Football Focus On The North-West

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Football Focus On The North-West: At Burnley FC’s Barnfield Training Ground, the Premier League club’s first order for John Deere machinery from local dealership Balmers GM has bedded in at what is reportedly Britain’s first football facility of its kind.

The 10ha Barnfield site includes 15 pitches altogether, including four full-size Desso and a 60 x 40m goalkeeper area in the first team zone, plus three and a half full-size Fibresand surfaces and two full-size natural soil pitches (topped up with sand over the years) in the Academy areas. The site also includes a full-size outdoor Desso 3G and indoor Desso 60 x 40m 3G. All pitches are split up into sizes appropriate for different age ranges and all feature full drainage, with Rainbird irrigation systems throughout the site.

Football Focus On The North-West

Head groundsman Barry O’Brien leads a nine-strong team and has witnessed plenty of changes in his 11 years here, the latest his own doing. After lengthy spells specifying other major turf machinery brands, Barry thought it was time to try John Deere. Following extensive trials, he specified the equipment required to cope with exacting conditions both outside and indoors.

The new tractor and mower fleet meets fresh demands that are centred on changing turfcare practices at the ground. For example, gone is the early ‘fluffy’ cut after the team fitted different rollers and adopted a more aggressive maintenance regime of raking out and brushing. “We had a grass factory here, generating far too much growth,” says Barry. “It would challenge any kit, but we’re fine now after adapting the way we do things.”

Balmer’s golf & turf area manager Andrew Meeks, whose family are Clarets fans (although he supports Liverpool!), agrees: “We’ve grown with each other over the years, so it was just a question of responding to Barry’s needs and supplying them, while working closely with the team to deliver the results they wanted.” Barry adds: “In doing that, we’ve developed a trusted relationship that has also helped us to expand our knowledge base.”

John Deere’s all-purpose X950R commercial lawn tractor with rear collection has been proving a deal-maker nationally, and Barry O’Brien’s assessment is no exception. “The machine is very good at sucking up pitch debris across the site as well as leaves off our top pitch, which lies next to National Trust woodland,” he says.

“The X950R is one of the best of its kind anywhere, and fits perfectly into the different approaches our grounds team is taking with football pitches – lighter rolling, clearing out and raking. Also, it stands the grass up so that cutting is more effective and reduces the risk of matting. We’d like another one of them, especially fitted with slick tyres.”

Barry also sees the value of his three 7700A PrecisionCut cylinder mowers in this environment. “They serve the football application just as well as they do golf. Obviously the sports differ, but in many ways they lend themselves to similar machinery applications. The customised grass boxes and nylon rollers are also major benefits.”

With Burnley manager Sean Dyche casting an eagle eye over pitch presentation, the last thing needed is turf machinery making the wrong impression. Used for heavier duty tasks such as hauling sprayers and fertiliser spreaders, the John Deere 4049R compact tractor sports Galaxy turf tyres that fit the bill for the bigger pitches, leaving the manager with little cause for complaint. “He loves the softer tyres – they have a big footprint but leave no imprint on the turf,” says Barry.

Additional 1026R and 2036R compact tractors serve as all-rounders, moving indoors to pull drag brushes and other kit that the team uses to maintain the Desso cross-knit pitch. As Barry adds: “It’s not just about the machinery but what you do with the turf between times that allows you to achieve the best results and benefits. That said, I saw the brilliant back-up we were getting from Balmers and the team’s confidence in the kit, and knew the combination would win through.”

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Click & Collect With The Countax PGC+

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Click & Collect With The Countax PGC+: Countax garden tractors have been made in Britain for over thirty years and have a reputation for being tough, durable and built for British weather conditions. A key feature of the Countax is the Power Take Off (PTO) which drives the Powered Grass Collector (PGC) and a range of accessories.

Countax has now introduced the PGC+. An accessory which transforms a C or B Series garden tractor into a multi-use, year-round workhorse. The PGC+ is a cassette system which allows you to quickly and easily switch accessories, each one designed for a specific garden task. It means you only need one machine to maintain your lawn, driveway, path and other areas of your garden. The Grass Sweeper cassette comes as standard. Click it into place and fifty-one brushes rotate at over 1100rpm to sweep grass clippings, fallen leaves and other debris into the hopper, even when the grass is wet.

