Tag Archive for: Helps

Operation Pollinator helps Farleigh GC

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Operation Pollinator helps Farleigh GC: Farleigh Golf Club is delighted to have been awarded England Golf’s ‘Sustainability Project of The Year’ at the governing body’s annual celebration evening. The 2022 ceremony was hosted virtually by England Golf CEO Jeremy Tomlinson and BBC Presenter Naga Munchetty, and was broadcast live across YouTube on April 20th.

The award recognises the club’s pioneering Operation Pollinator programme which has seen the reintroduction of stunning, natural wildflowers to the golf courses, as well as a vast increase in animals and insects, helping to aid pollination throughout the local environment.

Operation Pollinator helps Farleigh GC

Operation Pollinator helps Farleigh GC

Initially planned to cover 0.5 hectares of land, the club are to add a minimum of 0.5 additional hectares in 2022 after the success of the original locations. Operation Pollination has been truly embraced by all at Farleigh Golf Club, with the club and its members immensely proud to have seen such a vast increase in insect life since undertaking the project, notably in the form of the native bumblebees which have been in stark decline across the UK.

Whilst the England Golf award recognises the work already undertaken, the team at Farleigh will be adding to this throughout the year, specifically by also adding a new wildflower area alongside the club’s driveway, creating a stunning entrance for all who arrive at the property.

General Manager of Farleigh Golf Club, James Ibbetson commented: “The club are truly honoured to have been awarded England Golf’s Sustainability Project of The Year. An enormous amount of work has gone into the project from our greenkeeping team, with our membership hugely proud of what has been achieved across our golf courses.

“Our Greenkeeping team, led by Kenny MacPhail are already beginning to work on the additional areas of wildflowers which we hope will continue to provide a safe haven for these insects, as well as a stunning visual backdrop for our members and guests. We thank England Golf for the recognition, and would like to congratulate all the other winners from the evening”.

Further information about Operation Pollinator can be found on the Farleigh Golf Club website at: https://www.farleighfox.co.uk/operationpollinator

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Johnsons J Tee helps Wenvoe Castle GC

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Johnsons J Tee helps Wenvoe Castle GC: The unique blend of cultivars in Johnsons Sports Seeds J Tee mixture is delivering the magic combination of rapid establishment and high wear tolerance required at Cardiff’s Wenvoe Castle Golf Club.

Head Greenkeeper Lucy Sellick cites the small tees and the sustained high levels of play as a major maintenance challenge, overcome with this mix incorporating tetraploids and a little extra spring ‘kick-start’ with DLF’s ProNitro® seed coating.

Johnsons J Tee helps Wenvoe Castle GC

Johnsons J Tee helps Wenvoe Castle GC

A team of four assists Lucy with the maintenance of the 18-hole parkland course, labelled as ‘one of the finest challenges of golf in Wales’. “The big challenge for us is finding seed that can germinate and establish quick enough to cope with the high number of rounds! I’ve been greenkeeping for a long time, and for our site, I’m yet to find anything that can compete with the establishment and consistency we get with the Johnsons mixtures.”

Johnsons J Tee incorporates 40% tetraploid ryegrass, in the form of Fabian and Tetragame, delivering significantly improved disease tolerance, shoot density and recovery, even under close mown conditions. It also incorporates Sabrena RSMG – which germinates like a ryegrass, has the fine leaf and density of a bent grass and delivers outstanding wear tolerance, even in shady conditions. “We’ve been using J Tee for the last few years now and continue to see germination in under two weeks, even in the cooler conditions with the J Nitro Tee option.” Featuring both fast and slow-release nitrogen, ProNitro improves nutrient utilisation during the early stages of plant growth for each developing seedling.

“We sow J Nitro Tee at the start of the season, when everything is a bit slower to give the seed a bit of a head start. We then switch to the regular J Tee in the middle of the season, and have achieved fantastic results.” Lucy adds, “We also use Johnsons J All Bent on our greens which, again, is great for high wear tolerance. The high wear areas around the perimeters of the greens are predominately Poa, but the combination of Arrowtown and Manor outcompetes that and helps us to achieve faster greens with improved disease resistance.”

