Tag Archive for: Success

MM60 A Success At George Heriots

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MM60 A Success At George Heriots: Limagrain’s MM60 grass seed mix has been delivering excellent results at George Heriots School in Edinburgh, reports head groundsman Simon Theurer.

Originally founded in the early 17th century to provide an education to ‘fatherless bairns’ in the city of Edinburgh, George Heriots School now flourishes as an independent co-educational day school for children aged between 3 and 18.

MM60 A Success At George Heriots

The school provides an exceptional academic education for all pupils, as well as superb extra-curricular activities – which is where Simon comes in.

Simon, who has been at George Heriots for an incredible 23 years, is the man tasked with maintaining the school’s grounds which includes 3 full size rugby pitches, 3 junior rugby pitches, 5 grass hockey pitches, 2 cricket squares as well as facilities for athletics and tennis. The school has a long history of successful sporting activity and currently boasts some of the strongest sporting sides in Scotland’s education system.

“We have top quality sports teams hence the reason we only use top quality products such as Limagrain’s,” says Simon. “Whenever I have been looking for grass seed Limagrain has always been highly recommended. Therefore, I chose MM60 for the rugby pitches and I’ve had a lot of success from using it towards the end of July.”

Limagrain’s MM60 grass seed is renowned for producing excellent playing surfaces and is ideal for winter sports pitches. It is a 100% Ryegrass formula which is perfect for renovation and divot repair, has a high disease resistance, fantastic aesthetic qualities and offers extremely fast germination – which is boosted by the inclusion of Headstart® GOLD. Developed using the latest scientific findings and field experience, it is a natural revolutionary grass seed treatment that ensures rapid germination and is perfect for enhancing performance on grass seed coatings for sports fields, golf courses, lawns and amenity turf

“I’ve noticed that MM60 germinates very quickly at that time of year and I get good growth and good coverage,” says Simon. “It fills in the areas that were not really taken in the spring, so for quickness of cover I think it is very good. I can’t get an awful lot of water to the pitches but I would say that MM60 is one of the better, more drought resistant species for that time of year.”

Simon applies MM60 at anywhere between 30g – 35g per square metre and says that it gives him full confidence in his rugby pitches over the winter period.

“We have such a high footfall here and we need tough grasses that are proven – Limagrain’s MM60 has certainly passed the test.

“Over the winter it keeps its colour very well and is very disease resistant. At the back end of the summer it’s good to have that peace of mind that you know you have a grass seed that is going to grow fast and well.

“I would certainly recommend it.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/mm

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Marathon A Success At Hamilton Park

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Marathon A Success At Hamilton Park: Stephen Fyles, track manager at Hamilton Park racecourse, has reported significant improvements since switching to a variety of Marathon Sport extended release fertilisers from Sherriff Amenity.

With a glowing CV including roles at Aintree, Epsom, the Jockey Club and now Hamilton Park, it’s safe to say that Stephen knows a thing or two about preparing a horse racing track to the highest possible standard. Along with three other members of staff, Stephen oversees the meticulous operations at the 4.8 hectare site which includes the maintenance of the track and all surrounding lawns and grounds.

Marathon A Success At Hamilton Park

Hamilton Park’s race season consists of 18 days a year throughout the summer months which Stephen says is the most intense time in the grounds team’s diary. Then there are non-race events such as functions, Christmas parties and weddings which the team also have to prepare for. As you would imagine, the track faces a great deal of stress and wear so choosing the correct products in his maintenance programme is essential.

“I came into this role three years ago with the mind-set of giving the existing fertiliser programme a chance,” he says. “I gave it two years but unfortunately I was finding holes in the regime – we were losing track pace, recovery times and generally were just not seeing the results I wanted.

“I had seen the Marathon fertilisers in action in a previous role at Epsom and knew what I could expect from them. Therefore I made the switch last year and they have worked incredibly well.”

