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Bobcat: A Benchmark In Olive Harvesting

Bobcat: A Benchmark in Olive Harvesting: Six Bobcat T770 Track Loaders help Servicios Agrícolas La Pamparioma to complete its olive harvests. Beyond picking this valuable fruit, the company from Baena (Cordoba, Spain) uses its Bobcat machines for other tasks, such as earthmoving and maintaining plantations.

According to Francisco Bujalance, Manager of Servicios Agrícolas La Pamparioma, over 5,000,000 kilos of olives were picked in last year’s harvest using the Bobcat T770 loaders, which have been fitted with olive tree shaker attachments with umbrellas and vibrating clamps adapted to the size of olives in the area. Harvesting approximately 160,000 olive trees, covering 800 hectares of land, took 100 days (or around 6000 working hours) to complete.

Bobcat: A Benchmark in Olive Harvesting

Francisco Bujalance said: “In our increasingly competitive sector we need to innovate in order to stay productive – but without losing our roots and respect for the environment.

“The Bobcat T770 Compact Track Loaders are ideal for this type of work for a number of reasons. For one thing, we need less staff – the work is easier and progresses faster. They are also well suited for various, even difficult, terrains – whether flat or sloping, dry or muddy. Their performance and manoeuvrability are another big plus. For reasons of space, olive plantations are becoming increasingly packed. It takes a very compact machine such as the Bobcat T770 to move in these narrow lanes with speed and ease.”

He continued: “The Bobcat T770 with its umbrella and clamp gets much more done than any other olive harvester. Add to that reduced labour costs, and you get an excellent ROI in the medium term. What is more, we don’t need to move or handle the olives as much because the umbrella goes directly into the trailer, making the whole job cleaner and allowing us to harvest the product quickly, when it’s at its best.

“And last but not least, the Bobcat T770 does not require any modifications prior to harvesting, whereas other machines do. This speeds up the start-up phase, as there is no need for a mechanic, also saving costs.”

Francisco Bujalance added: “Having used the Bobcat T770 in previous harvests as well, we are by now well acquainted with it, familiar with its features and benefits. Our overall appreciation is very positive: the Bobcat T770 clearly has the hydraulic flow and power needed for this kind of work. Previously we were picking the olives manually, which naturally prolonged the harvest period. Now we are saving 70% in time, while a single loader performs the work of 15 olive pickers, according to our estimates.

“We also chose the Bobcat T770 Track Loaders for the renown of the Bobcat brand, which is well known the world over for reliability, as well as the support and aftersales service of GGM, our dealer, covering us for any unforeseen event. Once the harvest has begun, the machines must not fail. The fruit must be picked at the ideal moment, determined by the plantation owner according to the intended use. GGM gives us the peace of mind we need. As official Bobcat distributor in our area, they have considerable experience in our sector. Guillermo García Muñoz, their founder, invented the harvesting system for Bobcat loaders specifically for Andalusian olive groves – a testament to the company’s enduring commitment to and involvement with our market.

“The great number of attachments available for this loader is another point worth noting. In addition to the bucket, we have a Bobcat backhoe, which we use for various maintenance tasks.

“After many years of experience and after numerous harvests with these compact loaders, we can say with confidence: Bobcat has become a benchmark in the Andalusian olive tree sector,” Francisco Bujalance concluded.

2018 Andalusian olive harvest performed by 6 Bobcat loaders with olive tree shaker attachments:
160,000 olive trees
800 hectares
5,000 tonnes of olives
100 days
6000 hours
6 Bobcat loaders equipped with umbrellas and vibrating clamps

For more information about Bobcat and Bobcat products, visit www.bobcat.com

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The Agronomic Elephant In The Room

The Agronomic Elephant In The Room: Dr Minshad Ansari, left, discusses the Leatherjacket and Chafer Grub problem with Scott MacCallum.

The agronomic elephant in the room over the last 15 years has been what on earth will we do when chemicals we’ve relied upon for decades to ensure our turf can fight back against attacks from pests and diseases are removed from the authorised lists.

The Agronomic Elephant In The Room

We have benefited from the great work being carried out in laboratories across the world to replace those active ingredients, which are no longer with us, with alternatives which have often been more effective and better than what they have replaced.

However, there is one area in which the loss of the recognised chemical has had a major impact on the quality of turf greenkeepers and groundsmen have been able to prepare.

Leatherjackets and Chafer Grubs are relishing the freedom that a chemical-free playground has given them and the damage they are inflicting on turf is enough to reduce the most stoic of turf managers to tears.

It has got so bad in recent times that an Emergency Summit was held by Dr Minshad Ansari, Founder and CEO of Biomena, to pool all necessary expertise and look at what could be done to counter the Leatherjack and Chafer Grubs infestations.

The Agronomic Elephant In The Room

“I’ve been in the industry for 10 years now and seen the widening problem of Leatherjackets and Chafer Grubs but even I was surprised when I saw the damage caused by Leatherjackets at a golf club in Kent. Five greens were completely destroyed as a result of the damage,” Dr Ansari, told Turf Matters.

