AROUND THE TRADE AROUND THE TRADE
WESLEY COLLEGE HOSTS TORO’S NATIONAL SPORTS FIELDS AND GROUNDS FORUM Wesley College’s Glen Waverley Campus hosted Toro’s 5th National Sports Fields and Grounds Forum in April
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ports turf managers from around Australia, as well as some from India and New Zealand, attended Toro’s 5th National Sports Fields and Grounds Forum held at Wesley College’s Glen Waverley campus in Melbourne in early April. The event has become a popular addition to the turf industry calendar and aims to assist customers in their preparation and presentation of sports grounds. Customers are able to see Toro’s equipment and irrigation product range first-hand, speak to staff and try a variety of products for themselves. “Customers really enjoy being able to mix and socialise and share ideas with people from different sized sports grounds, ovals, racecourses, schools and turf maintenance companies,” says Toro’s senior marketing manager for equipment Elise Willemsen. The opening day included a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground by Michael Salvatore, a welcome dinner and round of lawn bowls at the City of Melbourne bowling rink. The second and third days, held at Wesley College (superbly presented by experienced host curator Rob Savedra), included product rotations, training, product updates and an open forum. An official dinner was held at AAMI Stadium and included a
BAYER’S SIGNATURE FUNGICIDE GETS NAME CHANGE
Bayer’s Chipco Signature Systemic Fungicide has been rebranded and is now called Signature Stressgard Systemic Fungicide 78
The registered brand name of AGCSA Silver Partner Bayer’s Chipco Signature Systemic Fungicide has changed to Signature Stressgard Systemic Fungicide. The Chipco brand has been synonymous with Signature since the product launched in the 1990s, as well as several legacy product brands like Chipco Choice and Chipco Rovral. The Chipco brand was originally introduced to collectively represent a family of innovative products that were developed specifically for turf managers.
AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 20.3
very entertaining ‘night on the couch’ with industry icons Tom Parker and Kevin Mitchell. Also in attendance at the forum was industry partner Syngenta, along with Toro senior marketing manager EMEA, Anthony Nadalin. Nadalin talked about product development at Toro and reiterated the importance of customer feedback and how it played a critical role in assisting the company meet the needs of the end user. AFL Queensland sports turf manager Chris Dalton was among this year’s forum delegates and commented that he really liked the idea of Toro not only providing information, but also looking for feedback. “I thought it was well done. The event was really well organised and delivered.” David Sandurski, who moved from the MCG to The Gabba in late 2017, added: “Everything from flights, accommodation, transport and content was spot on and really reflects well on the professionalism and dedication to improvement that Toro have for the industry.” Toro Australia wishes to thank Syngenta and the Sports Turf Association for being partners in this event. Special mention also goes to Rob Savedra and his team from Wesley College for hosting the forum and to Michael Salvatore, Kevin Mitchell and Tom Parker. Stressgard Formulation Technology (FT) has been a key element of the Chipco Signature formulation since its launch and a major driver of Signature’s performance in preventing pythium and managing the summer decline complex in highly maintained sports turf. With the recent introduction of other fungicides containing Stressgard FT, such as Interface Stressgard and Reserve Stressgard, and the proven turf health benefits from programmed applications of Stressgard FT products, Bayer says it was time that the branding of Signature was changed to ensure consistency.