Click & Collect With The Countax PGC+

Scarifying a lawn to rid it of moss and thatch encourages thicker, lusher grass. Installing the Scarifier cassette into the PGC+ reduces the need for a separate scarifier. The easy-to-insert cassette makes light work of scarifying and takes considerably less time than using a walk-behind machine. Especially considering that scarifying and collection of the debris is done simultaneously.

Using the PGC+ is simple. There is no need to unhitch it. Just take off the collection net, remove the current cassette and load in the next. Considerable financial savings can be made using the PGC+. There is no longer the need to purchase separate, standalone equipment. Additional cassettes are coming shortly, including a Hard Surface Brush cassette which transforms your Countax into a heavy-duty powered broom for maintaining hard surfaces such as paths and driveways.

For more information contact Countax on 01844 278800 or visit www.countax.co.uk/dealers to find your local dealer.

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Healthy Water At Millets Farm

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Healthy Water At Millets Farm: With two mature lakes covering roughly four acres and home to hundreds of fish, Millets Farm Fly Fishing Club takes its water quality incredibly seriously. So, it’s no surprise it’s turned to Otterbine to help achieve the best water quality possible.

Having installed an Otterbine Fractional aerator last year in one of its lakes and seen vast improvements, the club has now opted to install a second Otterbine aerator which is vital to keeps its waters and fish healthy. Head Squared Aquatics chief executive Giles Head, who recommended and installed the Otterbine aerators for the club, explains.

Healthy Water at Millets Farm

“In the lakes at Millets Farm there’s a high level of anaerobic digestion, whereby bacteria break down organic and biological waste into carbon dioxide, ammonia and methane and this severely reduces the dissolved oxygen in the water. Plus, the lakes were suffering from thermal stratification, which is where the temperature changes at different depths in the lake which trout in particular are very sensitive to. It’s therefore vital to maintain high levels of dissolved oxygen to ensure the waters stay healthy, an even temperature throughout and suitable for aquatic life.”

And never has this been more evident to Giles than when one of the Otterbine aerators was damaged by fishing wire and had to be removed.

“Within just four days the oxygen levels dropped dramatically. Luckily for the fishing club they were loaned a replacement motor unit by Otterbine’s distributor Reesink Turfcare, so they could get the oxygen levels back to where they needed to be while their aerator was being repaired. But it just goes to show how delicate the water balance is and how quickly it can be disrupted.”

And with the poor results the fishing club were seeing with its last aerators, Otterbine has brought a welcome change, says Giles: “The club’s old aerators were only resulting in dissolved oxygen levels of between four and six percent. With the Otterbine Fractional aerators in place, the lakes are up to saturation point, getting the full amount possible.

“That’s why I recommend Otterbine systems,” he says. “I’ve been in the industry for a long time and seen that for every pound spent on an aerator, you’ll get twice as much dissolved oxygen in the water from an Otterbine than anything else. Plus, the customer service from Otterbine and Reesink is second to none.”

With the larger of two lakes at the club now benefitting from two Otterbine aerators, there are plans to potentially install another two in the other lake. Although smaller and served by a spring, and therefore not suffering as much and requiring the same urgent attention as the larger lake, ensuring water quality is the best it can be is very important to the club.

Eric Evans, fishery manager at the club concludes: “After speaking to Giles about the issues we were having, he supplied and fitted an Otterbine aerator after only three days, and within the week dissolved oxygen levels had reached super saturation and completely transformed the lake.

“We are thrilled with the service from Head Squared Aquatic and Reesink Turfcare, particularly with their loan of a replacement unit while ours was damaged, and we thank them both for their continued support.”

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Cricket Groundcare Award Winners

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Cricket Groundcare Award Winners: A fabulous presentation day, at Lord’s, was enjoyed by all the winners of the Cricket World and Turf Matters Cricket Groundcare Awards 2019.

The group gathered in the Tavern Stand for the Presentation, which was attended by Chris Wood ECB Pitch Advisor, – Karl McDermott MCC Head Groundsman at Lord’s (a previous Cricket GroundCare Award winner, whilst at Clontarf CC in Ireland), Alastair Symondson (Cricket World) and Scott MacCallum (Turf Matters).

