John Deere to open doors to the talent of tomorrow

/in , /by

John Deere to open doors to the talent of tomorrow: John Deere will hold an open day at its Apprentice Training Centre this May in a bid to recruit the next generation of technicians to work across its agriculture, turf and parts business.

The company’s revered and respected apprenticeship programme has been running for more than 30 years, helping more than 1,200 apprentices qualify through on-the-job practical learning alongside classroom studies.

John Deere to open doors to the talent of tomorrow

John Deere to open doors to the talent of tomorrow

The John Deere Training Centre at Upper Saxondale, near Nottingham, opened last year, providing state-of-the-art facilities where apprentices complete their two or three-year course while simultaneously working within the John Deere dealership network.

“It’s a really exciting time to be part of the agricultural and turfcare industries,” says Allan Cochran, John Deere Branch Training Manager.

“It’s a highly technical and innovative sector, which means our apprentices get to work with some of the most advanced pieces of kit in the world.

“It’s not just servicing and fixing tractors. If you want to earn while you learn and be part of a huge, global brand with a reputation for ground-breaking innovations, then a John Deere apprenticeship could be the perfect start to your career.”

John Deere to open doors to the talent of tomorrow

John Deere to open doors to the talent of tomorrow

John Deere and the scheme’s training provider, ProVQ, will provide a tour of the training centre on Wednesday 3 May and Thursday 4 May, offering those interested in becoming apprentices the chance to meet the instructors, see the facilities, learn about the John Deere brand, and hear how their careers can grow with the world’s largest manufacturer of agricultural and groundscare equipment.

Sessions will last up to two hours and will outline what John Deere can offer a prospective apprentice, the journey through the Ag Tech, Turf Tech or Parts Tech programmes, plus the John Deere career path once certified.

“This is a unique opportunity to view the learning facilities on offer and talk to those who know all about the programmes,” says Mr Cochran.

The three John Deere apprenticeship programmes include Ag Tech – focusing on agricultural machinery, Turf Tech – focusing on professional turf equipment, and Parts Tech – focusing on parts service and support.

The events are free to attend but you must pre-book a session as places are limited.

To book visit: jdapprenticeships.eventbrite.co.uk

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Green-tech Serve Up an Ace Day at Wimbledon

/in , /by

Green-tech Serve Up an Ace Day at Wimbledon: BALI National Landscape Awards headline sponsor Green-tech recently hosted 10 principal award winners in a behind-the-scenes VIP tour of Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Supported by ICL, this is the fifth time that Green-tech has organised this tour as a celebration for the BALI award winners.

Green-tech Serve Up an Ace Day at Wimbledon

Green-tech Serve Up an Ace Day at Wimbledon

The day started off with a presentation from Head of Courts and Horticulture Neil Stubley, who has been at Wimbledon since 1995 and oversees the 67 courts within the club (including indoor, outdoor, clay, acrylic and croquet lawns). He gave a valuable insight into the intense, year-round planning, and how important it is for each court to be monitored and cared for correctly to withstand the heavy impact from the 2-week Wimbledon Championships.

This was followed by a presentation from Head Gardener Martyn Falconer who looks after the Horticulture off the courts (flower beds, flower walls, lawns). Martyn has the huge task of sourcing thousands of flowers each year that ensure the venue lives up to the high expectations of delivering its famed stunning flower displays. A new addition within the past few years is the ‘live flower wall’ which sits above Henman Hill and requires constant watering, irrigation, and maintenance to achieve a long-lasting display.

After lunch, Neil and Martyn conducted a tour of the courts, including Centre Court and the brand-new Indoor Centre, boasting an impressive new selection of indoor courts.

Green-tech’s Product Development Director Chris Swan adds, “It was a fantastic day that was enjoyed and appreciated by our Principal Award Winners. The presentations by Neil and Martyn were really interesting and informative. We all loved the tour of the facilities – it really was an honour to be one of very few to see behind the scenes of the most prestigious tennis tournament venue in the World.”

Principal Award winner ADTRAK enjoyed the event. With Ben Shaw commenting, “A superb event. Really enjoyable and a very nice treat for us all”, Colleague Paul O’Donoghue continues, “It was an amazing day. Magical!”

Chris Thomas, Senior Contracts Manager from Elite Landscapes Ltd agrees, “It was a fascinating tour and amazing to see what goes on behind the scenes.”

Entries are now open for BALI National Landscape Awards 2023. Register and enter using the following website https://bnla.awardsplatform.com/

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

MM60 stands firm for the Rhinos

/in , /by

MM60 stands firm for the Rhinos: MM60 grass seed has helped Ryan Golding, Head Groundsperson at Leeds Rhinos, to achieve a consistently good surface all year-round despite it being the busiest ever on record.

Ryan has been working at Headingley Stadium for nearly twenty years and has been the Head Groundsperson for nine of those. As one of the most highly used surfaces in professional sport, it is safe to say that he and his three members of staff have their work cut out: “This job is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is a 365-day operation,” he said.

MM60 stands firm for the Rhinos

MM60 stands firm for the Rhinos

The pitch at Headingley Stadium had over 100 usages last year which was particularly high due to several Rugby World Cup fixtures taking place. With such heavy and consistent use, a grass seed with a good wear tolerance is essential, and that is why Ryan did his research before choosing MM60.