For a number of years, turf managers have reaped the benefits of Sherriff Amenity’s range of Marathon fertilisers – the Marathon Sport range of extended release fertilisers provide long-lasting, balanced growth on golf fairways, tees, surrounds, sports fields and ornamental lawns maintained at a height of 10mm and above.

“We went with an all Marathon feed for the track over the course of the summer with four feeds and the results have been fantastic. It’s been a very positive year – the track has stood up to the heavy use and at the same time it is helping me meet the requirements of our soil analysis tests because at the moment the phosphate levels in the soil are high so it requires us to have a low phosphate fertiliser to stop them from getting locked in.”

Stephen chooses to use Spring 16.4.8; Summer 10.0.15 and Autumn 7.0.21 and applies them anywhere between the recommended rate of 20 – 35g/m2 dependent on conditions. In conjunction with the Marathon base feeds, Stephen regularly applies long-lasting iron liquid in the form of Sherriff Amenity’s GoGreen Energy and GoGreen Plus.

Marathon A Success At Hamilton Park

Containing seaweed, plant sugars, simple carbohydrates and trace elements that have been specially selected to give optimum results when grass is stressed, GoGreen Energy is a concentrated bio-stimulant, formulated to assist plant health and relieve stress symptoms. For instant greening of turf many turf managers choose GoGreen Plus which is a unique complex iron sulphate that may be used as a stand-alone product or more flexibly, as a tank-mix partner.

“The programme started with an application of the Marathon Sport Spring 16.4.8 in March to give it a good push because we carried out a good chunk of renovation work in the spring which wasn’t exactly the best of growing seasons. However, within four weeks we pretty much had full recovery on the track and then went with the Marathon Sport Summer 10.0.15 at the end of May which pushed us through our most intense period. It is during these summer months that the track is particularly under stress and this year, with the lack of rain, I was expecting it to be a challenge to keep the surface to where we wanted it, but I genuinely have no complaints.

“We applied Marathon Sport Autumn 7.0.21 in the last week of July to set us in good stead for our biggest fixture of the year – Ladies’ Night, and have chosen the same formula for the end of October to bring us into winter in good shape. As well as the Marathon products we have been applying GoGreen Energy and GoGreen Plus at six-week intervals just to keep the turf healthy and give it some natural goodness.

“Essentially, the Marathon products are giving me a balanced feed at the same time as giving us what we require going forward. They have worked well in low temperatures and the site has looked amazing all year.”

For further information, please contact Sherriff Amenity on 01638 721 888 or visit www.sherriffamenity.com

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Dennis & SISIS Event A Success

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Dennis & SISIS Event A Success: The second ever Dennis and SISIS’ Cricket Pitch Renovation Day recently took place at Cheltenham College, and the verdict was that the day was a resounding success, as over 130 cricket groundsmen were in attendance for a mix of thought provoking indoor presentations and outdoor practical demonstrations.

The event, which was supported by Boughton Loam, CricketWorld.com, Stuart Canvas, Limagrain UK, Lister Wilder, Poweroll and Headland Amenity began with an introduction from Robert Jack (Dennis and SISIS) and Eric Woodmason from Gloucestershire Cricket Board who gave a fascinating insight into his role as clubs and programmes officer for the north of the county.

Dennis & SISIS Event A Success

Alex Vickers, turf consultant, was first up to discuss Principles of decision making for autumn renovations & profile reading, which no doubt would have left the assembled groundsmen with plenty of food for thought. Alex proceeded to offer some great renovation tips which was supported by visual slides and in particular he urged all attendees to plan ahead and avoid guess work. He advocates that gathering evidence prior to forming renovation decisions was key and advised groundsmen to understand the importance of what is happening beneath the square rather than focussing just on the top.

As a leading contractor, Keith Exton of Perfect Pitches UK, was perfectly placed to deliver his seminar entitled End of season renovations – a contractor’s overview. Keith was keen to emphasise just how integral timing is to cricket pitch preparation and warned the audience not to overlook the significance of measuring moisture content.

