INSIDE AGRI-TURF
135 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 months ago -Inside Agri-Turf speaks to those at the sharp-end of the farm and grass machinery industry which ranges from powerful 500hp farm tractors to lawnmowers for the home, via equipment used in the upkeep of golf courses, cricket and football grounds, parks and open spaces, forests and the care of the countryside.
As new technology and robotics come increasingly on-stream, we will talk to manufacturers, dealers, industry representatives and end-users in order to report on this fast-moving, innovative and essential sector that often flies under the radar of public recognition.
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Episodes
AGRI-TURF AGENDA FEBRUARY 2024: End of the line for Tom, Dick and Harry?
February 05, 2024 17:00 - 23 minutes - 19.2 MBThis is the first of a series of monthly episodes called AGRI-TURF AGENDA, an audio magazine with some of the current news stories of interest or relevance to the land-based engineering community. This February 2024 issue carries the news of the collapse of the Small Robot Company. Whether small scale could be better than big scale farm autonomy featuring Kit Franklin? Could the tractor become a political weapon in the UK with an eye-witness report from Dan Pratt in Paris? Why have I recent...
THE MEDIA: FRIEND OR FOE? with Andrew Harvey (former BBC TV/ITN news presenter)
January 25, 2024 17:00 - 48 minutes - 38.8 MBWhat is the media today? It used to be newspapers or magazines - or broadcast media, television and radio. Today, anyone can be a ‘journalist’ spreading news, views, comment and opinion through social media – that is largely unrestricted and unregulated. To help me answer that question, I’m delighted to be joined by Andrew Harvey for 30 years a main presenter for BBC Television News, and latterly for ITN. After leaving the television arena, Andrew set up and now runs Harvey Leach, a me...
WHAT IS AGRI-TECH PSYCHOTHERAPY? with Dan Schultz
January 18, 2024 18:00 - 44 minutes - 35.4 MBDan Schultz describes himself as an agribusiness psychotherapist - an eye catching description if there ever was one Without the need for a ‘patients’ couch, Dan helps agri-tech companies around the world think differently about how they market and commercialise their products for this new software driven age. He says that the evolution of agriculture will be more about the evolution of business models than new pieces of equipment or technology. Despite that, Dan is not an exponent of ‘in...
IN THE MIX 2: Women in Land-based Engineering - their stories
January 12, 2024 03:30 - 43 minutes - 34.8 MBI've taken extracts from Inside Agri-Turf episodes over the past four years, featuring some of the women who have successfully carved a career in land-based engineering so helping to counter the image of it being a male dominated profession. The episode includes a tribute to the late Caroline Drummond MBE, the driving force behind LEAF who died in 2022 at the age of 58. She had appeared on a panel discussion on Agricultural Engineering and the Environment, recorded in February 2022 just we...
IN THE MIX 1: featuring Ruth Bailey, Keith Christian, Jeremy Gibbs, Will Foster, Andrew Findley and Keith Kent
December 20, 2023 17:00 - 38 minutes - 30.9 MBToday I'm introducing a new show IN THE MIX. During the past three year over 120 guests have featured on the Inside Agri-Turf podcast. All have had tales to tell, advice to pass on and experiences to relate that are relevant to those working in this extraordinary land-based engineering industry. Tucked away in our back-catalogue are some wonderful contributions, some a reminder of challenging times such as working through the pandemic. IN THE MIX will be published monthly in addition to ...
SHARING START-UP SUCCESS with Ollie Austen
December 06, 2023 16:30 - 23 minutes - 18.7 MBSmall businesses (SMEs) are the heartbeat of the UK economy with almost 400,00 founded each year by those with a desire to follow their dream. But who supports the founders? In this episode I talk to Ollie Austen, co-founder of the peer-to-peer networking group Start-up2standup. Started in 2020, the group is tailored exclusively for start-up founders who wish to connect with other entrepreneurs to learn, share ideas, seek answers and access talks and events to help improve and grow th...