“Another great thing about the Johnsons range from DLF is the fact that it’s backed by science. You know that behind every formulation are years of research and trials which for me is a big advantage.” She concludes, “The team, including my Regional Technical Manager Ian Barnett, are always on hand with the latest information and findings which reassures me that I’m always making the right choice.”

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EPH tank-mix helps Essendon Country Club

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EPH tank-mix helps Essendon Country Club: A nutritional programme from Headland Amenity has been praised by the Director of Courses at Essendon Country Club, for helping them get through the autumn and winter of 2021 disease-free.

After his appointment in June, Marc Winnan had soil samples taken which highlighted extremely high levels of organic matter – the reduction of which was the key to the plan constructed in conjunction with Headland’s Regional Technical Manager Peter Blackaby.

EPH tank-mix helps Essendon Country Club

EPH tank-mix helps Essendon Country Club

Marc oversees all elements of greens maintenance across the Hertfordshire estate, which includes two 18-hole golf courses as well as a driving range, practice facilities and the 9-hole Muntjac Academy Course. “Whenever you start a new role, you’ll instantly spot certain problems but it’s also important to identify anything going on deeper in the profile which is why we had both Headland and the STRI take soil samples” explains Marc, who heads up a team of 15. “The high OM levels were a real concern, so we quickly instigated a mechanical and nutritional programme to bring that down, to reduce our susceptibility to disease before the high-pressure period arrived.”

Key to the programme was Headland’s industry-leading 20-20-30+Mantle Enhanced Plant Health (EPH) tank-mix – a combination of Liquid Turf Hardener, Turfite® Elite and Seamac® ProTurf Fe, proven to deliver turf strength and reduce disease activity when applied as part of a preventative plant-health approach. “I’ve used 20-20-30+Mantle previously, but where we would traditionally begin applications at the end of September, we brought this forward to the end of August because of the concerns we had about disease, Fusarium in particular. The 20-20-30+Mantle was complemented with applications of DewCure™ to reduce leaf moisture and this combination, without a doubt, had a massive impact on protecting plant health and saw us get through the whole winter with no disease.”

“In other areas of the course, the goal was to improve the density of the sward via granular feeds. We applied Quickstart® Maxi Plus which gave us great results across the tees, approaches and fairways, and then switched this to Multigreen 15-0-22 temperature-controlled release fertiliser to see us through the winter months.” Together with the improvements in course condition, Marc has been equally pleased with the support received from the Headland Technical Team every step of the way. He adds, “Because of his greenkeeping background, Peter speaks our language and worked together with us to give us more than just the products we need, ensuring we always had all of the additional data and knowledge to make an informed decision.”

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MM60 helps The Pilgrims

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MM60 helps The Pilgrims: MM60 grass seed has been the ideal mixture to help get Boston United FC’s new pitch off to the best possible start – according to Head Groundsman Jim Portas.

At the end of the 2019/20 season Boston United, nicknamed The Pilgrims, left their York Street home to move to a new stadium – the Jakemans Community Stadium. It was an investment with the aim of providing Boston United and its community foundation a secure future.

MM60 helps The Pilgrims

MM60 helps The Pilgrims

Anticipation was high but unfortunately the pandemic meant that the first season in the new stadium was somewhat quiet, much to the regret of Jim.

“The fans were not allowed in, and it was a shame, especially as it was a new era for the club,” he said. “From the players point of view, it was also unfortunate because they had started really well up until the season became null and void. It was a fantastic new pitch, with MM60 seed at its foundation.”

MM60 is the UK’s leading winter sports renovation mixture and can be attributed with playing a key role in many of the finest sporting venues you see today. The 100% Ryegrass formula, which is perfect for divot repair, is renowned for its extremely fast germination and its high wear tolerance. It produces fantastic aesthetic qualities, and its high disease resistance provides ultimate protection.

MM60 is also treated with HEADSTART® GOLD, which is a further development of the well-recognised Headstart treatment and has been developed using the latest scientific findings and field experience. It is a natural revolutionary grass seed treatment that ensures rapid germination. It is perfect for enhancing performance sports fields, golf courses, lawns and amenity turf.