Both Keith and Alex went on further to discuss various renovation techniques such as aeration, top-dressing, seeding and applying loam, and both were also unanimous in the importance of taking core soil samples.

After his seminar, Alex was pleased to welcome a number of questions from delegates and also revealed why events such as these are integral to raising the standards of cricket groundsmanship.

“I think the reason people should come along to these events is two-fold. First of all, you are never too old and never too experienced to learn something new; there are always new techniques to discover. That could be through the practical demonstrations, through the talks or even by chatting to your fellow groundsmen because you find that you really do learn from one another. An event like this is a fantastic way to develop those networks and get to know other people who are having the same issues as you.

“It also helps keep people up to date. I know some groundsmen who have been doing the same things for 30 years with the same bit of kit but the industry has moved on and there are easier and better ways of doing things. Events like today can help you understand that actually there are better ways to achieve the good results.”

Following the presentations, it was the perfect opportunity to introduce delegates to the Soil Core Clinic. In this innovative feature Keith was joined by Ian Smith (St Albans School Turf Consultant) as they proceeded to examine a number of soil profiles which were brought to the event by delegates. The samples were projected onto the big screen and Keith and Ian discussed how each could potentially be improved.

Over recent years, Ian has been a prominent figure at the Dennis and SISIS cricket groundsmen seminars, and he was delighted to see yet another great turn-out. “Today we’ve had a real mixture of cricket groundsmen – 130 from the likes of part-time clubs, schools and county clubs. In my opinion, there are not many of these events going on in the industry so I think they are extremely valuable,” he said.

Dennis & SISIS Event A Success

A complimentary lunch signalled the halfway point before delegates made their way outside into the glorious sunshine. Cheltenham College offered picturesque views and a wonderful backdrop as the outdoor practical demonstrations took place on two squares and the cricket outfield.

The three workshops focused on a variety of techniques that would be beneficial for cricket groundsmen and saw an impressive fleet of machinery carrying out tasks such as aeration, seeding, brushing, top dressing and scarifying.

Christian Brain, head of grounds at Cheltenham College and host for the day, was extremely generous in letting the demonstrations take place on his county standard squares and felt that the day was a huge success for all involved. “It’s been fantastic to see so many passionate groundsmen here mixing with one another and sharing ideas. We’ve had some great feedback from the delegates and overall it’s been a hugely successful day,” he said.

Adam King, head of grounds at Radley College, brought other members of staff along with him and found the day extremely worthwhile.

“I’ve brought along five lads with me today and we’ve been treated to some great indoor talks and outdoor demonstrations. Generally, I find these days useful in respect of networking but it’s also a nice release for my members of staff who have been incredibly busy for the last six months on the cricket squares. It has given them the day off; they have been able to watch the machines in action, learn something new and they will absolutely take something away.”

Echoing Adam’s thoughts was Gordon Gill, contractor and head groundsman at Bath Cricket Club, who felt it was refreshing for his members of staff to gain a greater insight into the industry.

“I’ve come along to introduce my two staff members to the networking that goes on, plus they can see the machinery first hand, they can speak to other people in the trade first hand, and suddenly they find they are not alone anymore. It’s been a great exercise for them.”

Eric Woodmason rounded off the day by suggesting that events like these are not just beneficial to the groundsmen but also claimed that they have a positive impact on the sport of cricket. “My main desire out of this is that club groundsmen gain experience and knowledge of what they need to do on their grounds and hopefully that their grounds will improve as a result. This in turn, will get more people wanting to play cricket because if there is a good ground to play on, cricket becomes even more enjoyable.”

A video of the event can be found by visiting https://youtu.be/3pxT4yyQmU8

Further information about the range of cricket maintenance products available can be found by visiting www.dennisuk.com / www.sisis.com.

