Tag Archive for: TOPSOIL

Topsoil industry to lose passionate educator

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Topsoil industry to lose passionate educator: The UK’s topsoil industry is to lose to retirement someone who has spent the past 26 years raising the quality bar for manufactured topsoils and leading the industry in educating and informing customers across the construction, landscaping, and amenity markets.

Andy Spetch is retiring at the end of April after a career with British Sugar spanning 36 years. He joined as an agricultural trainee in 1987 and worked as an agronomist for the company in the UK and Poland before starting up British Sugar’s TOPSOIL division in 1997.

Topsoil industry to lose passionate educator

Topsoil industry to lose passionate educator

Recognising that the rich arable soil brought into British Sugar’s UK factories on the sugar beet was a valuable resource, and in line with the company’s vision to make its operations environmentally and commercially sustainable, Andy set about designing quality topsoil products. Working closely with soil scientist Tim O’Hare, with whom he has continued to work to develop products and stringent testing and analysis protocols, Andy developed a range of products for the construction, landscaping, and sports amenity markets.

Key to TOPSOIL’s success has been Andy’s determination to provide customers with continual independent detailed product analysis, case studies and testimonials, and reports on scientific trials carried out on TOPSOIL products by respected organisations such as the Sports Turf Research Institute and Cranfield University. He has always believed passionately in informing and educating customers about soils and soil products so that they have the information they need to make informed choices. All data, analysis, trial reports, and case studies remain freely available for download from the company’s website.

Andy’s all-encompassing role at TOPSOIL is being re-structured in advance of his departure. Senior TOPSOIL Manager Natalie Gudgin, who joined British Sugar in 2009 and who has worked closely with Andy in managing the TOPSOIL sales team, will take on the strategic sales role. Overall responsibility for production, testing and analysis will rest with the topsoil production managers, and British Sugar’s marketing department will take on direct responsibility for promoting TOPSOIL and its products to its key markets.

“I would like to thank our customers for their support over the years; I know Natalie and the TOPSOIL team will continue to give them excellent service and advice going forwards. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the trade associations we have worked with from day one. In particular, BALI and the late John O’Conner of John O’Conner Grounds Maintenance who was such a tremendous help to me personally as I found my way around the landscape industry back in the late 1990’s, and Geoff Webb and Jason Booth of the GMA who have been a great support throughout TOPSOIL’s development and growth.”

Commenting on his future plans, Andy said:

“My time with British Sugar, and particularly heading up TOPSOIL, has been incredibly rewarding. Together with the great team at TOPSOIL, I hope I’ve managed to make a positive contribution to the use and acceptance of quality manufactured topsoils, which must be the future if we are to protect the earth’s soils.

“In retirement I’m looking forward to continuing as a volunteer pitch advisor for the RFU and to doing more bicycle touring. In July this year we will be riding from home to Switzerland, following the Rhine for over 700 miles. I want to use this ride to raise funds for research into Motor Neurone Disease to show my support for Doddie Weir, Rob Burrow, Ed Slater and others suffering with this awful and currently incurable disease.”

You can sponsor Andy at JustGiving by clicking here or visiting www.justgiving.com/page/andrew-spetch-1673869582965

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British Sugar TOPSOIL announces Bursary recipient

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British Sugar TOPSOIL announces Bursary recipient: First announced in February to mark the launch of its new TOPSOIL Academy online learning resource, the British Sugar TOPSOIL £500 Training Bursary has now been awarded to Richard Brusaferro, a former NHS Senior Theatre Assistant and recent career-changer.

Richard, 51, who has worked at Ipswich Hospital for the past 14 years, has always been a keen amateur gardener and, wanting to make his passion his career, he took a part-time course in Practical Horticulture at Suffolk Rural College. Having subsequently taken the plunge and left the NHS, he is now employed on a private estate near Ipswich as a gardener, putting his knowledge to practical use and building his wider experience of the horticulture sector.

British Sugar TOPSOIL announces Bursary recipient

British Sugar TOPSOIL announces Bursary recipient

“Completing the initial course at Suffolk Rural College and then being awarded the TOPSOIL bursary has given me the confidence to follow my heart and change careers” Richard explained. “I have taken quite a salary cut to follow my dream and so the bursary will allow me to fast-track my learning journey by studying for the RHS Level 2 Certificate in Practical Horticulture from September. I can’t wait!”

National TOPSOIL Manager at British Sugar, Andy Spetch, is delighted that Richard is grasping this opportunity with both hands: “The training bursary selection panel was impressed by Richard’s obvious passion for horticulture and his determination to follow his dream and work in the sector, despite the financial implications of his decision. We unanimously decided that the bursary could make all the difference to Richard’s chances of building a successful career within an acceptable timeframe.”

In addition to the financial contribution to Richard’s horticultural training, mentoring will be an important element of the support the TOPSOIL Training Bursary will provide. Andy Spetch said: “Richard is now working in an entirely different sector and I hope that I will be able to assist him by introducing him to others working in landscaping and horticulture and making him aware of industry exhibitions and organisations that will be of help to him as part of professional development. I wish him every success.”

www.bstopsoil.co.uk  Twitter @Topsoil­_BS

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British Sugar TOPSOIL celebrates launch of TOPSOIL Academy

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British Sugar TOPSOIL celebrates launch of TOPSOIL Academy: The wealth of technical, scientific, regulatory and storage/handling information on soils that British Sugar TOPSOIL has developed and made freely available via its website has now been ordered and consolidated under the new TOPSOIL Academy tab.

