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George Davies, founder of George Davies Turf

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George Davies, founder of George Davies Turf: George Davies started his ‘side venture’ in 2001 and has since reached new heights to become the largest independent supplier of turf in the UK, spending more than two decades perfecting his knowledge to become an expert voice on all things relating to turf, soil, crops and landscape materials. 

Pursuing a dream – turf experts

Driven by his own self-belief, George Davies has gone from a struggling student to university graduate, to successful business owner – sharing his flawless work ethic and inspiring passion for helping others, while he set out to achieve his longstanding dream to become the UK’s largest independent supplier of turf.

George Davies, founder of George Davies Turf

George Davies, founder of George Davies Turf

George’s forward-thinking approach and experience as a Farm Business Consultant always kept him one step ahead, and it was this energy and determination that he applied to his father’s family-run farm where his company was, and still is, based.

When he realised the farm wasn’t suitable for growing additional crops, George spotted the lucrative potential to sell landscaping products to nearby developing towns in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, and Hertfordshire.

In 2001 George invested every penny he had into a Scenic Blue Turf franchise and, having devoted so much time, energy and money into the venture, knew he had no choice but to throw everything into making it work.

By 2003 he had carved out his own unique selling point – his exceptional customer service – and felt it was time to go it alone. He changed the name and became a business owner in his own right – George Davies Turf was born.

From ‘one-man-band’ to multi-million-pound business

Based in Olney, George worked solo to sell, load, and deliver rolls of turf across the Midlands and London, while an honesty box in the farmyard portacabin collected payment for those who preferred to collect – that box alone took around £1 million over the first 10 years.

By 2010, George knew the secret to growing the business was to invest in state-of-the-art machinery, a new premises in St Albans, and to bring in drivers and support staff. He did this with a strong approach to recruitment, actively seeking people he could trust, and only those who would encompass the same values: honesty, reliability and quality.

Celebrating their 21st birthday in September 2021, George and his team of 19 now proudly refer to themselves as ‘The Landscaper’s Choice’, providing high-quality turf and landscaping products along with impeccable customer service. The striking fleet of six red 32-tonne lorries and a 44-tonne artic – all with forklift trucks – are used to transport 1.4 million rolls of turf to 35,000 gardens a year within a 40-mile radius of the two bases. George believes this is how the company maintains its identifiable two-hour delivery slots; a timeframe critical to maintaining the short shelf life of fresh turf.

With a reliable team in place, George now focuses on developing the business for his staff and customers: providing helpful information via blogs, social media, newsletters and events. The new George Davies Turf app is the first of its kind in the industry aimed at speeding up the buying process for busy landscapers – an innovation for the sector.

George is an advocate for supporting others too, not only sharing his insights with likeminded people, but encouraging his people to take time to further their own learning. Through various investments and activities, he continues to be involved with the local business community who helped him get where he is today, as well as funding new business owners on their journey.

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Role of grounds staff is key

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Role of grounds staff is key: With ‘no pitch no play’ one of the biggest barriers to levelling the playing field between women and men’s football, the success of the women’s game depends largely on the involvement of the grounds industry.

Ahead of speaking at SALTEX, the leading turf management show being held on Birmingham NEC from 02-03 November, on increasing pitch capacity for the women’s game, Hannah Buckley, senior facilities and project manager for the women’s professional game at The FA, shares why the importance of the pitch and ensuring the groundswell of forward movement for the womens’ and girls’ sport is not lost because of poor playing conditions.

Role of grounds staff is key

Role of grounds staff is key

“When any new sport or technology comes along, some people will be reluctant to embrace it, others will do so wholeheartedly. We all saw this with those who hosted women’s matches and practise for the Euros and those who didn’t.

“It’s important to remember the men’s game is over 150 years old, women’s is 50 and the young girls’ pro game is only 11 years old. At the start of our journey, all the infrastructure was built around 150 years of the men’s game.

“What’s important going forward is to remove the unknown entities when it comes to additional female users of any pitch. Everything is the same with regards to the pitch and its set up, it’s only the players who are different. Accommodating women’s sport causes far less damage than the men’s: the players weigh less, are smaller and therefore it is important to acknowledge different impacts against different users. Understanding differences provides opportunities for example professional training environments don’t need as much space in a natural pitch training environment – and that reduces the initial budget outlay and ongoing maintenance costs.

“Several women’s professional clubs have secured investment from the Premier League in the last three and a half years to improve pitch quality delivering new stitched and carpet hybrid products.

