Tag Archive for: Open

Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries

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Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries: The search is on to recognise the UK’s most professional sprayer operators in the sports turf, amenity and landscape management industries. The Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year (ASOOTY) Awards highlight best practice and experience in the challenging role of ensuring accurate application on all amenity surfaces.

The Amenity Forum competition, supported by ICL and Syngenta, seeks to share guidance and advice that will raise the standards of spray application across the amenity industry.

Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries

Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries

The Awards’ finalists will be announced at the Amenity Forum Conference on 10 October, with the overall winner presented at the prestigious BIGGA Awards ceremony at BTME in January 2025.

All ASOOTY applicants will also be entered into a competition to win one of five Syngenta Sprayer Calibration & Application Kits.  BASIS CPD points for participating in the awards have been applied for.

Along with assessing operators’ skills of spray application and use of products, the ASOOTY judging panel also now incorporate the importance of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach to any issues involving turf and landscape maintenance.

Announcing the opening of the ASOOTY 2024 Awards, Amenity Forum Chairman, Ian Graham, announced: “This competition seeks to highlight the remarkable talent that exists within our sector, and I encourage as many spray operators as possible to engage with the process.

“Our industry has many highly skilled spray operators working within it, using a diverse range of products accurately applied through a huge range of complex application equipment. The environments in which these applications take place can also be varied and are often challenging.”

Amenity businesses and sports turf managers are urged to actively encourage their sprayer operators to enter the awards this year. “Past winners have ably demonstrated the professional approach to meeting  these challenges, and I very much look forward to meeting the finalists at the Amenity Forum Conference.”

Syngenta Technical Manager, Sean Loakes, highlighted: “The skills of sprayer operators to make efficient, effective and above all safe applications is essential for the future sustainability of the amenity and turf care industry.

“The ASOOTY awards are a welcome way to recognise and reward the leading individuals and to learn from their experience,” he says.

“For the best possible results, today’s professional sprayer operators must also fully understand the wider aspects of why an application is being made, and what other integrated options they can also employ for better long-term management of potential problems.”

Last year’s winner, Dan Waring, professional spray technician at JCB Golf and Country Club in Uttoxeter, encourages all sprayer operators to get involved and enter the ASOOTY Awards.

A keen advocate of the Awards, Dan would urge all sprayer operators to take every opportunity to gain more knowledge on the products being used and the latest application technology. “That will enable people to be more confident in what they are doing, and give the spray tech’s role the credit it deserves,” he says.

ICL Landscape & Industrial Business Manager, Lewis Blois, added: “We are delighted to support such an important cross-sector industry initiative, with a continued commitment to raise standards and improve results.

“Importantly it provides a unique and vitally important resource for all involved in spray application across the amenity sector,” he points out.

This year the entry process aims to test sprayer operators’ broader knowledge of issues and solutions faced across the amenity sector through an initial on-line question form, including questions to assess an individual’s experience and approach to dealing with challenges.

“We’re looking to find operators that can make those important proactive decisions with every application.”

Entries to the ASOOTY Awards 2024 closes on Friday 13 September. The on-line entry form is available at:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CTF76GD

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John Deere’s unique open day

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John Deere’s unique open day: John Deere has announced a unique open day for those planning to leave the military in search of a new career.

On 13 June the company will invite servicemen and women to its UK & Ireland headquarters in Nottinghamshire for a special event designed to shine a light on technician roles working throughout the brand’s dealership network.

John Deere's unique open day

John Deere’s unique open day

The John Deere Military Hiring Programme Insight Day provides an opportunity to see first hand some of the world’s most advanced agricultural and professional turfcare equipment which requires skilled, dedicated technicians to service and maintain.

There will be networking opportunities with representatives from the John Deere business as well as dealers, and presentations will set out how fulfilling the role can be.

Allan Cochran, Training Centre Manager, said: “We launched the John Deere Military Hiring Programme in the UK and Ireland last year and are starting to see those who have been through the training start new careers at our dealers.

“We strongly believe in the pool of talent resettling from successful careers in the military. We have thousands of examples worldwide demonstrating that they have the ideal skillset to slot seamlessly into technician roles.

“There’s nothing like seeing the machinery up close and speaking directly to those who already work in the businesses to get a sense of what your future career could look like, so this day is a great opportunity to explore the people, the place and the product.”

Presentations will explain the scale and purpose of John Deere, including its values behind the mission to sustainably help feed and clothe a growing population. Those attending can see what it is like to work within the brand’s family from those who have already completed a resettlement.

The Military Hiring Programme is a worldwide initiative to support resettling servicemen and women. Those who apply are connected to an individual within John Deere who has already made the transition before being put through a raft of free training to prepare them for a career as a technician.

Allan said: “Much like modern military vehicles, our agricultural and turf products are packed with state-of-the-art technology. You could be working on a fully electric walk-behind golf greens mower or one of the world’s largest combine harvesters – there is huge variety and fulfilment in roles based all around the UK and Ireland.

“I urge anyone who is looking for a new career away from the military, or those who have already left, to sign up for this event and see for themselves what a future with John Deere looks like.”

Click here to sign up for the event for free.

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VGR TopChanger plays its part in Open preparations

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VGR TopChanger plays its part in Open preparations: Preparations are well underway for the 152nd Open, taking place at Royal Troon this July. The Old Course has undergone some alterations since it last hosted the prestigious event back in 2016 including eight new tees and an overall lengthening of the course to just under 7400 yards.