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ICL Schools Seminar A Success

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ICL Schools Seminar A Success: ICL’s sixth successive annual Independent Schools Seminar recently took place at Birmingham’s Edgbaston Stadium. The event brought together turf professionals and provided an opportunity to network and enhance education and understanding on a range of different turf management topics.

Following an introduction from event organiser Emma Kilby, ICL Area Sales Manager for the Midlands and West, Gary Barwell, Head Groundsman at Edgbaston Stadium, kick-started proceedings by offering an insight into pitch preparations at the stadium as well as disclosing some of his team’s techniques.

ICL Schools Seminar A Success

In the midst of a particularly difficult summer, delegates welcomed the opening presentation by Dr Andy Owen, ICL International Technical Manager. Entitled ‘Growing resilient turf’, Andy focused on growing deeper rooted plants, which explored a number of strategies that groundsmen can apply in order to encourage rooting; explaining the importance of an integrated approach and that nothing should be undertaken in isolation. Furthermore, Andy went on to provide a plethora of hints and tips from research trials which included advice on best practice in utilizing nutrition, dealing with parasitic nematodes and ideal water management to get the best out of the grass plant.

Grass seed is an important aspect of ICL’s product portfolio and an essential part of the company’s integrated turf management solutions, and the next presentation ‘Seed for all Seasons’, provided delegates with a fascinating insight into this aspect of the business.

Simon Taylor, ICL Product & Business Development Manager, has more than 20 years’ experience in the grass seed sector and he revealed the opportunities for potential genetic improvements in finding new traits in varieties that could benefit the turf manager. He explained the motives behind looking at the best of what US and European breeding programmes offer and how the finest of those characteristics can be applied into various new blends.

A complimentary lunch signalled the halfway point before Alex Vickers, Turf Consultant, spoke in detail about his experience of helping to build a cricket pitch in Rwanda. In this humorous and thought-provoking presentation entitled ‘Making the most of what you have got – a lesson from Rwanda’, Alex explained how the team achieved fantastic results when faced with a near-on impossible task.

The presentation seemed to strike a chord with the delegates. “I really enjoyed Alex’s presentation and I think there is a great lesson to be learnt,” said Tom Brotherhood, First Team Cricket Groundsman at Loughborough Grammar School. “Just seeing how they managed to achieve what they did in Rwanda with basically half of the equipment compared to what we have was amazing. We are always wanting more of the best equipment and perhaps we take what we already have for granted. I think it showed how to think outside of the box when you find yourself in a difficult situation.”

Andy Richards, Grounds Manager at Shrewsbury School, was the next speaker to take to the stage. In this insightful presentation Andy revealed how he uses data recorded from his weather station and moisture metres to speak to the school’s sports department bursar about playing conditions and to identify what equipment he needs in order to continue to make improvements. Andy encouraged the delegates to follow suit claiming that just that little extra bit of information can be used to their advantage.

It was the third ICL Independent School Seminar Andy has attended and he believes that events such as these are integral to raising the standards of groundsmanship.

“Independent schools groundsmanship is a completely different form of groundsmanship to say football, cricket or other sports grounds, because your usage is incredibly high over such a condensed period of time. This is the only event of its kind designed to specifically help independent school groundsmen and it’s great to meet like-minded people where we can bounce ideas off one another. It’s the only way we can continue to improve.”

Attendees then received a glimpse into Syngenta’s new turf pigment technology when Glenn Kirby, Syngenta’s Technical Manager for UK Turf & Landscape, provided an overview on the new product – Ryder. This unique turf colourant delivers a consistent, natural green colour and gives turf managers an opportunity to colour up turf to their liking. Glenn explained Ryder’s strong longevity qualities and how the technology protects turf from harmful UV rays and excessive light.

Former English first-class cricketer, Ashley Giles MBE, is arguably best known for his heroics in England’s victorious 2005 Ashes series and he concluded the day’s presentations by explaining his current role as Director of Cricket at Edgbaston as well as relaying some very interesting and humorous stories about how the successful Ashes team celebrated their monumental victory over Australia.

