YANA and Harrowden Turf support rural mental health

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YANA and Harrowden Turf support rural mental health: Harrowden Turf is pleased to announce a new partnership with YANA – providers of rural mental health support. Early in 2021 a new Harrowden Turf delivery vehicle will feature YANA branding and will be seen across the country.

YANA provides practical guidance and confidential counselling to those in farming and rural businesses. Farming or working in the countryside is usually a good way of life but it can be a demanding and stressful occupation. Many people involved with agriculture can feel isolated, depressed or unable to cope.

YANA and Harrowden Turf support rural mental health

YANA and Harrowden Turf support rural mental health

One in five people in the UK will experience poor mental health so Harrowden Turf is working with YANA to emphasise that no-one who works in the rural economy is alone.

Harrowden Turf has adopted the YANA corporate identity one of its trucks which will cover more than 100,000 miles every year. The objective of the partnership is to make more people aware of the support that exists and which is focussed on the rural economy.

Stuart Ridd-Jones – Harrowden Turf Managing Director:

“If 2020 has taught us anything it is that we are stronger together and whilst all businesses have had to adapt to the pandemic those within rural businesses often work alone, can feel alone and struggle to access support services.”

Melinda Raker –YANA Patron:

“YANA is delighted to take to the road in this way. This Harrowden Turf vehicle with our logo and contact details will help to ‘drive’ home the message that there is practical help and advice available to improve rural mental health.”

For more information:

  1. Harrowden Turf and Turfonline Media Office please email marketing@harrowdenturf.co.uk or call 07980 568842

YANA – please email pr@yanahelp.org.uk or visit our website www.yanahelp.org.uk

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GreenMech Arborist 130 a ‘Pocket Rocket’

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GreenMech Arborist 130 a ‘Pocket Rocket’: In such a turbulent year, for Roy Brown of R M Brown Tree Services, when it came to purchasing a new woodchipper there was no better time to stick with what he knows and trusts – exchanging his existing Arborist 130 machine for a brand new Arborist 130 from GreenMech!

The Perthshire-based business have been using GreenMech machines for 10 years, with the newest model proving to be a real ‘pocket rocket’.

GreenMech Arborist 130 a ‘Pocket Rocket’

GreenMech Arborist 130 a ‘Pocket Rocket’

Undertaking both surveying and tree-surgery work for a range of commercial and domestic customers, including in the utilities sector, versatility is a must for Roy when it comes to his equipment. “Every day is different and every job has its own unique requirements and challenges so our woodchipper needs to be the right size to navigate residential areas, for example, but man enough to deal with whatever material we need to put through it.”

“The Arborist 130 is a real pocket rocket – it’s the ideal size for us and handles 95% of our tree surgery jobs. With the popularity of log burners, it’s rare these days to be chipping anything much larger than 3 or 4”, but with this machine capable of processing timber up to 6” we’ve got the capacity to chip all sizes and varieties of woody waste and brash.”

Roy exchanged machines like-for-like, in October 2020 through his local dealer Gammies Groundcare, and, having already put the new unit through its paces, has been impressed with the powerful performance. “The GreenMech machines have always proven themselves to be solidly built and well-engineered, with the disc-blades delivering clean, precise chipping. The Arborist 130 has fantastic pull through, the twin vertical hydraulic rollers take in the material really well reducing the amount of preparation work we need to do.”

Roy adds, “As important as the machine itself is the back-up support and technical advice, which from both GreenMech and Gammies has been excellent. With COVID creating challenges for the delivery of the new unit, Gammies really went the extra mile in supplying us with a loan machine when we needed it which really helped to minimise disruption and reaffirms why, when it comes to upgrading equipment, we go back to GreenMech every time.”

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Safe and effective weed control

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Safe and effective weed control: Adam Pilgrim from ANP Services Spalding Ltd, has long relied on Roundup ProActive from ProGreen claiming that it offers several benefits to both the contractor and the customer.

Roundup ProActive is a highly active glyphosate formulation which provides total broad spectrum weed control. Its advanced technology has secured the herbicide as a market leader and is the choice of many professionals across the UK.

Safe and effective weed control

Safe and effective weed control

Adam, from ANP Services Spalding Ltd, a company working in garden and grounds maintenance, have been using Roundup ProActive for the last seven years in a wide range of areas.

“We have been using Roundup since 2013 across domestic and industrial sectors, everywhere from spot control of problem weeds to broad scale weed control across commercial and industrial sites,” he said.

“We have also used it for cut stump treatment to prevent regrowth of problem small trees and ivy stumps.”

Roundup ProActive uses improved adjuvants to enhance performance and plant up-take. It has also been designed for safe use and has a non-hazardous label.

Further benefits of Roundup ProActive include:

  • Rainfast within 1 hour
  • The widest label fields of use
  • Widest range of tested tank-mixing partners
  • Drift reduction properties
  • Excellent in challenging conditions

“With regards as to why we choose Roundup ProActive, there are a variety of reasons,” continued Adam. “The quick rain fastness of the product makes it an ideal choice for using in tight weather windows. Its recognised position as a market leading, premium product means that it gives commercial clients the confidence that it will be safe and effective.

“Furthermore, the surfactants and water conditioners already added lessen the need to carry additional chemical containers on the vehicle, reducing cost of purchase and eliminating having lots of measuring jugs to wash out. This is especially useful when only a few litres of made up solution may be required for a small-scale site.

