q. One of my local authority clients has expressed concern about using glyphosate in public open spaces such as parks. How can I put their mind at rest?

A. Roundup has been used successfully and safely for more than 40 years. Roundup ProVantage and ProActive act on the target’s enzyme system, which is unique to plants and not found in humans, animals, fish or insects. Roundup products have been widely used for over 40 years and their safety has been assessed by Pesticides Regulatory Agencies from all over the world, including the World Health Organisation.

As part of the recent re-Approval process, the European Food Safety Authority and the European Chemicals Agency both assessed glyphosate in detail and concluded that it can be used safely and does not cause cancer.

People, pets and wildlife need not be kept out of treated areas, although it is best not to walk in areas where the spray is still wet as transfer to other vegetation may lead to unwanted damage to other foliage. Once the spray is dry this cannot occur.
A leaflet explaining how Roundup works is available to distribute to clients and to the public – contact the helpline on 01954 717575 for copies.

Q. Is there anything I can do as a contractor to help ensure that glyphosate remains available for use in the future?

A. Always use chemical products in accordance with the label recommendations and all applicable pesticide legislation, and in conditions where the active ingredients can work most effectively to avoid the risk of resistance.

Although there are no known cases of glyphosate resistance in the UK, it is a very real threat, and amenity professionals should have a Resistance Management Strategy in place.

This includes using the correct dose rate of a reputable, approved glyphosate product, treating at the correct weed growth stage with correctly calibrated equipment and in good conditions; using other active ingredients and non-chemical methods of weed control as part of an Integrated Weed Management Plan.

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STRI Scoops Award At Bradford Uni

STRI Scoops Award At Bradford Uni: STRI has picked up two gongs at the University of Bradford’s Summer Experience Awards, as the Bingley-based business won the Outstanding Placement Provider (SME) for its work experience internships. It also helped STRI intern, Samuel Birch, claim the Outstanding Placement Student award.

Samuel (Chemical Engineering), Malika Zahedi (Biomedical Sciences), and Steven Hopkinson (Chemistry), joined STRI as part of the Summer Experience Placement programme for six-weeks where they provided invaluable support within STRI’s research team at its world class facilities in West Yorkshire.

STRI Scoops Award At Bradford Uni

Over the course of the summer internship, the students gained knowledge on conducting scientific trials, project management and data analysis.

STRI has been running Summer Experience placements for a number of years. Former intern Sam Swires, who graduated this year, has now joined STRI in a full-time position as Trials Officer.

STRI Research operations manager, Dr Christian Spring, said: “It was a very successful night for STRI at Bradford University. It has been a great opportunity for STRI to mentor and support the next generation of turf scientists.

“I am delighted that our intern students fitted seamlessly into the research team, and that they gained such a large amount from their research experience, and that both STRI and the students have been recognised in the Summer Experience Awards. We would encourage all businesses engage with work experience students, as we have benefitted enormously from our involvement over the last few years.”

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More Injuries On 4G Pitches?

More Injuries On 4G Pitches?: A recent study undertaken by the Irish Premiership bears out the belief that plastic pitches are more dangerous than natural surfaces.

In August, Munster’s new 4G pitch surface at Musgrave Park was laid, the conversion from natural grass to plastic complete and ready for the visits of London Irish and Exeter Chiefs for two pre-season friendly matches.

More Injuries On 4G Pitches?

Munster followed trends at Glasgow Warriors and Cardiff Blues, who both play home games on the synthetic surface, while Leinster have played competitively on their plastic in Donnybrook.

Munster’s first match on the surface arrived two months after Scarlets backrow John Barclay ruptured an Achilles’ tendon at Scotstoun, and fullback Johnny McNicholl called for artificial pitches to be outlawed. The following day Wasps flanker Jack Willis, who had just been called into the England squad, ruptured ligaments in his right knee on Saracens’ artificial pitch.

The Premiership now has three clubs who use the artificial surface, Saracens, Newcastle and Worcester. Gloucester intended joining them this season, but after taking advice from their players, the club is spending on a surface that will be a hybrid of grass and artificial grass fibres.

Under-20 Six Nations matches and women’s Six Nations matches are also played in Donnybrook. Leinster played against Newcastle on the surface prior to travelling to Cardiff Blues for their first Pro14 match of this season.

Joe Tomane, Ciaran Frawley and Will Connors all picked up injuries, Connors supporting the recently published Irish Rugby Injury Surveillance Report into amateur rugby that openside flankers represent, at 11 per cent, the most injured players of any position. Dan Leavy, Josh van der Flier and Sean O’Brien can testify to that without a study.

The injuries may be perceived to be part of the game of rugby, tough luck and coincidental. But the most recent Premiership study bears out the belief that plastic pitches are more dangerous and cause more injuries than grass. It also begs the question why, from a player-welfare perspective, are they becoming more rather than less common.

Synthetic pitches

The RFU crunched the numbers on grass and synthetic pitches in Premiership rugby, and came up with a report after the 2016-17 season.

It said that for that season 608 injuries were recorded on grass, 170 on artificial surfaces. With just three pitches the exposure to plastic was less, but returned injury rates of 129.1 per 1,000 hours compared to the grass rate of 89.6 per 1,000 hours, the total hours representing 25 matches. The average severity for match injuries on grass was 32 days, compared with 37 days for artificial turf.

As stated in the official report: “The overall burden of injuries on natural grass was 2,481 per 1,000 days compared with 4,740 per 1,000 days on artificial turf, a staggering difference.”

It was stipulated that 2016-17 was the first season where the incidence and burden of injury on artificial turf was higher than on natural grass. Enough, though, to take a pause on what direction player welfare is actually moving.

At a briefing this week in Aviva Stadium, the IRFU strength and conditioning coach Jason Cowman outlined the burdens on international players and the incredible toll matches take.

Of the 160 players eligible to play for Ireland, 20 per cent are injured at any one time in a game that Cowman says has changed dramatically over the last five years.

“It is not hamstring injuries where you are talking weeks, it is the hamstring off the bone,” said Cowman, by way of explaining how injuries are changing and evolving.

Some of those players are professionally contracted and competing in the All-Ireland League, which triggers another aspect of the welfare debate.

According to the Munster website, the Greencore Munster Rugby Academy was formed in 2004 “to prepare young players for life in and beyond professional rugby”.

The difference between amateur and professional?

“Two very different games,” said Mairead Liston, medical department co-ordinator, IRFU, who gave the excellent briefing with Cowman.

Concussion rates

The report into club rugby in Ireland set concussion rates at 6 per 1,000 hours. In the professional game as measured by the numbers coming from Premiership Rugby, a similar pool to Pro14, concussion rates run at 21 per 1,000 hours, or 3.5 times more than in Irish club competition.

Yet increasingly more professionally-contracted players are being pushed into a competition populated by non-professional athletes.

In that one concussion metric how will those numbers move when more professional players compete against amateurs on a weekly basis? It’s reasonable to assume the rate of 6 per 1,000 hours will not decrease as a result.

Player welfare is a never-ending juggling act, said Cowman. It takes in a player’s history of games, medical past, athletic profile, position and age. For that reason one of the current bugbears with the IRFU is World Rugby’s insistence that World Cup squads should be no more than 31 players.

At the last World Cup non-playing Irish staff were pressed into taking part in team-training sessions because there were not enough fit bodies available to provide two teams of 15 players to run through drills. Mismatch alert.

Player welfare is every surface played, every policy agreed and every law made, not simply the number of games the Young Munster tighthead or Johnny Sexton play each season.

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