“Whereas it was very easy to put the chemical pesticide into a tank and go off and spray the recognised active ingredients came off the lists in 2016 and there has been no alternative. The problem is going to accelerate if few don’t do anything,” he explained, of the imidacloprid and chlorpyrifos which have now been banned.

A short term sticking plaster solution has been found with Syngenta receiving emergency authorisation for Acelepryn reapproved for turf for the 2019 season. It has been permitted for use in situations where there is an acknowledged instance of economic damage, or risk of bird strike on airfields and where the product has been recommended by a BASIS qualified agronomist.

The approval will be in place until September 30 of this year.

The Emergency Summit has a host of influential speakers including Professor John Moverley, of the Amenity Forum; Dr Kate Entwistle, and Dr Colin Fleming, and covered topics including Major turf pests and disjeases; the rising threats of plant parasitic nematodes in turf; the biology of Chafers and Leatherjackets; the role of Biostimulants in turf management and root development. Dr Ansari is working closely with Swansea University on biological solutions using nematodes and ensuring that they are utilised to best effect to bring about the most effective outcomes.

“Nematodes do produce results but we have to learn how to use them properly otherwise people will be dissatisfied with the results. There is a way to apply them to get the best results. We are looking at the Leatherjacket and Chafer Grub lifecycle, at which stage they cause damage and at which stage are they most susceptible to nematodes. Learning about the pest is important in order to get the control we are looking for,” said Dr Asari.

The Agronomic Elephant In The Room

“The nematodes can do the job if they are applied in the proper manner – without a problem.”

If there was a key headline to have come out of the Emergency Summit it was that Integrated Pest Management was the solution going forward.

“Whether you have a chemical or biological product you have to use it in such a way that you can get the best control of the pest. There is no single solution,” explained Dr Ansari, who added that better results are achieved by using a wetting agent in conjunction with the use of the nematodes.

Should the status quo remain, more golf courses will be rendered unplayable, or less enjoyable to play, and the work being carried out to find means to resolve the problem is welcome and necessary.

Exmouth Pitch In Good Shape

Exmouth Pitch In Good Shape: The football ‘close-season’ is almost at an end as the ‘pre-season’ edges ever closer. Most football teams enjoy an entire month of June recharging batteries before returning in early July for the rigours of pre-season training.

However, the ‘close-season’ is not a period of rest for everyone involved with football clubs.

One group of club folk who are particularly busy are those charged with looking after the playing surface and, at Exmouth Town that responsibility lies with head groundsman John Dibsdall who is also the club president.

The work that ‘Dibs’, as he is more affectionately known, has undertaken since the last ball of the 2018/19 campaign was kicked, is there for all to see with the Southern Road playing surface currently looking at its pristine best.

It’s clear that, while the June rain has not been to everyone’s pleasure, it has certainly helped in the grass growth at Southern Road as our pictures show.

There is one change to the Town pre-season schedule with news that the warm-up game with Taunton Town, set for Tuesday, July 9 has been cancelled and efforts are being made to set up an alternative match for Kevin Hill’s team.

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Innovative Leadership In Sustainability Reporting By Golf

Innovative Leadership In Sustainability Reporting By Golf: GEO Foundation, supported by multiple partners and stakeholders, has announced the development of a new and ground-breaking framework for golf’s social and environmental reporting – this news was shared in front of an audience of global sustainability systems, government agencies, non-government organisations, corporations and other institutions.

The announcement represents a significant watershed in how the sport can quantifiably and consistently track and demonstrate its progress and value.

Innovative Leadership In Sustainability Reporting By Golf

The Independent Chair of the project’s Strategic Advisory Group is Paul Druckman, former CEO of the International Integrated Reporting Council. Druckman said: “Golf is a large and influential sport, comprising over 34,000 grassroots facilities in over 200 countries, hundreds of professional tournaments and with a significant supply chain. It also has powerful media and reach, and can inspire hundreds of thousands of fans.

“Golf is not unique amongst business to increasingly recognise the need to consistently measure and communicate with credibility its environmental and social impact. Through this work, golf is also gearing up to show how the sport delivers against global priorities, principally the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals’’.

Jonathan Smith, Executive Director of GEO Foundation, the international not-for-profit dedicated to helping advance sustainability in and through golf, added: “The goal is to enable golf to accurately monitor, measure and communicate real impacts, and to connect that locally, nationally and internationally. It has been a complex but enjoyable challenge – studying, collaborating, developing a deep understanding of the priority metrics, mapping audiences and building user-centric software to simplify data gathering at scale.

The project began a year ago after discussion hosted by the Vidauban Foundation and the response from golf associations, as well as externally, has been tremendous. We’d particularly like to thank strategic partners: The R&A, Vidauban Foundation, Toro Foundation, and the ISEAL Innovations Fund, plus over 150 scientists, association leaders and grassroots golf course and club managers – who contributed to the various consultations.”

The framework is designed to help golf more consistently quantify and communicate its ‘net impact’ across golf’s ‘Sustainability Agenda’. As such it covers the material environmental and social issues across three main themes: fostering nature, conserving resources and supporting communities.