RETENTION: BEYOND THE SALARY with Paul Harris
November 30, 2023 18:00 - 28 minutes - 22.6 MBIn the first of a two-part episode on staffing, PAUL HARRIS of Real Success Ltd provided down-to-earth and practical advice on RECRUITING the right staff. He advised employers not to panic when faced with sudden staffing needs. Careful planning is necessary to identify likely candidates, leading to crafting an offer of employment - with legal obligations. In Part 2, Paul focusses on RETENTION. He says that clear, upfront and two-way communication with all members of staffing on a regular ...
RECRUITING? DON'T PANIC! with Paul Harris
November 23, 2023 18:00 - 27 minutes - 22.2 MBPossibly the biggest challenge facing businesses today is recruiting the most suitable staff, and then taking every step necessary to ensure that they stay in the company or organisation. In a two-part episode on Recruitment and Retention, I talk to Paul Harris, the founder of Real Success Ltd, a company specialising in meeting the staffing requirements of the farming community. His down-to-earth and highly practical advice is relevant to the land-based engineering sector – or any business ...
THE ROAD TO RESILIENCE with Andrew Findley
November 16, 2023 18:00 - 30 minutes - 24.7 MBAndrew Findley is an experienced competitor in ultra endurance running events ranging from 200 km races in the 50 degree heat of the Sahara to a 300 km race across the French Alps in the biting cold - whilst climbing the equivalent of Everest three times. The quality that all competitors need in such events is resilience – which can simply be summed up as the ability to keep going. In other words “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. But it is never just about toughness, there ...
THE ART OF THE SALES CONVERSATION (Part Two) with St John Craner
November 09, 2023 20:30 - 36 minutes - 29.6 MBIn this episode, St John Craner, connects the two important elements of The Art of the Sales Conversation, that of listening, and then asking the right questions at the right time and in the right way. He says "I think it's really important that if you want to succeed in sales, you need to be a student of psychology. You need to get curious and study the basic laws of human nature and behavior. Psychology is a rural sales superpower; of that I'm absolutely convinced" "There are three magic...
COUNTAX: BEGINNING AND END OF A BRAND with Chris Biddle and Harry Handkammer
November 02, 2023 22:00 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBAriensCo, the US parent company of British lawn tractor maker, Countax have announced that the production of both Countax and Westwood tractors at Great Haseley in Oxfordshire will cease by the end of 2023 –the Great Haseley site will be used as a sales and service operation for the home market only. The Ariens statement suggests that there is no future for Countax or Westwood garden tractors made in the UK, or anywhere else - and have confirmed that there are no plans to use the Countax or...
COMPLAINTS INTO COMPLIMENTS with Dan Pratt
October 26, 2023 17:00 - 28 minutes - 23.2 MBIn the first part of his series of The Customer is always Right, Dan Pratt, founder of DAP Consultancy talked about different types of customers, their behaviour, and ways of successfully diffusing difficult situations. In this episode Dan says that receiving a complaint should often be looked at as a positive business opportunity – and at relatively low-cost. He also talks about goodwill gestures which can often work wonders - and how to practically deal with negative on-line reviews whi...
ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL with Anna Eccleston, Richard Charles and Daniel Fasham
October 19, 2023 18:00 - 37 minutes - 29.6 MBThe recent New Scientist Live event in London, provided the farming and food producing industry with a wonderful opportunity to present its credentials to a largely non-rural audience - and to children. Reflecting on the event and the ‘terrifyingly insightful questions’, are Anna Eccleston, Commercial Director for the Farmers Weekly, Richard Charles, After Sales Manager, AGCO Corporation and Daniel Fasham from the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) who was representing the We Are Land...
THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT? (Part 1) with Dan Pratt
October 12, 2023 18:00 - 28 minutes - 23.1 MB'The Customer is Always Right' was a mantra instilled into staff by Gordon Selfridge when he opened his landmark London department store in the early 1990s. Does that still hold true for businesses in the 21st century? Dan Pratt, founder of a customer experience agency DAP Consultancy says "Yes . .except when they are wrong!" Dan has worked in customer relations most of his career in a variety of industries. He once manned a customer complaints phone line "being shouted at for 8 hours a d...
