Tag Archive for: Course

New BASIS organic farming course dates

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New BASIS organic farming course dates: Organic certifier, OF&G (Organic Farmers & Growers), in collaboration with independent awarding body, BASIS and agronomy advisers, Abacus Agriculture have announced 2022 dates for the newly launched Foundation Award in Organic Farming, following a successful pilot.

Next year’s Harper Adams University accredited level four courses will take place over three days on 18 – 21 January at Stoneleigh Park; Warwickshire, 19 – 22 April at the Great Yorkshire Showground; 19 – 22 July at the Bath and West showground and 27 – 30 September, venue to be confirmed.

New BASIS organic farming course dates

New BASIS organic farming course dates

“We received really positive feedback after the trial in the autumn,” says Steven Jacobs, OF&G business development manager. “Farmers and advisers have a strong appetite to build their knowledge of organic systems and we’ve been taking enquiries for the course already and anticipate good uptake.”

The Foundation Award provides a comprehensive introduction to organic farming and organic legislation; to primarily crop and livestock production, soil management and conversion planning.

George Fletcher, who co-manages Berkswell Cheese, completed the pilot course and notes that with the rise of input costs associated with conventional agriculture, he was looking to make his business more financially sustainable. “The course taught me about practical techniques to help reduce expensive fertiliser and spray use and the clear advantages of bringing livestock into my crop rotation.”

Ian Knight, farm adviser and director at Abacus Agri, adds that this training is not only for those considering organic conversion. “The course is relevant across the agricultural sector. The key principles of organic farming and a natural biological approach to soil, crop, livestock and human health apply to every sustainable farming business and forms the direction of government policy and grant support for agriculture.”

BASIS’ head of business development, Greg Hopkinson explains what candidates should expect from the training and assessment for this course; “At BASIS we are really excited about supporting the organic sector through this new qualification. Candidates will need to combine the onsite training they receive with independent study before taking a written exam which will assess the knowledge they have gained.”

Designed to be a stepping-stone towards more advanced certifications in the future, the Foundation Award provides a comprehensive introduction to organic production which will be complemented by additional courses in the future. To learn more about the Foundation Award in Organic Farming visit www.ofgorganic.org or www.basis-reg.co.uk/training.

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Municipal course maintains high standards

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Municipal course maintains high standards: Adjoining Normanby Hall Country Park near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire, the beautiful 18-hole, par 72 golf course is set in 117 acres of mature woodland and parkland and is considered to be one of the best municipal courses in the country.

Significant investment has been made here over the past year by North Lincolnshire Council. Improvements to the course have included new tees, pathways and drainage, the installation of a three-bay covered driving range with additional practice facilities, and refurbishment of the clubhouse – as well as a new John Deere course maintenance equipment fleet supplied by local dealer F G Adamson & Son at Langworth.

Municipal course maintains high standards

Municipal course maintains high standards

Normanby Hall Golf Course senior greenkeeper Michael Burgin attended the first John Deere sponsored TPC Sawgrass volunteer programme in 2015, as a member of the Florida course’s maintenance team preparing for the Players Championship. Michael won the greenkeepers’ nearest the pin competition at the famous 17th hole and still has the signed flag to prove it.

Michael has been back to TPC Sawgrass as a volunteer every year since, and as he says, “Ever since my first trip there, I said this is the equipment that I want to be working with.”

The golf course is now being maintained immaculately by the new fleet, which includes a 2550E hybrid electric triplex greens & surrounds mower, 7700A PrecisionCut fairway mower, 9009A TerrainCut rotary rough mower, 2030A ProGator with Dakota top dresser attachment, HPX 815E and TE electric Gator utility vehicles and a 3046R compact tractor, plus a Tru-Turf R50-11 greens roller and Charterhouse Redexim Speed Brush.

“Having been promoted from assistant greenkeeper four years ago, I inherited a lot of equipment that was on its last legs and repair bills were mounting up,” says Michael. “The Council’s new management team had committed to maintaining and improving the course and its facilities, and ultimately investment in a new machinery fleet became a key part of this commitment.