Another new addition is a VGR TopChanger to the machinery shed of Course Manager Billy McLachlan and his team. He explains how the purchase of the TopChanger has significantly enhanced drainage and firmed up the playing surfaces since its delivery in September 2022.

VGR TopChanger plays its part in Open preparations

VGR TopChanger plays its part in Open preparations

Widely recognised as of the greatest links courses, Royal Troon are hosting the Open Championship for the 10th time in 2024 – the preparations for which are on track and in safe hands under Billy’s stewardship, who has been at the venue for over 40 years. In that time, he’s witnessed much in the way of technological development when it comes to maintenance equipment. “Sand injection is something that I looked at probably 12 to 15 years ago but, at the time, the machinery just didn’t deliver” he says. “More recently, effective solutions have become available bringing multiple benefits to plant health and the profile more generally. We’d been utilising the services of a contractor to conduct the operation for us, who did a good job but in wanting to increase the frequency in line with R&A recommendations, it became more economical to explore purchasing a machine of our own.”

Following an impressive demonstration, the club opted to purchase a TopChanger from VGR Equipment. The TopChanger uses high pressure waterpower to aerate the soil, with the option to simultaneously fill the channels with wet or dry sand – preventing anaerobic conditions, improving drainage and diluting organic matter throughout the profile. “Tom Peter from VGR brought the TopChanger in and we immediately thought it was brilliant. The flexibility of having our own machine, meaning we could conduct passes more frequently and, importantly, when the weather conditions were right made both financial and agronomic sense.”

“We were out in the Autumn of 2022, conducting one pass at a depth of 10” and a secondary pass at a shallower 3” before the weather turned” Billy explains. “Autumn 2023 saw us completing a further four passes on all 18 greens. Compared to other methods of aeration, the surface disruption is minimal and isn’t too much of a drain on our available labour and resources. The results are speaking for themselves, emerging from a very wet winter with the greens performing exactly as we need them to.”

He concludes, “It’s already proven to be a brilliant investment, which will also be put to good use on the Portland Course as well as the Old Course again later this year. The support from VGR throughout has also been first-class.”

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FairWays Foundation Grant application window now open

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FairWays Foundation Grant application window now open: The FairWays Foundation is pleased to announce that the grant application window is now open for the 2024 Grant Cycle. Applications will be accepted through April 30th, 2024, and successful grant recipients will be notified in October 2024.

Interested applicants can begin their application by visiting thefairwaysfoundation.com/apply

FairWays Foundation Grant application window now open

FairWays Foundation Grant application window now open

Founded in 2019, The FairWays Foundation was created to help support environmental conservation and stewardship projects and allied educational initiatives in an accessible way, with simplified requirements and application processes. To date The FairWays Foundation has provided over $697,000 in grants to support 48 conservation projects across the USA, Canada, Europe and UK.

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Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries

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Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries: The search is on to recognise the UK’s most professional sprayer operators in the sports turf, amenity and landscape management industries. The Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year (ASOOTY) awards highlight best practice and experience in the challenging role of ensuring accurate application on all amenity surfaces.

Sponsored by ICL and Syngenta and managed by the Amenity Forum, the awards seek to share top tips and advice that will raise the standards of spray application across the amenity industry.

Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries

Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries

The finalists and winner will be announced and presented at the prestigious BIGGA Awards ceremony at BTME in January 2024, with prizes worth over £500. All ASOOTY applicants will also be entered into a competition to win one of five Syngenta Sprayer Calibration & Application Kits.  BASIS CPD points for participating in the awards have been applied for.

The skills of sprayer operators to make efficient, effective and above all safe applications is essential for the future sustainability of the amenity and turf care industry. ASOOTY awards are a welcome way to recognise and reward the leading individuals and to learn from their experience.

Along with assessing operators’ skills of spray application and use of products, the ASOOTY awards also now reflect the importance of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach to any issues involving turf and landscape maintenance.

Announcing the opening of the ASOOTY 2023 awards at SALTEX (1-2 November), Syngenta Technical Manager, Sean Loakes, said: “Sprayer operation is a key factor in the success of every application, including elements of nozzle choice, water volume and fine tuning the sprayer to more effectively hit the intended target.

“However, for the best possible results, today’s professional sprayer operators must also fully understand the wider aspects of why an application is being made, and what other integrated options they can also employ for better long-term management of potential problems.

“Knowing when not to spray is in many ways as important as the techniques to actually make an application,” he advised.

ICL Landscape & Industrial Business Manager, Lewis Blois, added: “We are delighted to support such an important cross-sector industry initiative with a continued commitment to raise standards and improve results.

“Importantly it has identified and recognised the range of spray application techniques and the differing skills involved across the amenity sector. It will provide a unique and vitally important resource for all involved in spray application.”

This year the entry process aims to test sprayer operators’ broader knowledge of issues and solutions faced across the amenity sector through an initial on-line question form. Lewis explained entrants are not expected to know the answers to all the questions, however the entry form will help the judging panel to assess an individual’s experience and approach to dealing with challenges.

“The entry process itself will stimulate thought and understanding of the challenging issues around application across the sports turf, amenity and industrial land management industries, including the need to create integrated solutions using a full range of tools and tactics. We’re looking to find operators that can make those important proactive decisions with every application,” he added.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

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