“Women’s football is here to stay and we’ve got to focus on the pitches we’ve got. England has its infrastructure challenges. We’re an island with limited land availability, with predominantly urban stadiums and training grounds. We are not going to start by building new pitches, so we need to understand the playing surface and the game and work with what we’ve got and make them work for the future of the sport. And all sports groundspeople have a role to play in this. The process starts in education settings, local authorities and clubs, and in.

“My talk at SALTEX in fact considers this very subject and looks at the impact of Leigh Sports Village in Wigan. This example shows the impact a focus on grass roots can have at its finest. The venue had the biggest investment in public sports, recreational and educational facilities in Wigan borough for many years and has transformed Leigh into one of the finest hubs of activity in the North West. Its multi-surfaces serve the whole community providing a range of activities for local people as well as hosting international sporting events. It attracts the next generation of sporting stars in the community but is also home to professional rugby league team Leigh Centurions and Manchester United’s Women’s, U23s and U19s teams. It’s been a host stadium for the Rugby League World Cup 2022 and UEFA Women’s Euro 2022. The plethora of sports they host is down to the quality of surfaces and I’ll look at the how and why they’re able to do that in my Learning LIVE seminar at SALTEX.

“It’s something we can all work together on too. And by that I don’t just mean by looking at the way other sports are incorporating this requirement into their plans going forward or even other countries, but how grounds teams need more diversity – opportunities exist for women in helping prepare the surfaces for the women’s sport, we need diversity to be reflected in that sector, there’s a whole career pathway that could be incredibly rewarding for women.

“What really puts it into perspective is the moment when the Lionness’ won the Euros it was years in the making for those working in the womens’ game – it was the moment we’d all been waiting for, and it came on home turf. That feeling was indescribable and something we want more and more people in the industry to be a part of, experience and celebrate. We now have the world’s best sporting women’s league and everything to play for in terms of continuing the momentum. We need others to join in with those who supported us then, to support us in the next chapter as we work towards the next international event.”

Hannah joins Ted Mitchell of the Rugby Football Union, Iain James from the England and Wales Cricket Board and Ashleigh Seddon form the Rugby Football League at SALTEX on Thursday in theatre 1 at 1.45pm as they look at how groundspeople can increase pitch capacity for the women’s game. Register for a free ticket at saltex.org.uk / register here

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Lantra supporting CRRU in its efforts to safeguard birds of prey health

Lantra supporting CRRU in its efforts to safeguard birds of prey health

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Lantra supporting CRRU in its efforts to safeguard birds of prey health: Lantra has taken major measures to support the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) in its efforts to help safeguard the health of birds of prey, as worries continue over irresponsible rodenticide users.

As one of the leading awarding organisations for the land-based sector in the UK, Lantra is working closely with CRRU, industry partners and stakeholders to ensure birds of prey don’t fall foul of individuals not using rodenticides properly or safely.

Lantra supporting CRRU in its efforts to safeguard birds of prey health

Lantra supporting CRRU in its efforts to safeguard birds of prey health

CRRU has recently stated that concerns remain about rodenticides’ residues being found in birds of prey which is down to the actions of a small minority using the chemicals irresponsibly.

To support CRRU, Lantra, as a member of its training and certification group, has responded by upgrading its rodent management training courses.

Lantra Awards, has developed and launched the Ofqual-regulated ‘Lantra Awards Level 2 Award in Rodent Management’ to replace ‘Rodent Control on Farms’ and ‘Responsible and Effective Control of Commensal Rodents’ certifications.

This comprehensive course gives people the knowledge and tools to understand legislation governing rodent pest management, the importance of, and the reasons for, rodent management and the biology and behaviour of a specific range of rodent species.

It also stresses the importance of understanding integrated pest management and monitoring rodent activity.

The major move strengthens the existing stewardship regime by upgrading Lantra-assessed training courses into a Level 2 Award in Rodent Management.

David Fisher, Lantra’s Head of Industry Partnerships for the area, said: “As CRRU has recently reported, concerns remain with rodenticide residues found in birds of prey which is being linked to the actions of a minority of irresponsible rodenticide users.

“Lantra responded to calls from CRRU as a member of its training and certification group, to strengthen the existing stewardship regime. We have listened to industry concerns and have taken the relevant measures to respond.

“It is hoped that this and continued promotion of best practice and CPD will go some way to help reduce instances of poor practice to ensure that responsible users can continue to use professional rodenticide products as part of their integrated approach to rodent management.”

For farmers and pest control trainees, there are now seven courses in total, listed at www.thinkwildlife.org/training-certification/

In each case, passing the end of course exam yields a formal qualification/certification accepted at point-of-sale for professional use rodenticides under the UK Rodenticide Stewardship Regime, operated by CRRU.