THE ART OF THE SALES CONVERSATION (Part One) with St John Craner
October 05, 2023 18:00 - 30 minutes - 24.2 MBThe first episode of The Agri-Turf Academy Show, a new podcast to complement the Inside Agri-Turf shows which have notched up over 10,000 downloads and featured more than 100 guests from across the land-based engineering sector. This opening episode, The Art of the Sales Conversation (Part One) is delivered by St John Craner, (pronounced Sinjin) founder of New Zealand-based Agrarian, a leading rural sales and marketing company. St John's key message is 'The problem with sales, is selling. ...
ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW PODCAST SHOW with Chris Biddle
September 28, 2023 22:00 - 10 minutes - 8.52 MBTo complement this Inside Agri-Turf podcast, I am delighted to announce the creation of a new show. The Agri-Turf Academy will focus on people not products. It will publish episodes of relevance to anyone working in, or associated with, the land-based engineering sector featuring advice and tips on sales and marketing, customer relations, recruitment and retention, display and merchandising, well-being issues, social media - and much more. All delivered by experts in their field. This epi...
FARMING COLLECTIVE AT NEW SCIENTIST LIVE with Anna Eccleston (Farmers Weekly) and Kit Franklin (Harper Adams University)
September 21, 2023 17:15 - 37 minutes - 30 MBDescribed as the World’s Greatest Festival of Ideas and Discoveries, New Scientist Live (NSL) will this year have Farming and Food Production as its largest feature. The 2023 edition of NSL will be held from 7-9 October at ExCel London. The talks and hands-on visitor experiences featuring the innovative and ground-breaking ways that food is produced is being curated by the Farmers Weekly in partnership with a collective of commercial and educational partners from across the agricultural sec...
AI: YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS with Wesley Baker
September 07, 2023 18:00 - 39 minutes - 31.3 MB"The greatest thing since the Industrial revolution" are amongst the opening words by Wesley Baker, Founder and CEO of Canterbury AI. In this podcast, Wesley provides an overview of the likely impact that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have on us all in clear and no-nonsense language. AI is not here to take jobs, if it does, they will be replaced quickly, he says. It will certainly reduce workloads and massively improve service and productivity. He also says that a lack of funding for ...
DEALERSHIP DISSECTOLOGY with David Hart
August 31, 2023 17:00 - 26 minutes - 20.9 MBThis episode is another in a series I'm calling The Franchise Jigsaw. And who knew that the collective name for a jigsaw enthusiast is a dissectologist? My guest is David Hart, Managing Director of Kubota UK and President Business Transformation Kubota Europe BV. As the consolidation of the UK farm machinery dealers network continues, so companies such as Kubota are taking the opportunity to offer a replacement main franchise to dealers who have been sacked by a major brand, or have dec...
TOP RANKING DEALERS with Peter Hill
August 24, 2023 18:00 - 29 minutes - 34.1 MBA year after first publishing a comprehensive listing of the UK's Biggest Farming Dealers ranked by turnover exclusively for the Farmers Weekly, I catch up again with freelance agricultural journalist Peter Hill to deep dive his latest report.. The original report published in 2022 was based on dealers' financials for 2020, the latest published a few weeks ago reflects the figures for 2021. A total of 45 dealers make up the listing, all of whom have a turnover in excess of £30 million. 20...
PREVIEW SEASON 4
August 17, 2023 20:00 - 19 minutes - 11.4 MBAfter a summer break, Inside Agri-Turf podcast returns for the Autumn, Winter, Spring season. Here are excerpts of episodes already recorded and news of an exciting addition for the Agri-Turf community. Forthcoming episodes are: 24 August 2023: THE FRANCHISE JIGSAW 1: Featuring freelance agricultural journalist Peter Hill talking about his published reports for the Farmers Weekly on Britain's Biggest Farm Machinery Dealers based on 2020 and 2021 financials. 2020 Report 2021 Report ...