Cricket Groundcare Award Winners

There were also representatives from the sponsors of the Awards – Richard Fry and Marcus Hewitt (Rigby Taylor), Robert Jack (Dennis and SISIS), Simon Hedley (Boughton Loam) and John Clifford (ISEKI)

The Awards had been introduced by Cricket World to recognise the dedication and hard work that groundcare individuals put into maintaining and producing cricket squares and outfields, for reactional clubs, schools and universities, in the UK and Ireland without whom there would be no cricket.

Alastair Symondson, Head of Media, Cricket World said: “We are delighted to be running these Awards again, with the support and assistance from our sponsors and partners. We also understand the dedication and hard work that goes into preparing cricket playing facilities and it is nice that we can recognize their hard work and endeavours in some small way.”

Roger Knight, former First Class cricketer and past CEO/Secretary of the MCC  sent a message of congratulations : ”These are the stalwarts of recreational cricket clubs and schools and we should thank them all – how gratifying it is to see a past winner now taking charge at the Home of Cricket as well.”

Kent  CGA – a special award was presented to the Kent Cricket Ground Association represented by  Peter Robinson, Tony Leach and Peter Aylott.

Chris Wood ECB Pitch Advisor added: “This Award is in recognition of their outstanding work as an organisation in assisting clubs, in Kent, with maintaining their cricket playing facilities”

Other Quotes

“I was delighted to see so many committed and talented groundcare volunteers and professionals, at Lord’s, and to see them recognised for the wonderful work they do to ensure that cricket is played on excellent pitches, at all levels of the recreational game”

Scott MacCallum, Editor of Turf Matters magazine.

“We are proud and excited to support these awards! Congratulations to all the hard-working nominees and winners”

Rigby Taylor on supporting the Cricket Groundcare Awards 2019.

“Congratulations to all the worthy winners but not forgetting all the other hardworking groundsman out there. Recognition well deserved! Proud supporters!”

Iseki on supporting the Cricket Groundcare Awards 2019.

“ It was a great day for all the winners to enjoy and we are very happy to support this grassroots initiative”

Boughton Loam – Cricket Groundcare Awards 2019 – Sponsors

“Dennis and SISIS are delighted to be part of these Awards. Raising the profile of the grassroots volunteer and professional groundsmen, and the fantastic work that they do to ensure the game of cricket is played, will also help to attract the next generation of groundsmen. Congratulations to all the Award winners.”

Dennis and SISIS – Cricket Groundcare Awards 2019 – Sponsors

Club and School Winners (with small nomination bio)

Pete Clark – Alcester & Ragley Park CC Pete has been volunteering his time to the club for more than 50 years as Head Groundsman and without his commitment and passion for the ground and the club, the club would not exist to this day. Pete was unable to attend through illness but was presented with his Award at his club, in Warwickshire.

Andy Harris – Buckingham Town CC Andy has been the groundsman at Buckingham Town for 10 years. In that time the pitches and the ground in general have been prepared to the highest standard. He takes great pride in his work and the quality of the ground is often commented upon by players and spectators alike. Andy was taking a well-earned break in the sun in Greece after toiling all summer at his club Buckingham Town CC

Laurie Turner – New Ifield CC – Laurie is in his late 60’s and has been involved with New Ifield CC for nearly 52 years initially as a player (slow bowler) then following retirement from actively playing in 1990 he became involved with the maintenance of the playing surface, pavilion and outbuildings as the sole incumbent. Mr Turner had been a volunteer with grounds maintenance from 1982 when New Ifield CC originally moved to the ground in Priestwood Road, Gravesend.

Graham White –  Sissinghurst CC – Graham White is a 71 year old ‘volunteer’ groundsman with Sissinghurst CC.  Mr White started with the club as a 15 year old bowler/batsman and helping out with cricket pitch preparation and maintenance. At 21 years of age Mr White took on the role of full-time groundsman and also became a committee member.  Mr White played for the club for 34 years and at the age of 55 he retired from playing and became even more involved with club life; along with a past club chairman (deceased in 2013) Mr White (and other club members) built, at that time, the new cricket pavilion.  Mr White continued as groundsman but also took on other roles such as barman. At the tender age of 71 Mr White continues as Head Groundsman and is also the ‘Club Welfare Officer’ and ‘Bar Purchasing Officer’, he has been an active member of Sissinghurst Cricket Club for 50 years.