Lantra will be exhibiting at PestTech, the Pest Control industry event on 9th November where the latest developments affecting the industry will be discussed. Details of the free to attend event can be found via the NPTA website, PestTech – NPTA

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ATT showcase abundance of new features

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ATT showcase abundance of new features: ATT will be returning to SALTEX for 2022, showcasing their popular INFINICUT® and TMSystem™ ranges on stand H070. As the only professional sports turf mower that has been specifically designed with electric power and not a re-purposed petrol variant, it maintains best in class for both efficiency and quality of cut.

The continued recurring increase in global energy costs now makes the INFINICUT® a serious consideration when deliberating the move to electrically powered equipment. On their stand at the NEC, the ATT team will have a handy software programme which can help calculate payback on energy which could help to validate any decisions in making the transfer.

ATT showcase abundance of new features

ATT showcase abundance of new features

As has come to be expected with the quick-moving design team at ATT, visitors will also be able to see a wealth of new INFINICUT® features, including the extension of the range of battery’s they offer to include a new 105AH Lithium variant – allowing users to specify whatever duty cycle is required, with zero compromise. The full range of batteries available can be swapped between mowers in the INFINICUT® collection, resulting in even greater versatility and optimised fleet management.

Under the hood, ATT have continued to refine the electrical architecture of the INFINICUT® with design emphasis on simplification and fewer contact points. Firmware has also been upgraded, as has their popular InfiniApp which is now available for download direct from the iOS App Store. Through the App, every aspect of the mowing operation can be optimised to ensure the attainment of the perfect cut.

In response to the additional technical variations in the way pitches can now be reinforced, INFINICUT® mowers can now accommodate adjustable/removable weight kits for situations where increased down pressure is required. The weight kits can easily be removed when gravity readings are at optimal levels.

A trailing seat is also now offered on 34” variant mowers – extending the versatility of where and how the mowers operate.

Completing the abundance of new innovations, the recently introduced brush system used on the INFINICUT® SM34 Rotary mower will also be on display. This set-up is the only one that sees the brush sit behind the front roller, ensuring maximum grass agitation prior to cutting or vacuuming.

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ISEKI is part of the team at Bloxham

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ISEKI is part of the team at Bloxham: An ISEKI compact tractor is proving to be an ‘extra member of staff’ for the grounds team at Bloxham School according to Head Groundsman Paul White.

Located in the heart of the beautiful Oxfordshire village of Bloxham, Bloxham School is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 11 to 18.

ISEKI is part of the team at Bloxham

ISEKI is part of the team at Bloxham

On a single-site campus the school boasts state-of-the-art facilities for academic work, technology, arts, and sport – which is where Paul comes in. Bloxham has a superb sporting programme offering a wide range of sports and Paul and his grounds team work hard to prepare these surfaces to the highest standard.

To achieve this, Paul is somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to grounds maintenance equipment.

“As soon as machinery becomes outdated and not fit for purpose it absolutely needs replacing,” he said. “Specifically, we wanted a tractor to cover all the implements we have in our workforce, and to be able to use them safely and correctly on different surfaces.

“The reason we bought into ISEKI was because we have used their machines regularly in the past and they have always been reliable.”

After a demonstration arranged by ISEKI dealer Turney Groundcare & Garden Machinery, Paul decided to purchase the ISEKI TG6495 – a 47 hp compact tractor with the innovative IQ dual-clutch 24-speed transmission.

Other benefits of the TG6495 include:

  • 1580 kg lift capacity at the ball ends and 1400 kg lift capacity @24″ behind
  • Category 2 cab with air-conditioning, heating, and a good view
  • Front loader joystick, up-stop PTO, linkage up in reverse and draft control all supplied as standard
  • Equipped with an electro-hydraulic power take-off shaft that saves the attachment and the engine while providing operator comfort

“We all been really impressed with the tractor,” said Paul. “The lifting of the PTO has been a massive benefit and the automatic clutch shut off is good for when we are turning on the sports fields.

“The weight and the size of it is much better on our fields for compaction. It has good traction for the wheels, the all-round visibility of the tractor is very much improved compared to our last tractor, and general use is a lot easier for the operator.

“It has performed exceptionally well in all weather conditions. Through the winter it has been fantastic with our vertidrainer and in summer it has helped with a number of different implements.

“Also, the IQ transmission makes it easier for our operators to use and change gear when there are implements on the back.

“We like to think of this tractor as an extra member of staff – it does everything we ask of it.”

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