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NEWS ARTICLES

A New Year, but what will it hold?

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Alan Abel from Complete Weed Control gives Turf Managers his view ahead of 2017.

The years, when working within the turf and amenity industry seem to go very quickly, as we are always thinking about the next season ahead. Each of the four seasons brings its own challenges, be it weather, fixtures, disease outbreaks, weak sward – the list seems endless.

Turf managers must deal with these issues as they occur. It is no use waiting and seeing. Decision time is now, not tomorrow or next week. 2016 proved to be a reasonable year and the autumn/winter up to now, has been kind to us.

A lot of golf projects have been carried out in dry-ish conditions, which could not have happened in 2015 as it didn’t stop raining for three months and the soil had reached saturation point.

So we never know what to expect. There has never been a more challenging time to live through than now. BREXIT seems to be the current buzz word and it is so unclear how it will work out with regards to the UK. The Sustainable Use Directive (SUDs) and our National Action Plan is such an important part of legislation and affects our industry in a big way.

We are losing many important active ingredients and although people may think no one is doing anything about it, this is far from the situation. The Amenity Forum, led by Prof John Moverley, is lobbying government ministers continuously on the sections behalf. As a body, The Amenity Forum is spelling out the problems that are happening in the field, highlighting the continual erosion of our arsenal of substances that we all require to keep our turf in the condition that has come to be expected.

They are explaining how professional we are in the amenity section and highlighting the necessity for the NSTS for sprayers, the importance of the Amenity Assured Scheme, and in general showing our industry in the best light while demonstrating that we are all dedicated to best practice and continual professional development.

On that subject, November 26 has passed, so all sprayers should hold NSTS certificates now. Agriculture HAS been through this development years ago. They have their sprayers checked and tested regularly, and they have had the Farm Assured Scheme running since the eighties. Our numbers in the amenity sector when it comes to BASIS qualifications are woefully low, as is the membership of NASOR or NoRosO. In my opinion, this is what is letting our industry down.
If the Government think for one minute this sector is being neglectful, then we will be under further restrictions. Glyphosate is also very much in the spotlight. There was a meeting in Virginia USA at the end of December made up of scientists making observations concerning the safety of this most important active ingredient.

The world simply cannot afford to be without this herbicide. End of. For your further information, please visit the Amenity Forum website to see the ‘Get Moving’ films. Update events are taking place in February, March and April which will be “do not miss” events!

So, challenging times lie ahead of all of us endeavouring to carry out our jobs in a professional manner – whether that be groundsmen, greenkeepers or contractors. Visit the Complete Weed Control website for all of the latest industry news and contact your local team for a survey of a particular situation or cost for a particular application – be it fungicide at short notice or any other requirement.

For more information, please contact Complete Weed Control’s national office on 01325 324 277 or visit www.completeweedcontrol.co.uk

GKB Sandspreader for Queen Ethelburga’s

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Thorpe Underwood Estate lies between Harrogate and York and is the home of Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate. Named after the Anglo-Saxon queen consort of Northumbria, who brought Christianity to the north of England around 625 AD, the school was opened in 1912 and today is co-educational, drawing pupils from over sixty six countries. The campus has been the subject of a huge investment programme in recent years. Seeking to create the best sports facilities for the school, which would also stand to benefit from commercial use, around £20 million has been spent on natural and synthetic sports pitches, courts and the machinery to service them.

Grounds Manager Ben Grigor is building a team to manage the thirty four acres of rugby, football and hockey pitches. He also set out charged with the policy of buying the best equipment for the job, a path which led him to the newly arrived GKB Sandspreader SP230. “We were looking for the best quality sandspreader we could find to maintain the surfaces on both the natural and synthetic rubber crumb and sand pitches,” says Ben, “the standard has to live up to professional use – Leeds Rhinos Rugby League team use the grounds for example and Yorkshire County Cricket Club has a partnership with the school.” Queen Ethelburga’s rugby union first team secured the 2015 and 2016 British Colleges National Cup.

Local dealers Russels Groundcare brought the GKB Sandspreader to the school for a demonstration. The sand spreader is designed to distribute a wide variety of materials, including sand or mulch, which is transported to a mechanically adjustable metering valve on a conveyor belt. The double disc spreader ensures perfect distribution of sand on the pitch. “On the day conditions were fine but the sand was damp and it still worked very well,” says Ben, “we’re using it on the football, rugby and the cricket outpitches as well as on the synthetic surfaces. There’s nothing overly complicated and we like the way the discs are protected but above all we are impressed with the quality, both in the way it’s built and the way it operates.”

For more information visit www.gkbmachines.com

SALTEX 2016 visitors report a Hugely successful show

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The SALTEX 2016 post-show visitor surveys have revealed a fascinating insight into the visitor profile of the show.

SALTEX 2016 featured three exhibition halls at the NEC packed with UK and international visitors. It was therefore encouraging to see that more than 80 per cent of the visitors rated their overall SALTEX experience as being either very good or excellent.