To ensure credibility and connectivity, the framework aligns closely with mainstream sustainability goals and reporting systems and is underpinned by the core principles of inclusiveness, materiality, reliability and context. It will be available in the coming months.

With both golf’s voluntary standards and the new metrics fully integrated into OnCourse, the software solution used to engage golf facilities, tournaments and associations; the next phase is to work closely with partners to roll-out, engage and drive active participation. OnCourse is currently used in 76 countries around the world and is available in nine languages.

“We look forward to working with many partners across golf to roll-out the framework and the software, empowering them, their golf facilities and their tournaments to drive individual performance and at the same time pool real data and stories from thousands of sources. This will support the strengthening advocacy and policies of a growing number of international and national associations,” Smith added.

Initial support for the project

Patrick Mallet, Director of Innovations, ISEAL Alliance: “Anyone who’s serious about sustainability knows that the ability to measure performance and impacts is key.  What we like about GEO’s approach is that here we have an example of a sector that is seeking to become more transparent, and shortening the distance between commitments, actions and communicable outcomes.  Building a framework and associated software for issues as complex as these, and for small and medium-sized enterprises like sports clubs is no mean feat and we congratulate everyone involved for their commitment and their creativity.”

Steve Isaac, Director of Sustainability, The R&A: “The R&A has long advocated the value of golf building a robust database of key performance indicators to measure and report on golf’s sustainability performance locally, nationally and internationally. Our support of the GEO Foundation and this project, in particular, should help golf understand its current performance, identify priority areas for improvement, enhance the sport’s image and help the sport become more resilient to the many environmentally and socially driven challenges we face related to the changing climate, regulation or resource constraints. We are extremely pleased to see this initial milestone achieved and look forward to further collaboration with GEO and our affiliates around the world to engage grassroots clubs in the gathering, analysis and communication of data back across the sport of golf and to external audiences.”

Antony Scanlon, Chief Executive of the International Golf Federation: “This is a really exciting project and one that we can see is at the forefront of the Olympic sustainability movement. It is good to see golf sharing knowledge and experiences with other sports and throughout the Olympic family, as we all work together to make sport as sustainable as possible.”

Judson McNeil, President, Toro Foundation, Toro Giving and Community Relations at The Toro Company: “Every sector’s use of critical natural resources such as water is under scrutiny. We have to be able to account for every drop and show how we are maximising efficiency. That can only happen with data, which is expertly analysed. That is why the Toro Company has supported GEO Foundation in their endeavours over many years and why we will continue to lend our support and expertise in the future.”

Julie Duffus, Olympic Movement Sustainability Manager, International Olympic Committee: “This framework is excellent news for golf, the Olympic Movement and global sustainability. As the leader of the Olympic Movement, the IOC looks forward to engaging further on this exciting initiative and supporting its implementation. We hope that GEO’s leadership will inspire others to adopt such a systematic and holistic approach to sustainability.”

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CEuk Celebrate 10 Years In Business

CEuk Celebrate 10 Years In Business: 10 years ago, CEuk’s small team of three friends attended APF with nothing more than a folding table, gazebo and a selection of pruning handsaws, fast forward to 2019 and the brand is now recognised as one of the main specialists in outdoor professional products.

CE stands for Cutting Edge and the product range stays true to its name, the British company continues to evolve whilst providing bladed products for arborists, forestry, landscaping, gardening, agriculture, survivalist, metal detecting and many more industries. It offers genuine value for money tools alongside a service that goes the extra mile to give great customer satisfaction.

CEuk Celebrate 10 Years In Business

From the beginning the team has listened to feedback, acted upon it by making improvements and responding with new products that offer more benefits and at a reasonable price – the business has evolved with this at its core.

Founder Chris Gottfried said: “We are passionate about our products and the industries they serve; our customers are at the heart of our business and by attending various industry shows throughout the year we have an opportunity to get first-hand feedback and input from them. It is this feedback that has helped us to develop a product range that suits numerous industries perfectly and has allowed us to build valuable and lasting relationships with our customers.

“Looking forward a further 10 years, we want to be the best at what we do and continue to work as hard as we can to provide excellent products that meet the changing needs of our customers.”

CEuk products have been distributed by EP Barrus since April 2018 and Phil Noble, sales and technical manager at EP Barrus said: “Our partnership with CEuk has been a great success, the products have a wide-ranging appeal and the Barrus dealer network is the perfect cross-over between the professional and consumer customers that the products are aimed at. I am looking forward to seeing how the company continues to grow and the new products that are introduced in the future.”

The product range:

Stallion Telescopic Handsaw – makes easy work of cutting hard to reach branches

Nokota Saw and Lopper Pruner – probably the smallest and lightest polesaw on the market

Trojan Hand Saw – engineered for the professional, available in five lengths

Noble folding Saw – a multi purpose folding saw that keeps the blade covered until needed

Root Assassin – a 2-in-1 saw and shovel for cutting roots easily and quickly whilst digging

To organise an exclusive interview with Chris Gottfried contact Paskett PR on 01332 258335 or email grahampaskett@paskett.co.uk or sarahbryan@paskett.co.uk.

For more information on CEuk and for stockist information visit www.ceuk-intl.com

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