And to celebrate the launch of this comprehensive learning resource, TOPSOIL will award a training bursary of £500 to one successful applicant working in any of the following areas:

  • Groundworks/Construction
  • Landscape contracting
  • Greenkeeping
  • Groundsmanship
  • Garden design
British Sugar TOPSOIL celebrates launch of TOPSOIL Academy

British Sugar TOPSOIL celebrates launch of TOPSOIL Academy

National TOPSOIL Manager Andy Spetch has long been an advocate of giving those working in the land-based sector as much independently verified information on soils as possible:

“British Sugar TOPSOIL has always made its product testing and analysis data freely available and has encouraged customers to get acquainted with what that data is telling them about our products. We soon found that there was a thirst for independent, objective information on soils in general and so we made all our trials reports from the STRI and other respected organisations available for scrutiny.

“Our TOPSOIL Academy brings together all that technical and scientific information, plus more practical help and guidance, in one place where pdf documents can be easily and freely downloaded by anyone working with soils or studying to enter the land-based sector.

“We hope the training bursary will help someone working in the land-based sector to develop their career where financial constraints may have previously been a barrier to them moving forward.”

The 2022 British Sugar TOPSOIL Training Bursary terms and conditions, eligibility criteria and application form can be accessed by visiting www.bstopsoil.co.uk and clicking on the TOPSOIL Academy tab, where you can also find everything you need to know about soils.

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British Sugar TOPSOIL expands analysis

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British Sugar TOPSOIL expands analysis: British Sugar TOPSOIL has long been trusted to provide detailed and current analysis of its soil products to meet and exceed the British Standards for Topsoil and Subsoil.

To further inform and assist customers with their choice of products, the company is now having all its soil and topdressing products tested with new, state-of-the-art, soil microbiology technology that is used in agriculture to determine soil health and fertility.

British Sugar TOPSOIL expands analysis

British Sugar TOPSOIL expands analysis

Detailed analysis under a microscope looks at the levels of bacteria and fungi in TOPSOIL’s products. It is anticipated that, carried out at regular intervals over time, this level of analysis will help build a picture of soil health in terms of living organisms and give TOPSOIL customers yet more important information on which to base their purchasing decisions.

Working with Hampshire-based SoilBioLab, samples of each TOPSOIL product were submitted for analysis, together with a local arable soil, to establish and compare the amount of:

  • Active Bacteria
  • Total Bacteria
  • Active Fungi
  • Total Fungi
  • Hyphal Diameter (a physical measure of the branching filamentous structure of a fungus – in lay terms, the wider the branching structure, the more mature the fungus)

National TOPSOIL Manager Andy Spetch said: “We want to provide as much detailed technical information as possible on our products, which is freely available to anyone on our website. It is too early to draw any conclusions from this first analysis but we anticipate that, over time, we will be able to build a helpful picture of the health and effectiveness our products.”

This first set of results, which can be viewed on the TOPSOIL website at www.bstopsoil.co.uk  in the TOPSOIL Information section under Analysis, Research and Development, are very much a starting point.

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British Sugar TOPSOIL supports #GroundsWeek

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British Sugar TOPSOIL supports #GroundsWeek: British Sugar TOPSOIL, a leading UK producer of quality topdressing and topsoil products for the sports, amenity, landscaping and construction sectors, is proud to officially support the Grounds Management Association’s #GroundsWeek, an inaugural celebration week for the turf care sector.

Managed by the Grounds Management Association (GMA), the leading not-for-profit membership body for grounds professionals and volunteers, the turf care campaign will take place 1-7 March 2021 and will celebrate and highlight the vital role that professional grounds staff, volunteers, and the turf sector play in making sport possible.

British Sugar TOPSOIL supports #GroundsWeek

British Sugar TOPSOIL supports #GroundsWeek

Following a difficult year for the sector due to the impact of Covid-19, #GroundsWeek aims to showcase grounds staff and the amazing work that they do – and have continued to do – despite sport coming to a grinding halt. It also comes after a year where parks and green spaces have been hugely valuable to the public’s health, with increased use for ‘daily exercise’ and physical activity.

To celebrate the week, British Sugar TOPSOIL will be promoting the benefits of using its Sports&Turf topdressing for the repair and improvement of natural playing surfaces.

A 90/10 blend of medium to coarse sub-angular sand with British Sugar TOPSOIL’s BS3882:2015-compliant topsoil, Sports&Turf incorporates readily into the sward, increasing the fertility of the root zone and encouraging grass to regenerate more readily, particularly in areas of heavy wear such as goalmouths.

Andy Spetch, National TOPSOIL Manager at British Sugar TOPSOIL, a GMA Corporate Partner, said:

“British Sugar TOPSOIL is delighted to be supporting the GMA’s GroundsWeek initiative, which will highlight the invaluable work carried out by professional and volunteer grounds staff across the country. As an industry supplier, British Sugar TOPSOIL is constantly developing and trialling its products to give grounds staff the tools they need to ensure natural playing surfaces can withstand both heavy usage and the impact of our changing UK climate.”

Geoff Webb, CEO of the GMA, said:

“After a tough year, GroundsWeek is a fantastic opportunity for every part of the sector to come together and celebrate all the hard work that’s gone on throughout the year. We want to inspire sports fans and the general public to realise the vital role we play and get even more people to enter the profession and lend a helping hand at pitches across the country.

“We’re grateful to those officially supporting #GroundsWeek, with businesses and partners helping us champion grounds staff and the amazing work they do.

More information on #GroundsWeek can be found here.

For details of British Sugar TOPSOIL products, and to download a free copy of the Essential Guide to Top Dressing, visit www.bstopsoil.co.uk/product-range/sportsturf

Twitter: @Topsoil_BS

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