PRO 34R Works Wonders For Wolves

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PRO 34R Works Wonders For Wolves: Seven new Dennis PRO 34R rotary mowers have recently been purchased by Premier League outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, and deputy head groundsman Anthony Parker claims they have made a huge improvement to turf maintenance operations at both the Molineux Stadium and the Club’s Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground.

Since the 2016 takeover by Fosun – a Chinese conglomerate and investment company, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, one of the greatest names in early professional football and one of the first of the Football League’s 12 founder members, are back where they belong.

PRO 34R Works Wonders For Wolves

Promoted back to England’s top flight and impressing on their return to the Premier League, exciting times lie ahead after the Club finished in a very respectable 7th position and continue to make their presence known in the transfer market. However, while it may well be the results on the pitch which are grabbing the headlines, improvements are also being made behind the scenes.

“It just all seemed to come together at the same time,” said Anthony. “The new owners arrived and more investment was available for equipment, the club were doing well and it just all went hand in hand.”

At a time when the Club was investing in new turf maintenance equipment the Dennis PRO 34R was launched and Anthony explained why the purchase of these new machines became the number one priority.

“We used to use six small rotary mowers which did a decent job but because of the additional pitch lighting we purchased, we needed to take more staff off the rotaries in order to have more help putting the lighting rigs out during the winter months. When we saw the PRO 34R’s come to the marketplace, it just made complete sense to get a fleet of these in so we purchased four for the training ground and three for the stadium.”

The Dennis PRO 34R is a 34″ (860mm) rotary mower which has been designed to help groundsmen achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance and desired playing surface. It is ideal for sports pitches producing the enviable ‘Dennis Stripes’ while a powerful vacuum flow collects debris quickly and efficiently.

The angle of the cutting deck and twin blades can be easily adjusted using a single ‘click adjuster’ ensuring the mower is suitable for changing conditions and meeting groundsmen’s requirements.

Since its launch in 2018 the PRO 34R has received rave reviews with many groundsmen praising the machine and the speed of its operation.

“With these bigger machines you are allowing more staff to go elsewhere to do additional jobs,” said Anthony. “At the training ground we didn’t rotary cut very often because it was such a time consuming task – normally we had to wait until the first team were off for a day and then maybe six of us would get on the small rotaries and it would take quite a while.

However, with these new PRO 34R’s the staff are using them straight away after a training session to clean the pitches up. They are using them every day and they have improved the pitches no end.

“It is a very user friendly machine and it is extremely adaptable because it has so many different gears. If the time allows then you can go over the pitch as slow as you want cleaning up all the debris efficiently but it is also incredibly quick – you put it into fourth gear and you are done in no time at all. You can get a pitch cleaned up in about 40 minutes with three of you.

“It is great when you leave the stadium after a match-day knowing everything has been done and everything is clean – it certainly helps me sleep easily!”

At the stadium, Anthony and the team use the PRO 34R and the Dennis G860 in conjunction by relying on the rotaries to cut down to 25mm before switching to the cylinder mowers for the final presentation cuts (23mm) in preparation for match-day.

While the G860 has long been the industry’s number one mower of choice for presentation, Anthony is hugely impressed with the finish achieved by the PRO 34R.

“The finish on the rotaries is absolutely superb and I think you could even use them for a match-day cut because they will provide presentation of the highest quality.”

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

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter and Instagram @DennisMowers and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK. You can also view the latest Dennis videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers

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BASF To Launch New Farm Rodenticide

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BASF To Launch New Farm Rodenticide: BASF have announced the release of Storm® Ultra Secure, a brand-new rodenticide which will be available in August 2019. The product contains 25 parts per million (ppm) of the active substance flocoumafen and will be available in a variety of sizes to professional users* and farmers as well as the general public.

The preparation of crop stores to prevent infestations of rodents and other pests is crucial. Rodents consume and spoil stored produce, spread disease to humans and livestock, attack growing crops and damage buildings. Preparing storage facilities on farms requires planning and an integrated pest management approach. Buildings should be cleaned, tidied and thoroughly checked prior to being regularly baited. This will help remove rodents before harvest and continued baiting will prevent infestations during autumn and winter. It is therefore essential for farmers to find the right product that has high efficacy and palatability.

BASF To Launch New Farm Rodenticide

Sharon Hughes, Global Technical Marketing Manager, for BASF explains. “Since second generation rodenticides were released in the 1970s and 80s to combat rodent resistance to the early anticoagulants of the 1950s, a complacency about rodent control has developed. It is believed that all second-generation actives have a high rate of efficacy and that rodents have little to no resistance to them. However, this is not the case because rats have already shown resistance to difenacoum and bromadiolone.”

Resistance is only one factor in the efficacy of a rodenticide. Palatability is an equally important consideration. The strength of the active is irrelevant if the rodent is not attracted to eat the product. It is therefore important to have an active that rodents are not resistant to and a product that is highly palatable to ensure a sufficient quantity of the active is consumed.

In laboratory trials conducted by BASF, rats were offered the choice between a controlled nontoxic food source and Storm Ultra Secure. The results showed that some rats chose to consume high quantities of the product even when nontoxic food was available. Sharon explains “Palatability is measured by the amount of the rodenticide consumed divided by the amount of the controlled diet consumed. The standard for most block baits range between 0.5 and 1.5”.

