Talent recognised at inaugural LBEL awards

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Talent recognised at inaugural LBEL awards: Aspiring turf specialist, Martin Foster, an apprentice at Askham Bryan College, was rewarded for his learning excellence at this week’s glittering Land-based & Environment Learner Awards Ceremony.

The Land-based & Environment Learner (LBEL) Awards were launched this June by leading land-based training & qualification awarding body Lantra, and the representative body for land-based colleges and universities, Landex.

Talent recognised at inaugural LBEL awards

Talent recognised at inaugural LBEL awards

The Awards were open to apprentices, further education and higher education learners working and studying in land-based and environmental sectors between September 2021 and September 2022.

The aim is to reward top candidates in industries including agriculture and horticulture, forestry, environmental conservation, turf management, landscaping, and equine, amongst others.

These sectors face skills shortages and low levels of diversity, and both Lantra and Landex working hard to attract new blood and equip recruits with the key skills they need to succeed.

With the celebration of new talent at the LBEL Awards, it is hoped more potential entrants will recognise the various land-based industries as rewarding career choices with exciting long-term prospects.

In its inaugural year, organisers received over 120 nominations across 10 categories and a panel of industry professionals picked, where appropriate, an outstanding apprentice and an outstanding learner in each category.

This year, the judges picked just an outstanding apprentice in the Sports Turf & Greenkeeping category, Martin Foster. The oldest candidate to be nominated, the judges praised Martin for his motivation to change careers later in life and his complete passion and enthusiasm for his role.

The Awards ceremony, held at Reaseheath College on 22 November 2023, was attended by Minster of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries, Mark Spencer MP, celebrity farmer Adam Henson, and more than 200 guests.

On receiving the Award, sponsored by GroundsFest, from Adam Henson, Martin commented:

“I’m confident that undertaking my apprenticeship, albeit somewhat later life, has truly set me on my career path for the future. Winning this Award has reinforced that I’m actually really good at what I do, and being celebrated by so many industry professionals has certainly given my confidence a boost”.

Chair of the judging panel, and land-based business consultant, John Moverley of JMM Solutions, said he was honoured to help identify the very best of learners, like Martin, who are now making their mark on the industry.

“To keep pace with the technological and environmental challenges we face in the land-based sector, it is crucial that the skills and knowledge of the current workforce are completed with a generation of forward thinking and enthusiastic new recruits, whatever their age.

“And what better way to establish this new generation than through hands-on apprenticeships,” he added.

Commenting on the Awards and paying tribute to all the winners, host Adam Henson said:

“I am absolutely delighted to have been invited to host the very first Land-based and Environment Learner Awards. In my various roles, I’m lucky enough to encounter some amazing people who are passionate about their jobs and are a complete inspiration. Tonight was no exception. The level of enthusiasm, professionalism and passion, blew me away – a big well done to everyone”.

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Plumpton Named Champion Groundstaff Team

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Plumpton Named Champion Groundstaff Team: Plumpton Racecourse has been named Champion Groundstaff team of the year, culminating another year of excellence in the field as part of the Racecourse Groundstaff Awards, jointly sponsored by Agrovista Amenity, DLF and Duralock.

Plumpton, already a winner in the Racecourse Groundstaff Awards as the jump racecourse of the year, faced off competition from the other two individual category winners (Hamilton Park, flat racecourse and Ayr, dual purpose racecourse) to receive the Champion crown.

Plumpton Named Champion Groundstaff Team

Plumpton Named Champion Groundstaff Team

The award was presented at the Racecourse Association’s (RCA) Showcase Awards ceremony held at Aintree Racecourse on Thursday 23rd November.

The Racecourse Groundstaff Awards judges commented on Plumpton’s proactive and forward-thinking attitude and their exceptional work on the track. The racecourse grounds team has been innovative and has invested time and energy into producing a safe track with equine welfare at the forefront. The team carried out drainage works, they changed all their hurdles to padded hurdles, in turn reducing their faller rate significantly and they have also installed a new surface on their two road crossings which can be manipulated to create a more consistent Going.

Ayr, Hamilton and Plumpton were visited by an independent agronomist, who reviewed their soil test results and fertiliser programmes as well as assessing each racecourse against the Performance Quality Standards (PQS), the results were very close and identified Plumpton as the Groundstaff Champion.

Marcus Waters, Clerk of the Course at Plumpton Racecourse, said: “Winning the Champion Groundstaff Award is an amazing achievement and I am so proud of all the team for all the hard work they out in through the year.

“The backing we have had from the managers and owners of the racecourse is second to none. It is clear that they truly value the importance of the racing surface. Thank you to all the sponsors and horsemen for all their support.”

Holly Cook, Racecourse Services Manager at the RCA, said: “The RCA is proud to manage and support the Racecourse Groundstaff Awards, which are run with the support of our sponsors at Agrovista, DLF and Duralock, to whom we are very grateful.

“This highly coveted award recognises the hard work and vital contribution of racecourse groundstaff teams, and our congratulations go to the team at Plumpton Racecourse.”

Dan Hughes, Agrovista Amenity, said “The Groundstaff Champion Award is a reflection of the efforts of hundreds of skilled and dedicated grounds professionals, that make racing happen.

“Agrovista Amenity as a joint sponsor would like to congratulate Plumpton Racecourse as the overall Groundstaff Champion 2024, which is testament to the outstanding understanding and application of turf agronomy and science, and the immense commitment of their team.”