“Its variable application rates and speedy effectiveness, even at lower dosage rates means that it is both cost effective for the contractor and environmentally responsible for the client.

“We have used adjuvants previously to improve the herbicide uptake such as Speedway Total and Mixture B, especially on difficult to control weeds such as rosebay willow herb and ivy. These can provide a noticeable difference in the ‘stickability’ of the product to more difficult to penetrate leaves.”

Roundup ProActive is distributed in the UK by ICL.

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

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New kit for new pitches at Towcestrians

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New kit for new pitches at Towcestrians: With two rugby pitches and a new, dedicated cricket pitch all constructed to add to the existing two rugby pitches, Towcestrians Head Groundsman, Tom Waldock, knew he would need some new machinery to keep everything in shape!

While waiting for a new compact tractor and roller mower, Tom was putting in about 40 hours a week on his new Ransomes TR320 to cut all the sports pitches as well as the outfields, edges and training areas!

New kit for new pitches at Towcestrians

New kit for new pitches at Towcestrians

 

Now his new Iseki tractor (with bucket) and topper have arrived he’s looking forward to sharing the load in 2021 and getting more remedial work done to improve both the old and the new playing surfaces.

“I was looking for a tractor that would be able to operate a slitter and vertidrain as well as perform other tasks, but not damage the surfaces. I was originally considering a smaller model but went for the bigger 46hp Iseki TLE4490 with the extra carrying capacity in order to get the performance. It will also pull the cutting deck on the backfields.”

“I also went for the loader and have already used it more than I thought I would! It’s been a godsend for filling holes in the car park and carrying stuff around. Now I’m just purchasing one more bit of kit for the Iseki to pull to help out with the many events we host in between all the sports training and fixtures.”

Before coming to Towcestrians, Tom spent several years each at Peterborough United, MK Dons and latterly at the Ricoh Stadium. He’s used a lot of different mowers and would have said they were all pretty similar, but says he feels differently about the Ransomes.

“I wanted a decent cylinder mower for the playing surfaces on the main pitches and surprisingly I’ve found the Ransomes TR320 to be the best machine I’ve used. It’s really smooth and makes the cut very easy. It’s the lightest machine on the market which was important because we have a full clay-based surface and I wanted minimum compaction. The Ransomes is certainly delivering both for me and for the pitches.”

“I’m really pleased with the advice and help I’ve had from RT Machinery in choosing the right equipment. Richard and Andy’s knowledge across a large range of brands and machinery, right off the top of their heads, is just unbelievable and has been incredibly helpful as part of the five-year plan I drew up for the development and improvement of the grounds.”

“Aside from the Ransomes and the Iseki, I also now have a new Wessex CRX180 fine turf roller mower from them for the edges and rougher areas where the juniors train. In addition they’ve supplied a used Sisis Multi Slit and a Husqvarna TC138 Lawn tractor and they’ve been able to offer great value on servicing, which will be critical in keeping everything working well across the seasons.”

“Back to work and preparing the grounds for a welcome return to grass roots sports!”

For more information, please call 01844 299037, or visit rtmachinery.co.uk

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GMA launches new online toolkit

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GMA launches new online toolkit: The Grounds Management Association (GMA) today launches its online ‘Grounds Management Toolkit’, a training resource aimed to support volunteers maintaining football, cricket, rugby league and rugby union pitches.

The new website consolidates information from the Sport England ‘Groundsmanship’ website and has reshaped some of its written content into short videos and easy-to-digest seasonal maintenance guides.

GMA launches new online toolkit

GMA launches new online toolkit

By relaunching the website, the GMA aims to continue increasing the skills and capabilities of practicing and future grounds volunteers. The resources also help the general public to engage further with common practices involved in grounds maintenance and to understand how to help get pitches ready for players across their community.

The ‘Grounds Management Toolkit’ follows the launch of the GMA’s Level 1 and Level 2 online training courses, with modules that cover the basic grounds maintenance tasks required at grassroots level.

With face-to-face classroom training currently on hold due to restrictions, the GMA is developing its digital capabilities and touch points – such as webinars – to keep its member community, and the wider public, educated and informed on key issues relating to grounds management.

Jason Booth, Chief Operating Officer of the GMA, said: “We’re committed to providing the best possible tools across all levels so that grounds management tasks are consistently completed to a high standard, aligning with the Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme (GaNTIP) strategy that is delivered in partnership with the NGBs.

“We know that volunteers can sometimes only offer a few hours of their time each week, or that some local clubs struggle to find regular grounds volunteers. Without pitches, there is no sport so it could mean that millions of children and adults could miss out on physical activity.

“We’re really grateful for Sport England’s support in helping us deliver the ‘Grounds Management Toolkit’, giving us the opportunity to make this resource free for all.”

Speaking about the new website, Tony Atherton, Technical Team Lead, of Sport England said: “We’re really supportive of the GMA’s approach to upskilling grounds staff and volunteers, so handing over the Groundsmanship website was a natural progression of the success we have achieved with this resource to-date. I really hope the grounds community feels that the Toolkit supports and compliments their hard work.”

The ‘Grounds Management Toolkit’ that has been developed by Other Media and funded by Sport England, can be accessed for free via https://resources.thegma.org.uk/

To upskill your knowledge through the GMA’s training courses, or for more information on bespoke training sessions, visit www.thegma.org.uk/learning or email learning@thegma.org.uk

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