It’s going to be a busy time for Nick

BAGMA president Peter Arrand welcomes new general manager Nick Darking and the various initiatives to get the next generation excited about landbased careers…

ARRAND PRESIDENT BAGMA

WELCOME, NOT ONLY to this edition of the magazine but also a warm welcome to Nick Darking as the new general manager of BAGMA. Nick will be building on the legacy of departing director Keith Christian. Thank you, Keith, for your work and years of service and commitment, not only for BAGMA but the industry and I am sure it will not be the last we see of you.

Nick was appointed after a robust selection process and brings with him more than 30 years of industry experience and knowledge. Nick has extensive experience with dealers and customers in all our sectors. I wish him well in his new role.

Nick will undoubtedly be busy settling into his new role and busy is what I would describe the start of 2023 for BAGMA. There have already been several events and shows that the team have attended including the excellent, well organised and well attended Scottish Regional meeting in February at

Ingliston House, the home of the Royal Highland Show.

It has also been a busy time promoting careers within our industry with the launch of ‘We are landbased’ (see page 12). The next generation is the key to success of our industry and the initiative enables us to showcase what is on offer in our fast-moving environment. We all agree that we need to attract and recruit for a wide range of roles across the sector and hopefully we can showcase the real value of landbased engineering career choices within our industry.

Lantra has also taken on the challenge to help attract new talent, and retain existing expertise in the sector, with the launch of its new website.

National Apprenticeship Week and National Careers Week have now taken place. Consultation regarding the Scotish apprenticeship is underway and more information regarding T Levels starting in 2023 is avaliable.

So, there is no better time to engage with schools and career leads as they will be moni toring and discussing with students their future plans. Promotion within schools for apprenticeships and T Levels are high on the Government’s agenda as options that should be promoted alongside further or higher education.

ISSUE 38

MARCHAPRIL 2023

2 NEWS Chandlers Farm Equipment extends its newly-acquired JCB franchise into the Cotswolds; BAGMA members are the best…

6 EXPERTS

Tips on using social media for marketing, and on risk assessments in the workplace

7 ON THE MAP

BAGMA has launched a new locator tool to help customers find members’ dealerships…

8 COVER STORY

Getting to know Nick Darking, who takes the reins at BAGMA on March 13

11 TIME

The saga of the BAGMA Clock at Ingliston House, Edinburgh

12 SPECIAL FEATURE

Details of the new recruitment campaign ‘We Are Land-based Engineering’

14 OUT & ABOUT BAGMA attends a new show in Devon, the 63rd Ernest Doe show and the first Scottish Region meeting in three years

The membership magazine of the British Agricultural & Garden Machinery Association

Editor Chris Boiling 07713 192344 chrisboiling@live.com

Design Alan Bingle 07949 024737 alan@forty6design.com

Advertising and media enquiries

Stephanie Young 01295 713344 stephanie.young@bagma.com

BAGMA, Samuelson House, 62 Forder Way, Hampton, Peterborough PE7 8JB. 01295 713344 bagma.com

BAGMA president

Peter Arrand

BAGMA general manager

Nick Darking nick.darking@bagma.com

BAGMA business development manager

Richard Jenkins 07432 290605

Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the material published in BAGMA Bulletin. BAGMA can accept no responsibility for claims made by manufacturers, advertisers or contributors. Views expressed by advertisers or contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher or of BAGMA. Advertisers in BAGMA Bulletin are not agents of BAGMA or any of their associated businesses. Also, BAGMA and its associated businesses never act as agents for any advertisers. Printed in the UK by Stephens & George.

LE-TEC COMPETITION

LE-TEC has launched its Technician of the Year Competition. With prizes from Makita, Stihl and more, now is a great time to get your technicians to enter! https://bagma.com/news/technician-ofthe-year-competition/

New Sales Director

Mark Smith has left John Deere and joined Tallis Amos Group as agricultural sales director (East). Managing director Ben Tallis said: “We have plans to double our turnover to £120m within four years. This appointment illustrates the ambition of the company and our desire to recruit first-class people to help drive this journey.”

Quiet February

February generally sees relatively small levels of tractors registered, as buyers wait for the new registration plates in March. This year was no exception, with only 487 agricultural tractors registered during February 2023, the lowest number for any month since 2015. That was 15% fewer than in the same month last year, although the high level of registrations in January means that the total for the year to date was still 6% higher than in the opening two months of 2022.

T Level Qualifications

The T Level in agriculture, environmental and animal care will be going live this September. This qualification includes land-based engineering as an occupational specialism. In preparation for delivery, and throughout the lifetime of the qualification, employer involvement is key. There are a number of ways employers and individuals working in industry can be involved, including: validation of assessment materials, reviews, joining the T Level Employer Strategy Group, or becoming an ambassador. If you are interested, contact Sally Green at sally.green@ cityandguilds.com.

FENDT’S 20,000 OUTPUT

German tractor manufacturer Fendt built 20,000 machines in 2022. The 20,000th was a 724 Vario model.

Chandlers expands into the Cotswolds

Chandlers Farm Equipment is investing in a JCB depot at Cirencester, Gloucestershire, as it extends its newly-acquired JCB franchise into the Cotswolds. The move follows the merger of JCB dealer Ross Farm Machinery into the Chandlers group, with the new Chandlers RFM JCB operation continuing to work out of existing branches at Raglan for Monmouthshire, Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire and Martley in Worcestershire. The Martley and new Cirencester depots will become specialist hubs for managing JCB sales, service and parts.

Tractor Fest celebrates John Deere Model D

TRACTOR FEST, THE UK’s largest festival dedicated to tractors and stationary engines, will return this summer with more than 1,000 vintage and modern tractors, 600 stationary engines as well as commercial vehicles, cars, trucks and motorcycles.

This year’s event at Newby Hall, near Ripon, will also celebrate 100 years of the iconic John Deere Model D Tractor. Manufactured between 1923 and 1953, the steel-wheeled Model D enjoyed the longest production run of any of the green and yellow manufacturer’s tractors.

More than 159,000 Ds were manufactured, with different variations and improvements coming through the years of production. The first Ds came equipped with a two-cylinder engine with an open spoke flywheel and these early tractors came to be known as ‘spoker’ Ds.

These spoked wheels, which were prone to cracking, had gone by 1925 – solid wheels taking their place.

Also marking its centenary at Tractor Fest (June 10 and 11) will be MG, whose cars will feature in a special exhibition at the event.

BAGMA members are the best

BAGMA MEMBERS HAVE collected many significant awards recently.

Lloyd Ltd has been named Overall UK Dealer of the Year by New Holland. Another member, Ravenhill, collected the awards for Medium UK Dealer of the Year and Tractor Dealer.

Ernest Doe & Sons was named New Holland’s Hay & Forage Dealer of the Year and Telehandler Dealer of the Year. Agricar also collected a brace of titles at the event in Basildon: Aftersales Dealer of the Year and Implements Dealer of the Year.

Ventrac has named Price Turfcare as its European Distributor of the Year. Commenting on the success of the business, Ventrac’s international sales manager Tyler Dickie said: “The effort that Rupert Price and his small team put into gener- ating new business in the UK and Ireland is phenomenal… If I could clone their business model I would, but I also know that their success is down to the incredible drive and determination from the top downwards.”

Spearhead has named family-run dealer Olivers, which has five branches, as its 2022 Dealer of the Year.

At the Polaris UK and Ireland dealer conference, Davies Tractors was presented with the award for Outstanding Dealer while the Dealer of the Year title went to Clwyd Agricultural, for its expectational levels of customer service, aftersales, business development and growth.

We knew BAGMA members were the best, and this success confirms it!