QUESTION TIME with Aidan, Aileen and Aimee
June 09, 2023 16:00 - 27 minutes - 22 MBHow would Aidan, Aileen and Aimee - the clue lies in the first two letters of each name – describe the attractions of land-based engineering? I have produced this episode using ChatGPT, posing questions, refining the text responses, using the read-aloud feature, allocating appropriate voices and recording for this podcast. You cannot edit the text in ChatGPT, so you hear the actual responses. Commentators believe Artificial Intelligence could be the single greatest human achievement, but...
ON A ROLL with Richard Robinson and Gary Barwell (Republished)
May 10, 2023 17:45 - 28 minutes - 22.7 MBPODCAST produced on behalf of Autoguide Ltd, first published January 2022 - moved to Inside Agri-Turf channel to centralise all published episodes (May 2023) A familiar sight at cricket grounds around the world, the Auto-Roller manufactured by Autoguide Equipment Ltd, reached its century in 2021. Hand-built by craftsmen at the company's Wiltshire factory, the Auto-Roller is the choice of many leading groundsmen at Test and County grounds for the upkeep and preparation of their playing surf...
EPISODE 100: FULL CIRCLE with Keith Christian
April 27, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 57 MBThis week, I’m proud to be publishing the 100th episode of Inside Agri-turf podcast, talking to my special guest Keith Christian, the recently retired Director of BAGMA about his remarkable career which including heading both trade associations for manufacturers and dealers. Keith started life working in banking, but soon ‘found’ the garden machinery industry. Working first with a dealership, Burlinghams, then a manufacturer Spear and Jackson who were UK Stiga distributor at the time. He ...
WHAT THREE WORDS? with Ruth Bailey and Gareth Ford
April 20, 2023 15:00 - 33 minutes - 26.6 MBThe Agri-Turf machinery industry has long wrestled with finding a readily understood definition of what it is and what it does - and what three words best sum up its attraction? Officially categorised as Land-based Engineering, the challenge for those recruiting is to catch the eye and capture the interest of potential new employees in around 5 seconds according to the latest definition of attention span in this digital age. In December 2022, the cross-industry Land-based Engineering, Tra...
PLANTING THE SEEDS with Ken Smyth
March 31, 2023 17:00 - 34 minutes - 24 MBFrom an apprentice himself, Ken Smyth is to today general service manager at leading dealership Ernest Doe Ltd, overseeing the service departments and transport fleet at Doe's 19 branches with 180 technicians and over 160 vehicles. He has overall responsibility for the company’s service provision for agricultural machinery, construction equipment, professional turfcare machinery, garden machinery and viticulture, small tractors and machinery for fruit growers and vineyards. Ken talks about...
THE BUSINESS OF BUYING AND SELLING with Jerry Hanss
March 23, 2023 17:00 - 31 minutes - 25.1 MBIs there enough collaboration and discussion between suppliers and their dealers about business management and maximising sales and service opportunities? They are, or should be, business partners with common aims, but the relationship rarely goes beyond the order book. To discuss, I'm joined by Jerry Hanss who has extensive experience in establishing dealer networks. We talk about benchmarking, finance managment, reduction of downtime, managing brands, service absorption and more. LINKS ...
APP-LAUDED with Will Dunn, Founder of Ag-drive
March 16, 2023 11:45 - 28 minutes - 22.9 MBYoung agri-tech entrepreneur, Will Dunn, talks about his new innovative app, Ag-drive, which was born out of practical farming experience – and resulted in him winning the top innovation award at the recent LAMMA show. Ag-drive is a cloud-based app for agricultural contractors and farmers to help manage the business, from job planning through to completion, with the ability to send invoices linked to accounts packages such as Quick Books, Sage and Xero, Ag-drive provides a truly paperless...
