and Healthy Profits
Irish Grass Machinery
Limited
Kubota tractor and groundcare
equipment has moved to
larger premises in Dublin.
Its new site at Rosemount
Business Park, Ballycoolin,
Blanchardstown, has an
extensive showroom plus
18,000 sq ft of space for
housing new machines and
to carry out servicing. The
building is on a one-acre site
with ample room for future
expansion.
Managing director Tony Smyth
said: "Our move into bigger
premises will allow us to
provide an even better service
to our customers. As well as
having more space to store
new machines and carry out
servicing and repair work, the
larger showroom will allow us
to display the full Kubota
tractor and groundcare
equipment range, something
we could not do in our former
Dublin premises."
Visit Irish Grass Machinery at
the Kildare Show this year,
Indoor stands 92 & 93 and
talk to Michael or Tony about
the full Kubota tractor and
groundcare range.
The new internal central area which will be surrounded by eight premium stand spaces, occupied by leading industry players and show sponsors, will act as a thriving hub of activity throughout the show.
Plans are being developed to introduce short
topical industry seminars to cover items such
as environmental pest control, waste
management systems, energy efficiency
and financial management. Details of which
will be released in the weeks leading up to
the event. Read more>>
Bord Bia consider it vitally important that
in the current year a significant and
sustained promotional drive is put in
place to highlight and promote the
demand for locally grown produce and
plants.This prompted the launch of a
campaign to focus on gardening with the consumer and to create an interest and
excitement around spring gardening. Over the last two years poor weather at
critical times has had a negative impact on gardening and in particular on the sale of plants. In 2009, it is important that gardeners who have had very little opportunity to engage in gardening are reminded of this rewarding and relatively low cost activity.
State for Food & Horticulture, Mr. Trevor Sargent TD and well-known
gardening experts Gerry Daly and Helen Dillon
Bord Na Móna
for the Horticulture Sector
for Horticulture include:
Garden Centre Quality Awards
Landscape Sector Quality Programme
Nursery Sector Quality Programme
The Bord Bia Quality Programmes are
designed to define standards for the
industry and encourage participants
to reach them. The schemes are
voluntary and participants receive
announced inspections from an
independent during a twelve-month
period. Bord Bia held its annual National Amenity Horticulture Awards on 6th February in The Sheraton Hotel, Athlone, Co. Westmeath.
Bord Na Móna exhibit the 'before and after' results of their composting facility in Kilberry, the largest of it's kind in Ireland.
Bord Na Móna is a leading supplier of peat and growing
media to commercial growers in Europe. Visit the Bord Na Móna stand at the Kildare Show this year and talk to Anna Kavanagh – Manager, Professional Market, UK & Ireland. Anna will give you advice on the best recipe mixes to suit individual crop requirements.
Bord Na Móna (Horticulture) has invested €5m into the construction of a state of the art composting facility at Kilberry. This facility, the largest of its type in Ireland, is capable of transforming garden and landscape waste in mixture with spent brewery grains from the Guinness plants at Dublin and Waterford into compost suitable for use in growing media. At Kilberry, around 100,000 cubic metres p.a. of composted material can be produced. Six years of comprehensive studies have now resulted in the development of a peat-reduced retail multipurpose growing medium containing 35-40% by volume of green/ grain compost.
Bord na Mona has conducted growing trials with our University partner, UCD, and these have shown consistently superior growth in peat-reduced media. The scientific basis of these observations has been shown by the R & D team at Bord na Mona Horticulture to be due to a combination of added major and minor nutrients from the composted material as well as other advantageous physical and chemical properties. So, indigenous Irish waste streams are converted into a high quality growing medium which in the main is bagged and exported to the UK: the use of peat is reduced: waste is diverted from landfill; and the retail customer has an excellent product: a quadruple win situation.
The National Amenity Horticulture Awards recognise and promote excellence
across three key sectors of the industry. This year Bord Bia awarded 32 garden centres; 24 nurseries and 11 landscape service providers. Additionally, a number of special awards were presented on the night including:
Large Garden Centre of the Year
Arboretum Lifestyle & Garden Pavilion, Co. Carlow
Small Garden Centre of the Year
Fernhill Garden Centre, Athlone Road, Co. Westmeath
Landscape Business of the Year
Redlough Landscapes Limited, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15
Nursery Business of the Year
L&K Dunne, Naas, Co. Kildare
Innovation Programme
The programme is tailored to the individual producer, and uses elements of the Bord Bia developed “foresight4food programme” for idea generation and testing. The innovation programme also gives producers access to the Bord Bia brand services which can be used to create brands, improve brands, set up websites and assist with PR campaigns. The next starter programme will commence shortly and the programme is open to both amenity and food horticultural producers.
For Further information on any of the Bord Bia programmes listed above please check out www.bordbia.ie
O’Dowd Nurseries, based in Co. Westmeath just outside Moate off the N6, was started over 13 years ago by Caroline O’Dowd.
The Nursery specialises in Roses, Spring, Summer & Winter Bedding Plants and Vegetable Plants. O’Dowd Nurseries availability list is issued on a weekly basis. Contact the office and they will forward details by email, fax or post.
O’Dowd Nurseries have had a stand at the Kildare Growers Show for the last few years. On Show are a selection of some of their fantastic roses and examples of the bedding, vegetable and herb plants.
Thanks to the effort of all involved, O’Dowd Nurseries won Best Nursery Stand at the Kildare Show in 2008.
Crumb Rubber Ireland is committed to taking
waste tyres out of the waste stream and turning them into innovative and useful products. They are launching their range of coloured and matting rubber products at the show. ‘We are returning to the Kildare growers show this year as we feel it is the ideal show case for our new Irish made range of recycled rubber products’
Mr Leo Kerley MD went on to explain ‘The show attracts all the decision makers that we need to reach and we are looking forward to getting valuable exposure on this key market.’ Read more >>
Email: karen@kildaregrowers.ie Website: www.kildaregrowers.ie