In laboratory tests with Storm Ultra Secure, BASF recorded quantities as high as 11.3 being consumed by rats and even the lowest levels were at least 2. This shows that the rats were consuming at least twice the normal dosage, with many choosing to consume much higher quantities of the rodenticide than normal. This proven palatability demonstrates that the new 25ppm bait is more effective than many 50ppm baits currently on the market.

Sharon concludes, “It is clear that rodents will continue to adapt, but none have built a resistance or tolerance to the flocoumafen active in Storm. By making Storm Ultra Secure more palatable we have created a 25ppm product that farmers can use to effectively control rodents on their farm.”

Rodent activity should be monitored all year round and farmers should look for signs of rats and mice at least weekly especially before harvest.

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Ian Campbell Joins GGM

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Ian Campbell Joins GGM: GGM Groundscare, the leading specialist supplier of high quality professional groundscare equipment continue to expand their sales operation with the appointment of Ian Campbell as Business Development Manager.

Ian, who joins GGM having previously worked initially at Sisis and laterally at Campey Turf Care will be working alongside the rest of the GGM team to develop the sales of Kubota, Baroness, Dennis & Sisis & Amazone and GGM’s other leading Groundscare franchises. Ian’s appointment demonstrates GGM’s ongoing commitment of building an ever growing team capable of exceeding customer expectations and delivering first class sales, hire and service support across the North West of England and Yorkshire.

Ian Campbell Joins GGM

Chris Gibson, Managing Director of GGM Groundscare said:

“Ian brings with him over 38 years experience within groundscare including extensive experience within the sports turf sector coupled with a wealth of knowledge and a great amount of enthusiasm. He is a fantastic addition to our team and he joins us with substantial selling and account management experience within similar markets and I’m sure he will thrive in his new role.”

Ian says of his new role, “I’m delighted to have been appointed as the new Business Development Manager for GGM who along with an extensive range of high quality machines from leading brands, have an outstanding reputation within the industry for their high level of customer care and service. I’m excited and very much looking forward to getting out and meeting customers and demonstrating the fantastic capabilities and benefits of our range of machinery”.

Ian can be contacted on:

Mob: 07983 557754

Email: ian@ggmgroundscare.co.uk

Web: www.ggmgroundscare.co.uk

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Hastings Groundsman Scoops Award

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Hastings Groundsman Scoops Award: Hastings United’s surface- and its architect- recognised in FA Groundsman of the Year Awards.

Grass. It’s often something we take rather for granted, isn’t it? But creating a fine surface for football doesn’t happen by chance; it involves a great deal of back-breaking work and an incredible amount of skill, which is why the FA honour those who have proved incredibly good at it. So stand up and be honoured Simon Rudkins of Hastings United- and a number of your BetVictor Isthmian colleagues!

Hastings Groundsman Scoops Award

Yesterday at St George’s Park, Simon- who recently left his role at Pilot Field after many years of incredible service- was honoured as Isthmian League Groundman of the Year. He was also the runner up in the national competition for Step Three and Four, which is why he’s holding two trophies in our image (borrowed from Simon himself, thank you).

Much credit also goes to Andrew Facey of Maldon & Tiptree, who was the Isthmian runner up, and Derrick Matthews of Hayes & Yeading United, who came third. Both Brian Quinnel of Bognor Regis Town and Andrew Ward of Wingate & Finchley were highly commended in in the Isthmian League category and the Step Three and Four awards.

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New App For Groundsmen

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New App For Groundsmen: The Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation are ramping up efforts to improve the quality of grass pitches in England with the launch of the Football Foundation Groundskeeping Community app.

The new platform provides a resource of expert advice for grounds staff, enabling them to connect with peers, discover new tips and tricks and share advice on best industry practice. Users can seek guidance from the IOG’s Regional Pitch Advisors, who are available to answer questions and update members on changes to industry standards.

New App For Groundsmen

The system is entirely free to use and will feature regular new content, with videos from high-profile groundskeepers, such as Wembley Stadium’s Karl Standley, case studies and the latest in groundskeeping techniques.

Developed in partnership with the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) and run through Hive Learning, Europe’s leading peer learning platform, the site represents the latest step of the Football Foundation’s Grass Pitch Programme, which aims to ensure every affiliated football fixture in England is played on a quality football pitch.

Karl Standley, Wembley Stadium Head Groundsman said: “Whether it’s Wembley or your local community football pitch, groundkeepers all face the same challenges.

“I think it’s great that we can now all come together on this new platform to share these challenges and help each other find solutions. We are all aware of the importance of improving the state of pitches in this country and this is a great step to making a long-lasting difference.”

Geoff Webb, IOG CEO said: “This is the culmination of over five years of work within our partnership with both the Football Foundation and The FA via the Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme and will complement the invaluable pitch-maintenance service that the Regional Pitch Advisors provide for volunteers at grassroots football clubs.

Dean Potter, Director of Grant Management at the Football Foundation, said: “The majority of community football is played on grass pitches and it’s a priority for us that we are able to sustain this.”

“We know how important football facilities are in transforming lives and bringing communities together and this platform will enable us to build a new groundskeeper community that will provide huge benefits for people across the country.”

For more information, go to http://thefa.hivelearning.com/groundskeeping.

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