RE-IMAGINING LITTLE GREY FERGIE with Campbell Scott
March 10, 2023 09:00 - 36 minutes - 29.6 MBCampbell Scott spent over 30 years with Massey Ferguson and was Director Marketing Services AGCO EAME Region Massey Ferguson brand when he left in 2018. Last year, he founded Atomic Tractors, a company focussed on developing zero-emission power units for tractors, working on hybrid versions utilising hydrogen power cells and battery. A devotee of the engineering principles of Harry Ferguson, Campbell is also working on an electrically powered adaptation of the iconic Ferguson TE20 (Little...
BONUS EPISODE: Introducing Branded Podcasts - AGRI TURF BRANDED PODCASTS
March 09, 2023 14:30 - 13 minutes - 11 MBWe are pleased to introduce Branded Podcasts, production of bespoke podcasts for companies and organisations to promote their products or services, provide news or advice, promote events - or anything! Our regular Inside Agri-Turf episodes will remain free of advertising inserts, whilst the paid for Branded Podcasts will be totally dedicated to the company or organisation. This podcast contains a short, edited example of a podcast produced for Autoguide Ltd to mark the centenary of their A...
PITCHES, POLO and PILOTING with John Ledwidge MBA
March 02, 2023 17:00 - 41 minutes - 33.1 MBIN his early days, John Ledwidge loved football, and in particular Coventry City FC, but didn't know what a groundsman was - or did. Today John is Head of Sports Turf and Grounds at Premier side Leicester City with a role that not only encompasses overseeing the preparation of pitches at the King Power Stadium and Seagrave training ground, but also responsibility for the Club owner's golf course, two polo fields, gardens and the pitches at Belgian 1st Division side Oud-Heverlee Leuven. He ...
AGRI-TURF TALKS No 7: FEELING OK? LET'S CHAT
February 23, 2023 18:00 - 36 minutes - 28.9 MBThe second of our Agri-Turf Talks panel episode of 2023 focusses on mental health and well-being challenges facing the agricultural and turfcare industries. Our panel is: ALEX PHILLIMORE Head of Communications and Development with The Farming CommunityNetwork (FCN), a charity supporting farmers and farming families which helps approx. 6000 people each year with a number of issues, including mental challenges. FCN runs a confidential helpline (03000 111 999) open 7am-11pm 365 of the year. ...
AGRI-TURF TALKS No 6: ALL WOMEN PANEL
February 16, 2023 18:00 - 40 minutes - 32.8 MBThis is the latest in the series of Agri-Turf Talks panel discussions first launched in 2020 which has previously featured topics such as The Future of the Dealership, Agricultural Engineering and the Environment, Challenges of Recruitment and Combatting Supply Issues This episode features an all-women panel discussing career opportunities in an industry often described as being full of 'middle class, middle aged men'. Chris Biddle hosts the panel comprising Poppy Burrough, Sales Support ...
CLONTARF TO WORLD CUP with Karl McDermott
February 09, 2023 18:00 - 32 minutes - 25.6 MBA special episode for me as I celebrate 60 years as a member of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), the most famous active cricket in the world and guardian of the laws of the game. To mark this milestone I’m joined by Karl McDermott, MCC Head Groundman responsible for the upkeep and preparation of the pitches and outfield at Lord's Cricket Ground, The Home of Cricket. Brought up in Ireland, Karl spent his formative years as a groundsman at Clontarf Cricket Club, Dublin but always had the a...
FAMILY PLANNING with Heather Wildman
February 02, 2023 18:00 - 37 minutes - 30.4 MBSuccession planning for small family businesses can never start early enough says Heather Wildman. With over 26 years' experience of working with both farmers and industry, Heather, who runs Saviour Associates, has faced many instances of families struggling to agree how their business enterprise should move forward Succession will inevitably happen whether we want it to or not. There is a finality for business owners who want to retire and handover their legacy to the next generation. Hea...