Cliff  Clark Harlow CC –  Joined the club in the late 1970’s as a player then took over groundsmanship over twenty five or thirty years ago. During that time as well as improving the wicket, he is enlarging it, ground maintenance he also managed and help build our second cricket ground ten years ago in the adjacent Spicers Field being the other side of our club pavilion. During last winter he also helped build an equipment building and it always finding other bits to do to improve not just the playing area but also the club facilities as well.

Nick Bull North Leeds CC – Nick has tirelessly looked after the ground at North Leeds for several years now, and handles the ever-increasing workload, alongside his day job, impressively. As the volume of junior cricket increases at our club annually, he manages to make sure that wickets are prepared, marked, cut, rolled and the surrounding areas are kept tidy by his team of, mostly retired, volunteers. His efforts have led to our club being awarded the honour of hosting the final of our league’s Waddilove Cup competition for the first time in our 125 year history this season. He’s also instrumental in the creation of a new small ground we’re developing in our old nets area for Under 5, 7 & 9 cricket in memory of an Under 17 cricketer who sadly passed away last year. The Tom Coupe Oval will be our legacy for such a promising youngster who lost his life far too soon.

Martyn Crowther Bradshaw CC – Since taking on the role 4 years ago Martyn has made vast improvements to the ground, especially on the pitch. Martyn has also carried out other invisible improvements, such as replacing drains (saving the club the £1000 quoted for repairs), and aimed to help the environment by planting willow trees along one side to help drainage and improve the aesthetics. He is willing to listen to other team’s groundsmen and act upon their advice. He also puts in many hours that nobody sees, going straight to the ground after work (full time) for several hours, often skipping tea. He gets very little help from the rest of the club.

Martin Woods Wargrave CC – with 30 years of service and overseeing the relaying of the old square 6 years ago the club are now hosting minor counties matches for t20, 50 overs and 4 day games. The guy is a legend for practice wickets on the square to making sure the 70 plus games we host in a season from girls, colts, league, rep matches and sundays

Bob Carder  Stamford School – Bob and his team do an outstanding job on a very limited budget. The dedication and attention to detail Bob sets are extremely high professional standards. The cricket square and outfields are pristine and are mesmerising to look at. It’s groundsmanship taken back to basics and the basics done well.

Craig Keast  Wells Cathedral School Craig has done a truly outstanding job as Head Groundsman at Wells Cathedral School. He is in his 32 year of service and continues to produce superb cricket wickets. Our main cricket pitch, Cedars has 22 cricket strips with the middle 10, which were laid in 1995, built on a stone raft, when the council decided to drive a road through the school playing fields. We now host representative cricket on a regular basis. With views of Wells Cathedral, the pitch is widely regarded as one of the finest in the County. Craig also assisted with the design of the cricket pavilion as well, but that’s another story.

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Groundsman Exhibit At SALTEX 2019

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Groundsman Exhibit At SALTEX 2019: GROUNDSMAN INDUSTRIES were established in 1990, based in Co. Antrim N. Ireland they specialise in the Design and Manufacture of Turf Aerators, Turf-sod Multi Cutters and Sub-surface Irrigation Pipe Insertion Machines distributing around the world.

Groundsman will be presenting this unique range of products on Stand K078 at the SALTEX Exhibition in the NEC Birmingham

Groundsman Exhibit At SALTEX 2019

TURF CUTTING

Three models are available in the new Groundsman TMC range of Two and Four Wheel Drive Turf Cutters. These versatile machines are available for general landscaping or fine turf applications. They have the traction and ability to cut in the extremely tough hard conditions or with precision on fine turf for relaying purposes at Golf Clubs or Turf Farms. The machines are compact, we balanced and easy to operate, the counter-balanced single crank blade-drive system transmit the lowest operator hand arm vibrations (HAV) levels on the market.