With 292 exhibitors from every sector on the show floor (28 more than 2015), it is no wonder that over 70 per cent of SALTEX 2016 visitors said that the main reason they attended was to source new products, services or suppliers. More than 40 per cent of visitors said that they attended to see the latest industry innovations, while many wanted to make the most of the show’s increased show features. Over 30 per cent of the visitors said that they attended for the Learning LIVE educational seminars and over 25 per cent attended to gain one-to-one turf advice through SALTEX’s ‘Ask the Expert’ feature.

As for the products and services that they were interested in viewing – machinery, power and hand tools led the way but there was plenty of interest in others.

An overwhelming amount of exhibitors reported serious business leads and significant sales, commenting that visitors were high-quality buyers with serious intent. The visitor surveys were certainly testament to this as they revealed that over 80 per cent of SALTEX visitors held purchasing responsibility with over 70 per cent able to sign-off purchases of up to £100,000.

Over 40 per cent of visitors said that they placed orders at the show with either existing or new suppliers while over 45 per cent said that they had registered interest which would lead to demonstrations or further discussions.

As for the type of facilities that they are responsible for, it was great to see such a wide array of visitors whose job role related to one or more of the following.

Finally, over 80 per cent of SALTEX 2016 visitors said that they would absolutely be returning to SALTEX again next year at the NEC on 1 and 2 November 2017 – reaffirming the exhibition as the must attend event of the year.

For more information visit www.iogsaltex.com

Wiedenmann’s Terra Spike SL6 is smart addition to aeration fleet

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Wiedenmann’s new super light Terra Spike SL is fast earning the reputation of being smart in every sense of the word. Easily tining down to 210 mm on fine turf it is more than twice the match for some shallow aerators especially as it targets that vital area between 100 mm and 210 mm.

On the looks front an innovative cover marks it as different, one of several bespoke features designed to keep its weight to just 470kg. An updated version of Wiedenmann’s patented TwinDrive takes up less room and moves the centre of gravity closer to the tractor. Other developments include a built-in tine return system and additional shock absorbing facility. However this clever machine retains all the traditional benefits of a Wiedenmann deep aerator with its considerable strength coming via its powerful chassis. It brings the much coveted VibraStop which prevents vibration travelling to the operator or the machine and tractor; QuickSet which enables adjustment of both tine depth and heave with settings visible on a large scale; and QuickChange which allows tine heads to be exchanged with only one screw.

The SL with its 1.4m working width is perfect for decompacting tees and greens and cab be paired with compact tractors from 20 hp with 600 kg lift capacity. Launched at Saltex in November, its class leading technology means it is exceptionally quiet and smooth, fewer moving parts mean less wear, less maintenance and fewer greasing points.

See Wiedenmann UK at Stand C58 at BTME.

For more information visit www.wiedenmann.co.uk

Woven Technology Proves a Hit in 2016 for GreenFields

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With the year coming to an end, it has been an exciting one for GreenFields and its two premium woven products- their hybrid turf system- XtraGrass and 3G turf- MX TriMension.

Installed in 2015, the XtraGrass pitches at both The Kassam Stadium and Ricoh Arena have each had recognition for their performance. The pitch at Kassam had an incredible first season with the club promoted and selection by the IFPA as the most improved pitch in League Two as well as a nomination by the STRI as one of the best three playing surfaces.

Also, the GreenFields Grounds Team who maintain the pitch at Ricoh Arena were winners at the IOG Awards for sports turf excellence. The two-man Grounds Team are responsible for ensuring the XtraGrass pitch is in optimum condition and can fulfil the busy schedule at the dual sports arena for Wasps RFC and Coventry City F.C. along with other fixtures.

Paul Milton, Commercial Director at GreenFields commented: “We are proud of our XtraGrass system and are delighted that the industry is recognising it as an elite playing surface for sports.”

XtraGrass combines the positive properties of natural grass with the strength and durability of artificial turf. Clubs can benefit from maximised usage and a greener pitch all year round.

Not to be left in the shadows, MX TriMension has also had its share of industry praise. Installed at top clubs around the world including Arsenal, Charlton Athletic, PSV Eindhoven and Celtic this surface is proving to be a top-class product with the triple W-weave technology resulting in an extremely high tuft bind making the turf fibres stand straighter than ever and ensuring optimum playing performance.

Joe Wallace, Head Groundsman at Falkirk F.C. who also have an MX TriMension pitch confirms this: “I think it’s one of the best pitches in the country. Every club should have one of these, as a groundsman it’s phenomenal to have the same quality of pitch in June as in December.”
This is reiterated by Premiership Groundsman, Paul Ashcroft of Arsenal F.C. who have MX TriMension pitches at their training academy: “The surface not only has to look good it has to play well too, and these do.”*

With more woven GreenFields pitches in the pipeline for 2017, it looks set to become another year to remember for the specialist sports turf company.

For more information visit www.greenfieldsturf.co.uk