CROSSING THE DIVIDE with Anna Jones
January 26, 2023 17:00 - 46 minutes - 37.4 MBIn 2018, Anna Jones set up a group called Just Farmers to establish a network of farmers who could respond to enquiries from the media in an honest, straightforward and no-nonsense way – eliminating jargon that might be unfamiliar to journalists and the general public. Anna has also written a book, Divide, in which tries to make sense of the fragile and sometimes fractious relationship between town and country – communities that Anna herself has straddled. Here is someone who grew up on a ...
THE PROBLEM WITH RURAL SALES - IS SELLING with St John Craner
January 19, 2023 16:00 - 57 minutes - 45.8 MBFor this first episode of the 2023 season, we head down-under to New Zealand where I catch with St John Craner, an Essex boy, who now runs a successful sales training company for agribusiness clients across New Zealand, Australia and the US. He is also the host of the Rural Sales Show podcast produced out of his offices near Napier on the east coast of the North Island. Brought up on a farm, St John worked for several leading ad agencies before setting up his own company, Agrarian Rural M...
2022 REFLECTIONS, 2023 IN VIEW
January 05, 2023 17:00 - 51 minutes - 41.6 MBThe 2023 season of Inside Agri-Turf kicks off shortly with a fascinating episode about the psychology of selling to farmers with St John Craner, founder of Agrarian NZ and host of the Rural Sales Show podcast in New Zealand Beforehand though here are some extracts from recent episodes that illustrates the can-do attitude that pervades our industry. It features 01:18 St John Craner intro 02:38 Ben Matthews 08:48 Geoff Webb, 19:58 Harry Handkammer 29:18 John Ryan 34:42 Chris Boil...
2022: AN 'ODD' YEAR with David Withers and Peter Arrand
December 16, 2022 14:30 - 39 minutes - 31.6 MBREVIEWING the past 12 months are David Withers, President of AEA (Agricultural Engineers Association) representing manufacturers and suppliers and Peter Arrand, President of BAGMA (British Agricultural and Garden Machinery Association) representing the dealer trade. Both Associations, are now housed under the same roof following AEA’s acquisition of BAGMA in July 2021, but both retain their individual identities and staffing. Topics covered include the integration of the two Associations, ...
SHOWDOWN? with Chris Bassett and Peter Driver
December 08, 2022 17:00 - 41 minutes - 37.6 MBThe launch of a new show, Groundsfest, to be held at Stonleigh Park in September 2023 has once again opened up the debate about amount of turf management shows in the UK. As things stand there will be four shows (at least) in 12 months focussing on turf management products and services. In this episode,Chris Bassett, the md of Fusion Media, organisers of Groundsfest talks about the rationale behind the new event, whilst Peter Driver, who has managed trade stands for manufacturers over the ...
ON THE VINE with Chris Boiling and Ian Beecher Jones
December 01, 2022 12:00 - 44 minutes - 35.6 MBWe talk about agriculture, we talk about horticulture – and now we should increasingly talk about viticulture as vineyards spring up across the British landscape, and the quality of home-produced wines not only improves year-on-year but are also scooping top international awards. To discuss the growth of wine production in the UK, I’m joined by two wine afficionados who also, conveniently, have close links with BAGMA Chris Boiling is the editor of the associations house magazine, the BAGMA ...
NURTURING BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS with John Ryan
November 24, 2022 11:00 - 40 minutes - 32.5 MBIn this episode Chris talks to John Ryan, the co-founder and driving force behind two highly active Facebook groups, Lawn Care Legends and its spin-off the Dealer Network. Whilst independent turf contractors and the dealers that supply them with equipment are on different sides of fence, interaction between them has proved highly beneficial says John. With so many hostile and confrontational issues blighting the effective use of social media, John explains how he aims to establish a 'chill...
DATA, DEALERS, DECANTERS - and SHOWS!
November 18, 2022 14:30 - 19 minutes - 15.7 MBA mixed content episode this week during which I share a few stats on the performance of Inside Agri-Turf podcast just after its second birthday. I also preview forthcoming episodes including a conversation with John Ryan, the driving force behind Lawn Care Legends and the Dealer Network, two active groups on social media. I'll also be talking wine growing in the UK to Chris Boiling, editor of the BAGMA Bulletin, wine journalist and wine traveller, and to Ian Beecher Jones, Director Gen...