“I originally went round to see a few venues which I knew used MM60 and the people who used it all gave good feedback,” he said. “After speaking to Matt Gresty (MM Sales and Marketing Manager) I quickly realised that it is a great company to deal with. It was refreshing that they really wanted to work with us and take the time to find out everything about our pitch and our goals. I know it sounds cliché, but Matt is always on the other end of the phone if I need them – even at weekends.

“We now use MM60 for everything including overseeding, renovating, for when we recover heavy wear areas or for hand seeding.”

MM60 grass seed is renowned for producing an excellent playing surface in a stadium environment. It is a 100% Ryegrass formula which is perfect for renovation and divot repair, has a high disease resistance, fantastic aesthetic qualities and offers extremely fast germination – which is boosted by the inclusion of Headstart® GOLD.  it is a natural revolutionary grass seed treatment that ensures rapid germination and is perfect for enhancing performance on grass seed coatings for sports fields, golf courses, lawns and amenity turf.

MM60 stands firm for the Rhinos

MM60 stands firm for the Rhinos

“Disease tolerance is one of MM60’s best features, as is the speed of root mass and density, which is highly important because we are a fibresand pitch,” continued Ryan. “With having rugby on it, these guys are a lot heavier than footballers, and they are moving forward and back all the time, so we need to have a consistently firm, stable surface. MM60 gives us that.

“Recently, we had a winter concert on January 7 and then had to recover around 2,000 sq.m of grass from scratch before a game on January 29. We would not have been able to do that without MM60.”

For further information, please contact MM Sports Seed on 01386 791102 or visit the company’s website www.mm-seeds.co.uk.

You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

AS 1000 Ovis RC – Simply Steep Mowing

/in , /by

AS 1000 Ovis RC – Simply Steep Mowing: At the beginning of March, AS-Motor started series production of the new remote-controlled tracked flail mower AS 1000 Ovis RC. True to the motto ‘Simply steep mowing’, the mower convinces with its slope-compatibility, high mowing performance and easy handling and maintenance.

By professionals, for professionals

Noise protection and railway embankments, rainwater retention basins, solar parks and wind power plants often pose great challenges for landscape managers and service providers. The AS 1000 Ovis RC is up to the task of regular maintenance of these difficult-to-access, impassable and steep surfaces.

AS 1000 Ovis RC – Simply Steep Mowing

AS 1000 Ovis RC – Simply Steep Mowing

The power of the Vanguard Professional 2-cylinder engine with 23hp maximum output is transmitted directly and with low loss of efficiency to the blade shaft via a belt drive. The 4-stroke OHV engine with cyclone filter is equipped with a particularly strong crankshaft and has a displacement of 627cm3 at a speed of 3,600rpm. The AS 1000 Ovis RC enables a mowing speed of up to 5km/h and thus an area output of up to 5,000m2/h, with an excellent cutting pattern and even grass placement across the entire working width.

The 100cm wide flail mower, in combination with the somewhat narrower tracked undercarriage, makes it easy to mow close to the edge and comfortably to within a few centimetres of crash barriers and other obstacles.

Flexibility and suitability for slopes

Thanks to the flexibly adjustable mowing deck, the new flail mower with tracked undercarriage can be optimally adapted to all terrain conditions. Guided by a wide caster roller, the mower deck adapts perfectly to any contour. The adjustable sliding frame means that the specified minimum cutting height can be maintained throughout. Maximum traction on difficult terrain is ensured by the carried insert without ground contact. The mower’s surfing suspension, with its large pendulum travel, also adapts well to uneven ground in difficult, hilly terrain.

The AS 1000 Ovis RC with its compact design (183cm long, 114cm wide and 69cm high) mows difficult terrain and hard-to-reach areas without any problems thanks to remote control from a safe distance. The automatic, mechanical parking brake provides additional safety when working on slopes. The large track units with steel inserts ensure low ground pressure, ideal power transmission and best grip on steep slopes. The deep-seated, horizontally-mounted Vanguard Professional engine with optimised oil lubrication and the mower’s low overall height give the AS 1000 Ovis RC a low centre of gravity and makes it extremely suitable for use on slopes, allowing for mowing under deep obstacles, for example in solar parks.

The AS 1000 Ovis RC’s low weight of only 419kg not only protects the ground, but the balanced weight distribution and the robust crawler chassis also enable safe mowing of steep slopes up to 55 degrees.

Reliability and ease

In their work to develop a completely new product, AS-Motor’s development engineers have used and reimagined tried and tested components. The new AS 1000 Ovis RC uses reliable components from the YAK series, such as the robust flail mower and the belt pressure spring tensioning system. Robust hydraulic motors from large-scale production, with their enormous torque, also ensure a precise, powerful travel drive. Clear operating elements and precise controls ensure comfortable, intuitive handling and also precise manoeuvring.

Once the first service has taken place, after 100 hours of operation, long maintenance intervals of 400 hours follow. For daily cleaning, the AS 1000 Ovis RC offers excellent accessibility. Air ducts, filters and oil control are accessible without tools and the mower can be easily placed in the service position to provide optimum access to the flail mower. The defined adjustment dimension also guarantees precise track tensioning.

In the transport position, the new flail mower with tracked undercarriage is even more compact (only 159cm long), so transport to the place of use is no problem.

Ovis – the namesake

Ovis are large, strong wild sheep that live on rough mountain slopes at altitudes of up to 5,000m. They feel at home on steep terrain, are sure footed, and adapt perfectly to their environment. The new AS 1000 Ovis RC remote-controlled flail mower lives up to its name.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.