INSIDE AGRI-TURF

Young 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 system making every farm contracting business accountable and traceable. The system is also being used by businesses and contractors outside the agricultural sector.

Will describes the development process, the testing, the constant tweaking and preparing the app for launch. He has recently returned from Australia after taking part in a research trip organised by Innovate UK. 

Ag-drive website

Campbell 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 Grey Fergie) - a futuristic model using innovative technology aimed at small farmers who need a simple machine to carry out multiple jobs

Atomic Tractors website

We 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 Autoroller used at Test Match and leading cricket venues around the world.

FURTHER DETAILS of Branded Podcasts

IN 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 is also the brains and driving force for the innovative multi-million pound Sports Turf Academy at Leiester which is now in its second year offering training courses, trials and research, technical and tournament support.

John received the prestigious Alex Millar Award at the 2022 Grounds Managment Association (GMA) Industry Awards, whilst his Leicester City grounds team won the Professional Football Grounds Team Award.

If that's not enough, John has recently gained his pilots licence and can view the stadium and training ground from the sky to check that everything is looking good.

Leicester City Football Club

Sports Turf Academy

The 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.

 TOM JOHNSTON Tom was a guest on Inside Agri-Turf in May 2021 when he described how he experienced depression and a series of mental health issues as he took his first steps into agricultural engineering. He decided to return to college and connected with the turfcare industry and started his own turf machinery repair business serving customers across Fife and central Scotland

 STEVE DUDLEY-BROWN. Steve has been in greenkeeping since he was 16, working in the UK and abroad and was a golf course manager for over 13 years. Today he works for the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) and is currently leading a campaign aimed at training 100 mental health first aiders to support greenkeepers and other staff through any difficulties they may be experiencing.

LINKS

The Farm Community Network (FCN) Tel: Helpline 03000 111 999 (7.00am - 11.pm)

British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (Launch of First Aiders)

Johnston Turf Machinery

Podcast with Tom Johnston May 2021

Farm Safety Foundation - Yellow Wellies

Samaritans Tel: 116 123

This 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 Specialist JCB Agricultural Sales and Marketing, Hannah Robinson, Operations and Marketing Manager Brian Robinson Machinery, Lauren Savage, Technical Trainer AP Air Europe and Jackie Evans, Head of Grounds, Wellington College.

In a refreshingly open discussion, the panel talks about sexism, women's thought processes v men, lack of industry focus on opportunities for women, and their personal role models.

Photo credits: JCB; Hannah Robinson, AGCO and Ben Wright for Grounds Management magazine

A 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 ambition to get into the professional game.  He joined the grounds team at Worcester, moved to Hampshire CCC before successfully applying for the role at Lord's, the pinnacle for players and cricket lovers around the world.

His first season (2019) included the World Cup Final, an Ashes Test and a Test Match against Ireland, only to be followed by months of isolation in 2020 during lockdown.

Karl talks about weather watching, the Lord's slope, hybrid pitches, 'Bazball' and handling adverse press comment.

Lord's Cricket Ground, The Home of Cricket

Succession 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.

Heather's key points, in addition to starting discussion amongst the family as soon as possible, are to make a record of all conversations for future reference and be totally transparent, putting everything 'on the table'

Heather suggests a starting point is to consider the possible impact of the 6 Ds: Death, Disability, Disaster, Divorce, Disagreements and Debt on the family

Website

In 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 family farm on the Welsh borders with a heritage stretching back five generations, but also lived the city life, experienced the ignorance and mistrust of how our food is produced – and even joined an Extinction Rebellion meeting.

Anna talks about the rationale behind the formation of Just Farmers and the issues raised in her book.

JUST FARMERS website

CLICK for Divide on Amazon

For 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 Marketing, advising companies across the agri-business sector on the special strategies required when selling to the farming community.

Below listeners can find a link to download a free copy of St John's e-book, How to Succeed in Rural Sales (hardback normally $20)

This episode has been sponsored by the British Agricultural and Garden Machinery Association (BAGMA) who have been providing advice, support and benefits to independent agricultural, garden and ground care machinery dealers for over 100 years

LINKS

 CONTECT to St John Craner on LinkedIn

 DOWNLOAD free copy of How to Succeed in Rural Sales

 LISTEN to episodes of the Rural Sales Show podcast

 WATCH Clayton Christenson (Harvard Business School) on Disruptive Technology (You Tube 7 minutes)