BIRTH OF A BRAND Part Two with Harry Handkammer
November 03, 2022 17:00 - 34 minutes - 27.9 MBIn Part One of my conversation with Harry Handkammer we learned about the circumstances that led up to the creation of the Countax brand, (now owned by Ariens) and a successful launch to dealers in 1990. In Part Two, Harry talks about winning a BBC Award as Business Survivor of the Year, of events turning full circle when he was able to buy Westwood, the company that threatened his survival, of building a Williams Formula One garden tractor, a JCB version, and of a Countax lawn tractor reac...
BIRTH OF A BRAND Part One with Harry Handkammer
October 27, 2022 09:30 - 31 minutes - 24.9 MBThis is the 80th episode of Inside Agri-Turf published on 27 October 2022, the 80th birthday of podcast host and producer Chris Biddle. Birth of a Brand features Harry Handkammer, whose company manufactured attachments exclusively for a garden tractor manufacturer. In 1989, the supply arrangement was cancelled overnight. Faced with losing virtually all his business and having just moved into a new factory, Harry decided to build his own tractor which was designed, tooled and ready for prod...
ALL IN THE MIND with Geoff Webb
October 14, 2022 09:45 - 42 minutes - 34 MBRecorded on World Mental Health Day, ,Geoff Webb, CEO of the Grounds Management Association (GMA) opens up about the mental health challenges he faced during the past two years. Like many businesses and organisations, the pandemic hit the GMA hard, its showpiece event SALTEX, a major contributor to the Association's income , was cancelled in 2020, and the 2021 event was in doubt until the last minute. Running the organisation, albeit with a strong team, took its toll on Geoff. "I couldn't ...
ELIZABETHAN AGE Part Two: Lawn and Order
October 07, 2022 18:30 - 29 minutes - 23.4 MBIn the second part of this look at the evolution of agri-turf machinery and equipment during the 70 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (1952 to 2022), I consider the technological advancements in lawnmowers and grass cutting equipment with my guest Brian Radam, the founder and curator of the British Lawnmower Museum. The collection numbering over a thousand machines, sits above Brian's lawnmower sales and service dealership in Southport, Lancashire. It attracts thousands of visitors, ...
ELIZABETHAN AGE Part One: Horses to Horsepower
September 29, 2022 17:00 - 36 minutes - 29.5 MBIN the first part of this two-part episode, I look at the advances in farm machinery during the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 year reign – from 1952 to 2022. From an age when horses were still at work on many UK farms but tractors were becoming more affordable, spearheaded by the iconic little Grey Fergie - up to today's highly mechanised farm featuring autonomous tractors, guidance systems and ultimate comfort and convenience for operators. My guest is Charlie Nicklin, chief executive of t...
DOUGLAS BOMFORD TRUST 50TH ANNIVERSARY - AGRI TURF BRANDED PODCASTS
September 28, 2022 11:00 - 59 minutes - 47.4 MBOn the 7 September 2022, around 80 guests gathered at Springhill Barn near Pershore in Worcestershire to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Trust set up in the memory of Douglas Bomford, the driving force behind the invention of many well-known agricultural products still in common use today. The Trust’s aim is to support the future education, training and research in the design, production and application of agricultural machinery and equipment. The Trust also used the occasion to anno...
DOUGLAS BOMFORD TRUST 50TH ANNIVERSARY - AGRI TURF AGENDA
September 28, 2022 11:00 - 59 minutes - 47.4 MBOn the 7 September 2022, around 80 guests gathered at Springhill Barn near Pershore in Worcestershire to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Trust set up in the memory of Douglas Bomford, the driving force behind the invention of many well-known agricultural products still in common use today. The Trust’s aim is to support the future education, training and research in the design, production and application of agricultural machinery and equipment. The Trust also used the occasion to anno...