Jim admitted that he can’t take credit for the initial decision to use MM60, but he will certainly be continuing to use it for a long time to come.

“The seed was selected by Fine Turf (the chosen sports turf contractor), but from what I have seen, they absolutely made the right choice. In that first year the seed germinated after just six days, and it gave us fantastic coverage.

“It was so good that I made the decision to overseed with it in May in preparation for the new season. This time around it took slightly longer to germinate because of the weather conditions but as soon as it came through, it really took off.

“It was put to the test pretty quickly,” continued Jim. “Because the fans had been away for so long, the club arranged for four pre-season friendlies to take place all at home – we just wanted the fans back.

MM60 helps The Pilgrims

MM60 helps The Pilgrims

“We allowed 8 weeks for the pitch to establish and then the games came thick and fast. It stood up incredibly well with no problems at all.

“The seed was brilliant in the first year and has been even better in the second year – the colour of it, the strength of it, and the consistency have all been faultless.

“I will continue to use MM60 for renovations, and in the meantime, I’ll put some down in the areas that need it – in the high usage areas throughout the season.

“Overall, the fans love the stadium, and the players love the pitch. It’s a good time for Boston United FC.”

For further information, please contact MM Sports Seed on 01386 791102 or visit the company’s new website www.mm-seeds.co.uk. You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed

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John Deere training helps apprentices graduate

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John Deere training helps apprentices graduate: The latest group of talented young service technicians and parts personnel have successfully graduated from John Deere’s pioneering Ag Tech, Turf Tech and Parts Tech advanced apprenticeship programmes.

The 38-strong cohort passed the national scheme – provided by training provider ProVQ – and their achievements have been recognised at a special event held for them at the Crowne Plaza in Nottingham.

John Deere training helps apprentices graduate

John Deere training helps apprentices graduate

John Deere dealer Ben Burgess saw success for two of its staff with James Skipper from Beeston in Norfolk winning the Ag/Turf Tech Apprentice of the Year for 2021 while Madeleine Green from the company’s Oakham site in Rutland won the Parts Tech award.

Both were presented with new Apple iPads as their prize by John Deere Apprentice Centre Manager James Haslam.

Farol saw its Ag/Turf Tech apprentices Ciahran Quick from the company’s Shefford Woodlands dealership in Berkshire, and Henry Atkins from Midhurst in West Sussex, pick up the runner up prizes of a certificate and high street vouchers worth £250.

John Deere Branch Training Manager Allan Cochran said: “Our apprenticeship programme has been running for nearly three decades and was created because we saw the trend of fewer people coming into the industry. We needed to take steps to ensure that there was new talent to fill our business and dealer network.

“That work is as relevant today as it was then. To see these fantastic individuals graduating from their courses and taking the next big step in their careers is incredibly rewarding.

“Helping to give these young people their first step on the career ladder builds a strong foundation for their future success, and John Deere places great importance on supporting them to reach their full potential.

“We aim to nurture and mould these enthusiastic apprentices who have the skills and desire to work in our business and across the industry.”

The next intake is already being enrolled with 61 Ag Tech and Turf Tech technicians so far signed up for their three-year course, in addition to six Parts Tech apprentices who study for two years.

John Deere’s apprenticeships involve students being trained in engineering, electronics, hydraulics, diagnostics, communication skills, computing, sales and marketing. Ag Tech and Turf Tech candidates study towards the land-based service engineering technician (level 3) qualification, while in Parts Tech individuals complete a Retailer Apprenticeship Standard (level 2).

New students are enrolled each year; apprentices need to be resident in the UK, employed by a John Deere dealer and aged 16 or over. The standard programmes include on-the-job training and assessment as well as up to eight weeks each year at the John Deere Apprentice Training Centre. Further details can be found at http://apprenticeshipfinder.co.uk/john-deere.

Now entering its 30th year, Ag Tech was the first such scheme to be introduced in the UK and won a National Training Award at the end of 1997, the only one ever made to an agricultural machinery apprenticeship programme. Since the first programme started in 1992, almost 1,000 apprentices have graduated through the three main schemes and are now working in the company’s nationwide dealer network.

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