“We went through a formal tender process in the end before reaching a final decision, essentially looking at value for money. Adamsons and John Deere won it by a country mile, ticking all the boxes for lead times, value, service and parts backup – all the criteria were more than met.

“We already had some older John Deere machines, including compact tractors, and had established an excellent relationship with the dealership, so Adamson’s depot manager Simon Fountain and I looked at various options and we came up with a list of what we needed.

“I knew I had to have specialist equipment for the greens, including a brush, top dresser and greens iron, to bring them up to the next level. Having our own top dresser has been a godsend, as we used to hire one in from the dealer just twice a year. Now we aim to top dress little and often, every two weeks or so, and we’ve already put on 40 tonnes of sand this year. It causes minimal disruption to play, but it’s made a huge difference to the standard of the greens.

“I also wanted to run two fairway mowers to make the job quicker, plus we were spending a lot of money to keep our old rough mower going, so we definitely needed a replacement for that. The John Deere 9009A provides a great quality of cut, but the main thing for me is it’s so easy to maintain. You can grease the whole machine in five minutes, and it’s not a messy job at all any more.

“The after-sales service from Simon and the dealership has also been phenomenal, whenever I call they’re always available to sort out anything I need straight away.

“We’ve now gone back to over 350 members, and picked up over 100 since we reopened in March after the last lockdown. I believe this is primarily due to the fact that the course is in such good condition now, and word’s gone round. It’s come on phenomenally, we’ve definitely been able to step things up to a higher level since we got the new machines.”

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BASIS launches NSK amenity training course

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BASIS launches NSK amenity training course: BASIS are pleased to announce the launch of the NSK Amenity Training Course, a new bespoke course for storekeepers working in industries within the amenity sector, for example lawn care, property maintenance, greenkeeping and sports turf management.

This new qualification has been fully accredited by Harper Adams University and is being recognised by CRD as a Certificate of Competence for any professional storekeeper working within the amenity sector.

BASIS launches NSK amenity training course

BASIS launches NSK amenity training course

BASIS have been successfully delivering training and qualifications for storekeepers working within professional pesticide stores for the past 35 years through our industry recognised Nominated Storekeeper (NSK) Training Course. Not only has this provided storekeepers with the training they require as stipulated within UK regulations and the Code of Practice for suppliers of pesticides (The Yellow Code), but has also allowed professionals to learn the principles of good storekeeping which ensures pesticides are stored in a way which protects the general public, safeguards the environment and avoids the pollution of water.

However, it has been recognised that there is a requirement for a NSK training course which is specifically targeted at storekeepers working within industries such as lawn care, sports turf management, greenkeeping and all other areas within the amenity sector. Ensuring that professional pesticides are stored in a responsible way is extremely important across all industries and anyone responsible for this is required to complete adequate training. However, the current NSK training course did not necessarily meet all the requirements for a storekeeper working within the amenity sector. This new course has therefore been developed to provide the specific knowledge and skills required, focussing on areas such as managing small pesticide stores, mobile storage and the storage of application equipment.

Further information about this course can found in the course information sheet and syllabus which provides details on the course content, training requirements and assessment guidelines. Training courses for the NSK Amenity qualification will be run online starting from August 2021, and each training course is carried out over 2-3 days. If you would like any further information or would like to book any delegates on to a training course, then please visit basis-reg.co.uk/training  or email training.courses@basis-reg.co.uk.

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RainDance course features Capillary Bunkers

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RainDance course features Capillary Bunkers: The new RainDance National golf course in Windsor, Colorado, should be finished this year and will open in July 2022. Part of a substantial housing development, the course, which is being designed by architect Harrison Minchew, along with former PGA Tour pro Fred Funk, is using Capillary Bunkers lining technology.

“I did a course with Ed Seay back in 1985, and I remember the contractor saying to me ‘You know, one day we’re going to put concrete in the bunkers to make them work better,” says Minchew. “Well, for me, that day has come.”

