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Sustainable Goodwood

March 10, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

Sustainable Goodwood: From solar panels and biomass boilers to rewilding and biodiversity projects, there are a number of projects underway at Goodwood in West Sussex to ensure it achieves its eventual goal of being a carbon neutral estate. Recently that involves a significant Toro machinery fleet order including five electric riding greensmowers and eight electric […]

New Pro Flora and Colour Boost Catalogues

March 10, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

New Pro Flora and Colour Boost Catalogues: In order to meet with the increasing demand for conservation mixtures, DLF Seeds have announced expansions to the Pro Flora wild flower and Colour Boost amenity flower collections, in two brand new mixture guides for 2022. Having recently increased their in-house production for wild flowering species, a number […]

Sustainable Goodwood

March 10, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

New Pro Flora and Colour Boost Catalogues

March 10, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Sustainable Goodwood

March 10, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

Sustainable Goodwood: From solar panels and biomass boilers to rewilding and biodiversity projects, there are a number of projects underway at Goodwood in West Sussex to ensure it achieves its eventual goal of being a carbon neutral estate. Recently that involves a significant Toro machinery fleet order including five electric riding greensmowers and eight electric utility vehicles.

Gary Beves, general manager, tells us about his involvement in choosing Toro and distributor Reesink Turfcare for a five-year fleet deal for the second time: “We’re focused on protecting the social and ecological value of the estate and every decision made is in accordance with our six key priorities, one of which is reducing our carbon footprint.

Sustainable Goodwood

“Toro is the only manufacturer to be able to offer a fully electric riding greensmower in the shape of the Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 and led the way with the electric technology seen in the Workman GTXe utility vehicle too. These revolutionary machines form the backbone of the order and will be powered by energy produced on site in the estate’s new biomass boiler which will create energy by burning waste strawbales and chestnut stakes following the Festival of Speed along with felled wood from our forestry plan to provide the electricity to charge the electric vehicles.

“There was never any question that the all-electric technology from Toro fit in with our ethos, it sealed the deal in terms of delivering what we needed for the two golf courses, estate gardens and parkland. But as I liaised with the head greenkeepers for both the Downs and Park courses and the Board, one thing that was abundantly clear was how keen everyone was to maintain the relationship with Toro and Reesink too, as it’s been so positive over the years.”

With the technology box firmly ticked, Simon Berry, head greenkeeper of the Park course, explains what it’s like to use the mowers: “The eTriFlex is a heavenly bit of kit to use. The Park course is very busy and is located next to The Goodwood Hotel. To be able to do our job from as early as 5am in the summer and throughout the day without disturbing anyone is priceless. Another huge factor for me is that these electric machines are lighter than their diesel counterparts. And on a course like the Park course which gets very wet that’s a big consideration.”

But it’s not just their green credentials that cinched the deal for Toro, as Rob Dyer, head greenkeeper of the Downs course, explains they are extremely productive too: “Productivity isn’t affected by being electric. We can cut 36 holes on the Park course with the eTriFlex on a single charge and 27 holes on the Downs course which is very hilly and a ten-minute drive from the shed.”

Goodwood also chose four Reelmaster 5010-H hybrid mowers for the fairways, the Groundsmaster 4700 was chosen for its lighter touch on the slopes, the Groundsmaster 3500-D with SideWinder decks which are, according to Rob “so robust they’re practically bomb-proof yet provide the finest finish we need around the bunkers and tees”, as well as the ProCore 648 aerator and MultiPro sprayer among many in the extensive fleet to take care of the 12,000-acre estate.

All machines are monitored by Toro’s fleet management programme MyTurf for maintenance and servicing and Rob cites the support from Reesink but especially Jon Cole as “exceptional”.

Gary finishes by saying: “We have a timescale to transition to 100 percent renewable energy providers and this commitment to Toro is another step in the right direction to achieving that.”

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New Pro Flora and Colour Boost Catalogues

March 10, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

New Pro Flora and Colour Boost Catalogues: In order to meet with the increasing demand for conservation mixtures, DLF Seeds have announced expansions to the Pro Flora wild flower and Colour Boost amenity flower collections, in two brand new mixture guides for 2022.

Having recently increased their in-house production for wild flowering species, a number of new mixtures have been introduced – designed to bring biodiversity and visual impact to even more amenity and agricultural spaces.

New Pro Flora and Colour Boost Catalogues

Wild flowers have long played a vital role in renovation and landscaping projects, improving visual diversity and providing support and conservation for wildlife and pollinating species. With that in mind, DLF have introduced Pro Flora 15 – Pollinator. Pro Flora 15 contain a mixture of native origin wild flowers and fine-leaved grasses, which will thrive in a range of soil types, and produce a prolonged flowering period – perfect for bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects.

Also new for 2022 is Pro Flora 16 – Coastal. With many of our coastal areas under threat from human activity and the sea, Pro Flora 16 provides land managers with a mixture for restoring some of these spaces and/or regenerating areas with poor quality land. Containing 20% wild flowers such as Kidney Vetch and Viper’s Bugloss, this new mixture can provide valuable habitat for coastal-dwelling insects and invertebrate species.

A number of mixtures have also been launched in the Colour Boost collection, designed for maximum floral impact. Skyscraper contains classics such as Cosmos and Zinnia and is created for areas where a taller growing mixture is required to deliver the desired level of visual impact. As with many of the Pro Flora mixtures, pollinators are at the forefront of species selection for a number of Colour Boost mixtures, with the new Honey Bee & Butterfly mix selecting flowers that will provide both a spectacular display and a valuable nectar source for bees and other pollinating insects. Completing the expanded range is Classical, a mix of blue and white species, ideal for more formal settings.

Full details of the Pro Flora and Colour Boost ranges can be found in the new brochures, available on request, or by visiting www.dlf.co.uk/wildflowers

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.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Sustainable Goodwood

New Pro Flora and Colour Boost Catalogues

Sustainable Goodwood

New Pro Flora and Colour Boost Catalogues

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Sustainable Goodwood

New Pro Flora and Colour Boost Catalogues

New Pro Flora and Colour Boost Catalogues: In order to meet with the increasing demand for conservation mixtures, DLF Seeds have announced expansions to the Pro Flora wild flower and Colour Boost amenity flower collections, in two brand new mixture guides for 2022.

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