Don’t forget Sport…

It’s only since getting our golden Labrador, Mungo, that I really started to appreciate the changing seasons through our daily walks.

The last two months have been a nightmare for many people in certain parts of the country and my heart goes out to everyone dealing with the aftermath of unprecedented flooding and devastating erosion.

Distributed every two months to sports turf professionals, independent schools, universities, local authorities and buyers of turfcare machinery and products.

Editor: Scott MacCallum scott@turfmatters.co.uk

Spring sees the moving from woolly hat, gloves and wellies to sunhat, shorts and sandals. Currently I’m enjoying the luxury of going out on the early morning and late afternoon walks without the need for a torch. Shorter darker days make it much more difficult to search for the reason poo bags were invented without artificial light.

The best case scenario for many is months of temporary living. For others, lives will never return to what they were.

While the fate of sports grounds and golf clubs might seem inconsequential in the face of such hardship, we at Turf Matters have a particular empathy with everyone who has seen years of agronomic husbandry literally washed away in the space of a few weeks.

It must be hoped that banks – the financial institutions, not the things which edge overflown rivers – take an understanding approach to sporting facilities which have been unable to service loans as a result of them being unplayable and so unable to bring in revenue.

Mungo aside, it’s having to put on my desk lamp in mid-afternoon as a wrestle with the latest magazine.

The arrival of March, albeit we are still susceptible to some sub-zero and snowy snaps, heralds the fact that we have emerged from the worst of the winter and are set for better times ahead.

As we have seen with the recent Winter Olympics, sport has such a galvanising effect on society and can be the catalyst for so much good, that it is imperative sporting facilities are not forgotten when the promised assistance is being allocated.

For turf managers the advent of spring must be even more welcome with the increased available working hours giving a chance to get earlier starts and, hopefully, the occasional earlier finish.

Your winter programmes will have been completed and hopefully that often unseen hard work will begin to reap its rewards.

On the issue of improving sporting facilities, we have been invited by Briggs & Stratton to become involved in its Pitch to Win competition, which provides a £3,000 makeover for what is judged to be the Under 18s football pitch in most need – find out more on pages 16-17. I am on the judging panel and visits will be made to a shortlist of deserving pitches soon. We will be looking not so much at the DESSO but the desperate!

On a final note, I am thrilled by the reception that the first issue of Turf Matters received. Many people have taken time to say how much they liked the look of the magazine and how they enjoyed the articles. We’re all pleased you found it to your liking and we will work hard to maintain the high standards. Thank you all very much.

I wish you all well for the upcoming spring and summer seasons and hope all your playing surfaces are as you would wish them to be.

Scott MacCallum, Editor

Scott MacCallum, Editor

Distributed every two months to sports turf professionals, local authorities and buyers of turfcare machinery and products.

Design/Production Editor: Tim Moat tim@turfmatters.co.uk

Editor: Scott MacCallum scott@turfmatters.co.uk

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Design and Production Editor: Tim Moat tim@turfmatters.co.uk

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Turf Matters is published by Straight Down the Middle Communications Ltd. All material © Turf Matters magazine 2023.

Turf Matters is published by Straight Down the Middle Communications Ltd.

Awarded Best Writing and Best Design in the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) Awards 2019-2022 inclusive

All material © Turf Matters magazine 2014. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, either for sale or not, without the written permission of the publisher. Information contained in Turf Matters is published in good faith and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. Turf Matters can accept no responsibility for any error or misrepresentation. All liability for loss, disappointment, negligence or other damage caused by reliance on information contained in Turf Matters or in the event of any bankruptcy or liquidation or cessation of trade of any company, individual or firm mentioned is hereby excluded.

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No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, either for sale or not, without the written permission of the publisher. Information contained in Turf Matters is published in good faith and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. Turf Matters can accept no responsibility for any error or misrepresentation. All liability for loss, disappointment, negligence or other damage caused by reliance on information contained in Turf Matters or in the event of any bankruptcy or liquidation or cessation of trade of any company, individual or firm mentioned is hereby excluded. Printed by Warners Midlands PLC.

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Jcb Engine Triumph Proves Hydrogen Has Wider Appeal

JCB has made a major breakthrough in proving the wider appeal of hydrogen combustion technology by installing one of its hydrogen engines into a 7.5 tonne Mercedes truck.

The internal combustion engine used in the truck is the same as those already powering JCB prototype construction and agricultural machines.

“This is a giant leap forward for JCB and the rest of the world because we all have one goal: to reduce emissions,” said JCB Chairman, Lord Bamford.

The truck at the centre of the latest project was formerly diesel-powered and the switch to hydrogen is a breakthrough which underlines that this form of power could represent a much quicker way to reach global carbon dioxide emissions targets.

JCB was the developer of the first working hydrogenpowered construction and agricultural machines. Last year JCB revealed another first – a hydrogen refueller which provides a quick and straightforward way to refuel machines on site.