Matt Gresty, DLF Seeds & Science, said: “DLF are proud to co-sponsor the overall Groundstaff Champion, the award to Plumpton Racecourse is a true reflection of the expertise, commitment and dedication to producing a first-class racing surface, in a very challenging environment.”

Jonathon McGovern, Duralock, said “Duralock are absolutely thrilled that Plumpton Racecourse have won this year’s award – it is testament to the hard work and dedication that their whole team have put into maintaining their wonderful racecourse so a big congratulations to all involved.”

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

For more information about MM Sports Seed, visit www.mm-seeds.co.uk.

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Hybrid pitches to be used in County Championship

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Hybrid pitches to be used in County Championship: Hybrid pitches will be used for the first time in the 2024 County Championship season.

Read the full article from The Guardian here

Hybrid pitches to be used in County Championship

Hybrid pitches to be used in County Championship

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Polaris adds Gammies Groundcare to dealer network

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Polaris adds Gammies Groundcare to dealer network: Polaris Off Road is pleased to welcome Gammies Groundcare to its UK dealer network. Based in Forfar, Scotland, Gammies Groundcare provides its products and services in the surrounding 50-mile radius including across Angus, Fife, and Aberdeenshire.  

After being founded in 1968, Gammies Groundcare began with a focus in agricultural equipment. As the business grew, the focus changed from agricultural machinery to groundcare equipment and Gammies was soon acknowledged as the equipment specialists in and around Aberdeen and Angus.

Polaris adds Gammies Groundcare to dealer network

Polaris adds Gammies Groundcare to dealer network

Supplying a huge variety of equipment including lawn, garden, agricultural, horticultural and groundcare equipment as well as being part of the A.M. Phillips group, it seemed only fitting to expand the range to offer Polaris Off Road Vehicles.

“Polaris provides such a great depth of vehicle range which our customers are looking for,” said Les Gammie, Branch Manager. “The product development and innovation is incredible it is something we feel our customers would benefit from. We really like the way that Polaris vehicles can be customised with the hundreds of accessories they offer.”

Gammies Groundcare will offer the full Polaris line-up including the RANGER, Sportsman and RZR brands as well as the Youth line-up.

As well as offering the full line-up, Gammies has its own workshop which is filled with experienced engineers who provide servicing, repair and maintenance of an extensive variety of equipment, including the brands they sell and more. Gammies’ engineers provide services both onsite and in the workshop.

For more information on Gammies Groundcare visit: https://gammies.co.uk/.

For more information, please contact the Polaris ORV Media Office at press@polaris-orv.media.

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Microdochium Trials Days at Origin Amenity Solutions fully booked

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Microdochium Trials Days at Origin Amenity Solutions fully booked: Origin Amenity Solutions (OAS) has run its second successful event looking at the current UK research into Microdochium management on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd November.

The informative trial days were held at the state-of-the-art OAS Turf Science & Technology Centre in Dunmow, Essex.

Microdochium Trials Days at Origin Amenity Solutions fully booked

Microdochium Trials Days at Origin Amenity Solutions fully booked

OAS Research & Development Director Geoff Fenn comments, “We have been overwhelmed by the positive response to our ‘Microdochium Trial Days’.  We initially marketed this as a one-day event, but the places filled up incredibly quickly, so we extended this to a second day, which again was full in no time. In total, we hosted almost 200 delegates over the 2 days.”

The informative event offered delegates the opportunity to visit several stations around the research centre, discussing products and best practices to manage Microdochium and maintain healthy turf over the Autumn/Winter period.

Geoff Fenn discussed the importance of collecting data to optimise application timings. Discussions included growth ratio, clip volume, nitrogen inputs, and potassium inputs. The new OAS Agronomic Tracker to record this information is now available – use the QR code below. If you need any support on how to use this, please contact OAS on 0800 138 7222.

Agronomy and Technical Manager, Kelly-Marie Clack presented the 2022/23 trial results of adopting the 20-20-30 + Mantle programme using UK Growth Potential to build an IPM plan. Kelly discussed how to integrate the new biocontrol, Harmonix from Envu, into programmes successfully. Elsewhere, Trials & Digital Platform Manager Angus Finlayson demonstrated the positive results of using OAS Dewcure, penetrants, and robotic dew removal, to reduce leaf wetness.

OAS Product and Sales Manager Kevin Scarce gave an overview and demonstration of TurfKeeper, the company’s web-based portal that gives turf industry professionals a fully integrated operations and management solution. The system provides complete control and transparency over staff management, task planning, machinery management, inventory control, chemical applications, and budgeting. He explained how information can be recorded in Turfkeeper.

Dr. Deidre Charleston, Research Manager from the microbial arm of OAS delivered a workshop on building a suppressive soil to support your disease management plan.

Finally, Phil Logan from Envu and Origin Amenity Solutions Technical Manager for Chemicals Peter Corbett spoke in detail about the latest technologies in biocontrols. They discussed managing disease and the benefits of Harmonix Turf Defense, exploring a Preventative versus Curative approach to turf management.

Geoff concludes, “OAS is fully committed to continuous improvement within the industry, exploring new product solutions; testing, and producing data for the market. These trial days are a prime example of this, and the team and I are delighted with how successful they have been and the positive feedback we all received.”

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