After dinner the day was rounded off in style as all attendees stayed behind to watch the T20 game between Birmingham Bears and Leicestershire Foxes.

Reflecting on the event, Lee Marshallsay, Grounds Manager at Charterhouse School, said: “I’ve been coming to these events almost every year and they just keep getting better. There are plenty of speakers to learn from and there is a lot that us groundsmen can take back. I particularly like the networking side of it because you can find out that you’re not the only one who may have had a hard season. It’s also a good chance to bring other members of staff along because it means that some of the younger guys can learn things from other people rather than just listen to me all the time!”

That was certainly the case for Aaron Skyrme, Assistant Groundsman at King Henry VIII School in Coventry: “Today has been really beneficial,” he said. “I’m currently studying an NVQ Level 2 in Sports Turf Management and learning about the different technologies in seeds and various grasses today has really helped me. There are also so many aspects that I will take away with me and put into my practical work at the school.”

Please contact ICL on +44 (0)1473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie.

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Training For Success At John Deere

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Training For Success At John Deere: A total of 54 young service technicians are being trained in this year’s John Deere Ag Tech, Parts Tech and Turf Tech advanced apprenticeship programmes, run in partnership with national training provider ProVQ – a increase of just over 60 per cent on the previous year’s intake.

John Deere has also been listed for the second consecutive time in 2018 as one of the best 100 employers for school leavers in the UK, the only agricultural and turf machinery company to be so recognised. The AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk’s Top 100 Employers for School & College Leavers rankings are based entirely on the opinions of apprentices and school leaver trainees from hundreds of UK organisations.

Training For Success At John Deere

John Deere’s and ProVQ’s successive annual awards were made in recognition of their programmes’ quality and the opportunities they present to young people working productively in the agricultural and turf sectors.

“We have beaten some very strong competition from other household names, coming first for an engineering and manufacturing company and third overall in the Best Intermediate Apprenticeship Programme category in 2017,” said ProVQ managing director Julian Lloyd.

“We’ve also been recognised in the Advanced Apprenticeships and Engineering categories this year. To be recognised as one of the country’s top 100 employers for school leavers, as judged by the apprentices themselves, makes us all very proud of our achievements.”

Even more recently John Deere and ProVQ have won the Manufacturer Excellence Award for Training in the 2018 Agri Machinery Trade News Awards. The award judges commented that “the enthusiasm and encouragement of the trainers shone out in the nominations” and that John Deere and ProVQ were “exemplars of what it takes to deliver world class training”.

ProVQ’s Ag & Turf Tech apprentice assessor Simon Seago was specifically mentioned in one of the nominations from a John Deere dealer, who said: “Simon’s enthusiasm and encouragement transfers to our apprentices, enabling them to reach their potential during their initial industry training.

“Our industry depends on a constant input of quality young people who train to become the agricultural and turf technicians required to service and repair past, current and future technologies. People like Simon make this possible.”

Training For Success At John Deere

Julian Lloyd added: “This was just one of a number of general nominations from dealers who praised the John Deere training programme. The award is truly excellent news and reflects extremely well on the changes implemented within the programme over the last few years, and the efforts of all our front-line staff involved in implementing these changes. As an award voted for by the dealer network, it has significant currency.”

John Deere’s three-year Ag Tech and Turf Tech and two-year Parts Tech apprenticeships lead to IMI Level 2 & 3 Diplomas in Landbased Engineering and Vehicle Parts Competence, and registration at LTA Intermediate level in the industry’s Landbased Training Accreditation scheme. In subsequent years qualified technicians undergo further education and adult training within the John Deere University programme, on a career path that can ultimately lead to the highest possible LTA Master Technician accreditation.

 Now in its 26th 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, well over 700 apprentices have graduated through the three main schemes and are now working in the company’s nationwide dealer network.

For more information, visit: www.JohnDeere.co.uk

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