RainDance course features Capillary Bunkers

RainDance course features Capillary Bunkers

Originally announced back in 2014, the start of the RainDance build was delayed until last September, to allow developer Martin Lind to progress the associated residential community. Sales have been very strong, allowing the course to start last year. “I am running the job and am here 24/7,” says Minchew. “To get it all done this year is a really tight schedule, though we already haveRAINC around two thirds of the course seeded.”

Minchew first used the Capillary Bunkers product on a six hole First Tee course in Augusta. “Landscapes Unlimited were building that project, and wanted to install Capillary Bunkers,” he says. “That enabled me to see how effective the product was – I saw the water basically going straight through the bunkers – and I came to understand how it works, and to realise that it could be installed in conditions that would be impossible for competing products. So when it came to this job, I knew I wanted to use Capillary Bunkers.”

Minchew says that the golf course build, and all seeding, will be finished this year, despite an extremely wet spring. “We will have a total of about 75,000 square feet of Capillary Bunkers,” he says. “Capillary Bunkers’ Scott Grego has been working closely with us – he came in while we were installing the first few bunkers to make sure we were doing it correctly.”

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Course manager receives industry award

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Course manager receives industry award: Royal Cinque Ports course manager James Bledge continued a fantastic month for links venues in Kent after being awarded top prize at the BIGGA Excellence in Communications Awards sponsored by BIGGA Partners Campey Turf Care Systems.

James was presented with a £750 cash prize and an all-expenses paid trip to Florida, when restrictions allow, on the Campey Turf Care Systems stand at Festival of Turf, which took place on 21 and 22 July 2021 at the Warwickshire Event Centre.

Course manager receives industry award

Course manager receives industry award

Located just a few short miles along the coast from this year’s Open Championship venue, Royal St George’s, the team at Royal Cinque Ports has developed a culture of education and strong communication, led by course manager James, 41.

BIGGA is the members’ association for golf greenkeepers in the United Kingdom and the BIGGA Excellence in Communications Awards recognise those BIGGA members who have undertaken outstanding work to further the cause of greenkeepers by promoting their activities through various channels, including the creation of thought-provoking articles for Greenkeeper International, the monthly journal of BIGGA.

James produced a feature that was selected for inclusion in the October 2020 edition of Greenkeeper International. The article touched upon the daily maintenance of the golf course and whether asking golfers to contribute to a course’s upkeep through activities such as raking bunkers detracts from the activities of the greenkeeping team.

Each month BIGGA encourages its members to submit articles for inclusion in Greenkeeper International, with a monthly prize of a £100 education voucher up for grabs, to be redeemed at BIGGA’s annual education programme Continue to Learn, held each January in Harrogate. James was kind enough to donate his voucher to another BIGGA member who would otherwise have been unable to attend.

From the 12 features that were selected for inclusion in the magazine throughout 2020, James’ piece, entitled “The Sands of Time: Should we dump the bunker rakes for good?” attracted praise from the competition judges for discussing a topic that stands in contrast to traditional thinking and sparked debate among readers.

The feature is available to read online here: https://www.bigga.org.uk/news-listing/should-we-dump-the-bunker-rakes-for-good.html

James said: “I was really shocked because I’ve never won anything like this before. I read every new entry that comes in, but I never thought my article was in the same calibre as those. How the article came about was I had a Sunday off, I got up and had a coffee and had a feeling that I wanted to write something. I turned the laptop on and wrote a few words and before I knew it I had enough words to submit for the magazine. It was never intended to enter a competition, it was just something I wanted to get off my mind. There are other guys and girls out there who have a lot to say and I would really encourage them to give it a shot.

“The prize is pretty exceptional and so my thanks go to Campey. We’re lucky in our industry that there are so many manufacturers and sponsors who put a lot of money into things like this. It’s phenomenal that we have all this support and we couldn’t do it without them.”

The BIGGA Excellence in Communications Awards continue throughout 2021 with BIGGA members encouraged to submit articles for inclusion in upcoming editions of Greenkeeper International. Head to the BIGGA website for more information.

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