The Model TMC26 has two drive-wheels with a caster tail-wheel lockable for straight or curve cutting. The drive wheels are 30cm (12”) diameter for extra traction in compacted conditions, this and the durable simplistic design and ease of operation make this machine a popular choice with Landscape Contractors and Hire Shops.

The Model TMC46 four wheel drive Turf Cutter with rear mounted blade cuts fine turf with precision leaving it unmarked by wheel tracking for relaying purposes at Golf Clubs and Turf Farms. Four wheel drive give this machine exceptional traction and cutting ability to cut in all types of extreme conditions.

A wide range of blades are available for Sod-cutting from 30cm (12″) to 60cm (24″) wide adjustable down to 7cm (3”) depth as well as other blades and attachments including Mole-draining, De-compacting, Trench-cutting to 13cm (5”) depth plus Pipe and Cable Insertion down to 13cm (5”) depth.

IRRIGATION PIPE INSERTION

Groundsman Industries have developed an Irrigation Pipe Insertion machine to insert Dripper-line Irrigation Pipe down to 15cm deep in a one pass operation to provide water directly to the root zone of any grass surface. The trench into which the pipe is inserted is created without removing any soil thereby leaving very little trace on the surface or disruption.

The new model TIM13 Trench Insertion Machine will be on display at SALTEX, it is powered by a 13HP Honda engine and can be fitted with reels of pipe up to 200 meters long.

TURF AERATION

Groundsman offer four models of Pedestrian Turf Aerators and two Tractor Mounting machines plus a wide range of Quick Change Tines, Holders and Accessories including the incredible Flexblade Core Collector which gathers the cores as they are being produced. All the Aerator Machines use Groundsman’s time proven Elliptical Plunge Action, Sealed Bearing Low Maintenance Aeration Mechanism.

Pedestrian Aerators

A Groundsman 345 models are the smallest in the Groundsman pedestrian range, they have a 45cm (18”) swath and use the Groundsman Medium and Heavy Duty three arm aeration mechanisms driven by a 6.5HP engine. The 345MD is a Medium Duty machine is a popular choice with private Bowls Clubs. The 345HD Heavy Duty machine has a long proven record of durability second to none capable of coping with hard and stony ground conditions as well as fine turf. These compact professional machines have an overall width of 80cm (32”) enabling them to access most garden gates. The 345HD can aerate all types of grass surfaces including Gardens, Parklands, Pitches, Fine Lawns and Sports Greens. The crank driven plunge action mechanism will drive the tines into the most compacted of surfaces to a depth of 13cm (5”) with very little surface disruption. Quick change Hollow Core, Solid and Slitting Tines are available plus Cluster Tine Heads for thatch removal or surface preparation for over-seeding. A drop-seeder attachment can be fitted to the aerator machines and a drag-brush to work in conjunction with the Cluster Tines for over-seeding work.

Groundsman Exhibit At SALTEX 2019

The Model 460 is the same as the 346HD but with a 60cm (24”) swath width using a four arm heavy duty aeration mechanism and fitted with a 9HP engine.

Tractor Mounting Aerators

The model 8120CTM is a 120cm (48”) wide compact tractor mounting machine capable of aerating to 15cm (6”) deep. It is uitable for tractors over 18HP and can be fitted with the full range of Groundsman Tines and Quick Change Holders as well as the legendry FLEXBLADE Core Collector.

The Model 12180TM is a 180cm (72”) wide version of the 8120 suitable for tractors over 25HP

CORE COLLECTION

The new Groundsman FLEXBLADE Aeration Soil / Core Collector will be on displaying at SALTEX. The new universal FLEXBLADE range are light weight and available in widths from 60cm (24”) up to 230cm (90”) to fit many types of Pedestrian and Tractor Mounting Aerators to Core and Collect in One Pass as well as Three Point Linkage Compact Tractor or Turf Vehicle mounting for Follow-up Core and Linear Aeration Soil Collection.

GROUNDSMAN FLEXBLADE COLLECTORS are the most cost effective and efficient method of collecting aeration soil saving time and many hours of labour.

With no driven parts they have a Long Service Life with Very Little Maintenance.

For more information visit www.groundsmanindustries.com

Email: info@groundsmanindustries.com

Tel: 028 2766 7049

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